WELCOME The Ascension Sanctuary Annual Report
Worship Committee Report
Committee Members:
Janet Constantine Seminarian in Residence
Joyce Cowles Lay Member
Celeste Domsch Chair
Anna Simmons Choir Director
Lisa Yanez Organist
For our worship at Ascension, we alternate between using the Lutheran Book of Worship (the green book) and With One Voice (the blue book). The primary purpose of the Worship Committee (WC) as a group is to plan worship, including selecting hymns and liturgies, generally from these two resources. The WC met four times this fall to conduct its planning. This year, the WC decided to introduce a new liturgy from With One Voice, Setting V for Holy Communion. Reactions to the new liturgy were decidedly mixed. Some people found the new liturgy very uplifting and sing-able, while others did not like it at all.
The WC Chair also schedules the worship assistants. This was done by Celeste on a month-to-month basis. We currently have a roster of 6 acolytes, 21 readers, 24 greeters, 8 lay assistants, and 5 nursery attendants. There are 16 ushers, divided into four teams, each with a head usher. The 5 families who rotate nursery duty would welcome more numbers to their list!
WC conducted two special events this fall. The first was a Worship Workshop and luncheon in September, which was well-attended. Janet Constantine gave a presentation on the key parts common to all our liturgies, and we had break-out sessions for the various worship assistants. The second was a Blessing of the Animals Service in October in our prayer garden. We blessed about 14 different animals, and all participants reported that it was a meaningful worship experience. Many specifically asked that we repeat it next October.
In addition, Celeste and Janet made a photo inventory of our banners. We have 25 banners, including a beautiful new pair of wedding banners. We generally use about 14 of the 25 banners, as the others are lacking rods. We may need to consider re-hanging a number of the banners on the side walls of the sanctuary, as some of them are getting wrinkled in our banner closet.
Future work for the WC involves debuting a children’s liturgy written by Janet, evaluating results of the congregational survey as they relate to worship practices, developing a subcommittee to be responsible for holiday decorations, and considering (along with the council) the prospect of a paid nursery attendant.
Respectfully Submitted,
Celeste Domsch