Worship Resources for Disaster Recovery, part I

Part I: Worship as Disaster Preparation

Reverend Libby Janes

Director, SPDR

You might be surprised to hear that the word around the Synod of the Sun right now is that worship is a great way to prepare for and respond to disasters.

That’s right. What we do on Sunday mornings is really important for how our churches prepare for possible disasters, and how we can respond as a community once disasters happen. Let’s begin with reflecting on worship as an important feature of disaster preparation.

Part I: Worship as Disaster Preparation

Austin Seminary recently hosted a Cultivating Ideas webinar titled “What’s in Your Go-Bag? Preparing Ahead of Time for Worship and Preaching in Times of Crisis,” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgPScvwaF5Y), featuring Homiletics and Liturgical Studies professor, Rev. Dr. Jennifer Lord, Professor of Homiletics and Liturgical Studies, with special guest, Reverend Hierald Osorto, an ELCA pastor and Austin Seminary alumnus serving St. Paul Lutheran Church/Iglesia Lutheran in Minneapolis, MN.

Rev. Dr. Lord framed the discussion with the question, “How can pastoral leaders think about what you already have in place for other worship services – can that be a container for what is happening [during a crisis]? Can you begin to incorporate practices that can be helpful to have in place, ahead of time?”

Rev. Dr. Lord calls this reflection of current worship patterns, and gradual incorporation of capacity building strategies – a “go-bag”, like the emergency documents and survival items people would review and keep at hand in traditional disaster preparedness.

Interestingly, a worship “go-bag” isn’t about buying a whole new set of gear! It’s about reviewing what you already have, focusing on the essential things, and fine tuning a bit to expand your congregation’s capacity to spiritually weather oncoming disasters.   

After the webinar, Rev. Dr. Lord further explained that foundational worship theology is the go-bag “container.” She told me, “In worship we are joining something already in progress, which is Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. The narrative has a beginning and an end; it begins with creation and the end is new creation! And there’s death, and there’s resurrection, and that holds all of our laments, and our beseechings, and our longings, and our griefs, and everything that is promised and hopeful and joyful… Christ holds all things.”

In this way, amidst chaos of disasters or other complicated experiences of life, worship foundational theology is the “container” that holds us and can form the “go-bag” that goes with us in a disaster. She said, “We live in a time that is fragmented and episodic, and it is our job on Sundays to keep reiterating and rehearsing our very large truths.”

However, preparedness in worship with a container of grounding essential theology, doesn’t mean the ground won’t still shake when a disaster happens. The “go-bag” is what you take with you as you adapt to a rapidly changing disaster situation. A sudden crisis can shake things up. Sermons are often rewritten late on Saturday nights when disasters disrupt plans. Adapting is part of ministering to the moment and sensing the needs of the community.

In the webinar, Rev. Osorto shared his ministry experience adapting to a disaster in his community. Rev. Osorto shared ways his culturally and linguistically diverse congregation braced against the Minneapolis ICE raids. They implemented heightened security measures and joined in solidarity with vulnerable populations among their interfaith community.

Rev. Osorto reflected on how his congregation collected their resolve to continue worship as usual. “People said it’s worth the risk of worshipping together, and worshipping together is our way of resisting. And that resistance was enough to then hold us when we gathered on Sunday morning… they’re longing for communion every Sunday.”

Interestingly, during this disaster period, Rev. Osorto kept his worship liturgy largely unchanged. He said, “It’s important in my mind to remain faithful to the fullness of the ordo, and to which it already encompasses both death and life, suffering and lament, as well as the joy and hope in the promise of resurrection. And so I’ve seen that lived out in this community in really powerful ways.”

Despite the public aspects of the disaster in Minneapolis and vast media coverage, Rev. Osorto reflected, “I’m not preaching to the media, I’m just preaching to the community that I’ve been called by God to serve. And that does frame how I approach Sunday.”

In one special interfaith worship memory, Rev. Osorto recalled joining with a Jewish synagogue for a combined Candelaria-Shabbat prayer service.

“They let the Hebrew chants of the Shabbat service just wash over them, and when it was time to sing ‘Cambia Todo Cambia’, [“Changes, Everything Changes,”] which is our anchor song, they joined the congregation with strong voices. …It’s about change… it’s not a song of arrival, but a song of becoming, reminding us that liberation unfolds in motion and that we are shaped by the journey itself. And so that was really beautiful to start witnessing that change, that was asking something profound of us; to stay awake, to stay connected, and to keep singing together as the world was transforming around us… We have within us a spark that will transform this spoken moment. And sharing that spark with each other, the strength of that light grows.”

What I find fascinating is that even though a familiar song may be sung, the same worship practices can feel different during a disaster. The emotional gravity may deepen the impact of a lyric, or the resonance of a room of heartfelt voices. Even in an old song, the movement of the Holy Spirit through worship can hold the longings or griefs of your community in a way that truly moves your soul.

Spirit filled embodied worship experiences like those Rev. Osorto reflected on during the webinar – like the heartfelt singing of a Spanish song in the synagogue, or the solidarity of church volunteers standing in the church alongside Pastor Osorto, or the echo of resistance singing outside their door amidst the occasional whistles and sirens that would otherwise make them stiffen with fear, or the warm illumination of candles being tipped towards others in vigil -- these are extraordinary experiences.

One of the key items of Rev. Osorto’s “go-bag” is courage. Courage is critical for navigating disasters, in the many expressions it will take. Rev. Osorto shared the mantra that helped their community’s spirit persevere through the disaster:

“The Sunday after Renee Macklin Good was killed, we did do one thing that may not have been part of a Sunday gathering. And the reason I did that was I knew that our community was holding a lot in those short days, that had started coming up visibly… seeing thousands of officers; they saw a life murdered, taken. And I wanted us to feel anchored in our neighborhood. I wanted us to remember that we have neighbors here that have been here for quite some time, that are committed to making sure that we as a community are safe. And so I invited a friend, Jose Luis, who just offered a few words. And the words that he offered, which is the mantra that has stayed with me, is‘I am brave because we are brave.’ I noticed that having someone from outside of the daily Sunday worship community, come in and remind us of that bravery, was what was needed. And it didn’t shift how we moved through the service on that Sunday, but it became our mantra. And it became our mantra because for me personally, it helped me pay attention to the ways that we as a community incited hope in each other, and how our hope revealed our heart. And so I am brave because we are brave.”

How have you found foundational theology to be grounding to you in disaster preparation? How have you seen your congregation be brave amidst uncertainty and times of disaster?

Email me at libby.janes@synodsun.org to share your thoughts and reflections!

How can worship support long-term disaster recovery needs?

Check out Part Two of the SPDR Web Blog!