Hope and the Resurrection-Creative Project for Worship Theology(May 2011)
OVERVIEW:
When I was in my 20's, the church I attended in Minneapolis presented a depiction of the Stations of the Cross each year during lent. Since I grew up Lutheran in a small rural town in southeastern Minnesota, this was not familiar to me.
For those who might also be unfamiliar, the Stations of the Cross refer to the final hours (passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the passion. The Stations of the Cross depiction took place at the church two or three times each year during lent at different times of the day (mid-afternoon and late-afternoon through mid-evening) allowing for members and the community to participate.
There were 14 rooms throughout the church representing different events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before his time on the cross. Each room had a different representation including a small theatrical representation, art/music, reading of prayer, meditation, and an actor frozen in time with narration, or a short narrative story read aloud. Attendees would be ushered from one room to another and upon the conclusion of the visiting the rooms, would end their journeys, or pilgrimages, in the sanctuary where there would be individual prayer and music. The journeys would take roughly an hour, depending how much time one might spend in prayer.
At the time, the Stations of the Cross presentation at my church was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences I had ever had. This experience came to mind again for me when in "Surprised by Hope" N.T. Wright wrote about the reshaping of the churching mission by living the future, and the importance of celebrating Easter and the Resurrection.
This PowerPoint presentation is about Easter and the Resurrection, aiming for the same poignancy that one may experience with the Stations of the Cross. It would show as a self-run loop that could be used during pre-service, extended prayer in the service, special music, and/or post-service. Depending on worship planning, it could be used anytime of the year. Wright mentioned that we should just not be celebrating just one day of Easter, but seven whole days. I cannot agree more.