The gathered people of God celebrate the sacrament. Holy Communion, usually celebrated within a congregation, also may be celebrated in synodical, churchwide, and other settings where the baptized gather.
Use of the Means of Grace, Principle 39
The Worship Committee is a resource to congregations for primary and regular sacramental worship and other expressions of corporate prayer. Our Worship Days bring leaders together to share insights and concerns. Our synod-wide workshops on Evangelical Lutheran Worship introduced the ELCA’s new worship book and related resources to help maximize their use. The team also regularly consults with pastors and congregations that seek guidance on worship practices.
Still, the committee’s most specific purpose is to plan synodical worship occasions. These include:
- Synod Assembly worship (the several liturgies held each day, as well as the Friday evening festive Eucharist)
- the rites of the gathered ministerium (at scheduled meetings and its annual spiritual retreat)
- the shared celebration of new ministries (the setting apart of deacons and the ordination of pastors).
Three principles guide the work, so that regular and occasional worship shall:
- express the full range of current liturgical resources available in the ELCA,
- represent the growing cultural diversity of our communities and synod, and
- be exemplary in offering models that reflect both "best practices" of our tradition and new "growing edge" ways to praise God in our time and place.
Find the ELCA’s worship resources at www.elca.org.
To learn more, contact committee chair Pastor Frank Nelson.