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“Here We Go Again…” GC 2012

24May
  • Image does not exists“Here We Go Again…” GC 2012

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Call me crazy (actually I have been called that), but I’m really excited about designing worship for the General Conference of the United Methodist Church… again.  It was announced last month that the General Commission had chosen me to take on the task of preparing worship for this 1000+ body of worshipers/legislators for a second time.  My buddy Mark Miller won’t be co-directing this time but I’ve gotten a promise from him that he will still be part of (at least) the creation of the opening worship.

Many of you have heard me talk about what I understand myself (and other worship designers) to be… “a ritual artist.”  Designing conference worship is actually not local church worship–only bigger.  It is a ritual art form unto itself.  It takes a special sensibility to the dynamics of this kind of body together and a real desire to help facilitate deep experiences in a setting that offers all kinds of distractions from real listening to the Spirit.  Living in the midst of diversity (and celebrating that) takes on heightened form in conference worship.  We’ll get it right only some of the time.  It takes being on a spiritual path that holds encounter with God above all else… even and especially above the politics of who-gets-to-do-what and above the temptation to give over to what I call “exhibition” or “smorgasbord” worship in an well-intentioned but ill-fated effort to be all-inclusive.

At any rate, as I begin to prepare for GC 2012 (and start packing for the two annual conferences I am guesting at this year), I feel so humbled and ultimately excited (really!) about the opportunity to practice my ritual art, my ministry, with faithful people who are trying to make this a better world in partnership with the ever-present Holy Living God.  Stay tuned… I’ll keep you updated about plans over the next two years here in these Reflections.

Read the UMC.org press release:  McFee Named Worship and Music Director for 2012 General Conference

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