Roll Down, Justice! A Worship Design Studio Series for Lent

Overview of the worship scripts from Dr. Marcia McFee

This series is designed to give you everything you need–all words, hymn and song suggestions, choral suggestions, leader introductions, etc. But also please know that if

you want to adapt to fit your current order of worship, you can easily lift any of the suggested material and place it in a more familiar structure.

You may especially want to do this with a more contemporary worship service style. All of Mark Miller’s feature songs sound great done by a contemporary band (in fact, Mark has a band and we have included the lead sheets with chords in the downloads) as well

as by a choir or ensemble or by the congregation aided by a song leader (making his music wonderfully usable across styles). For contemporary or alternative worship, you may adjust our order of worship or just pull out elements that will fit your existing order.

This overview will give you a sense of what’s included each week at-a-glance.

The order of worship is the same each Sunday of Lent (except for Lent 5, where we give you a full communion prayer script). This goes with the concept I teach that

repetition is a good thing and a solid foundation is necessary in order to be creative within it. Doing series can give you the opportunity to try on a slightly different order of worship for a season but keep it the same during that season, therefore offering some

sense of familiarity and a rhythm.

Friends, thank you for your passion for God’s people. It is an honor to be

walking alongside you for this season of Lent. This photo is of me

working near the Truckee River where I live. These waters inspire me as a sign of God’s love poured out for all. I pray fervently that your congregation grows in its love for

justice and for all people through this worship encounter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need

any guidance. And especially let me know how you experienced this

material!

Peace & Passion,Dr. Marcia McFee (marcia@marciamfee.com)

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WE GATHER

Music for Gathering Commonly known as the “Prelude,” this part is at the discretion of your musicians.

Welcome/Announcements Even if you don’t usually do announcements at the beginning, I want to encourage you

to try it this season so nothing interrupts the flow of the journey.

Threshold Moment - “The Call” A “threshold moment” is a concept I teach that introduces people to the journey and the theme of the day at the beginning of the service so that everything is seen through that

lens. For this series, we are using the title song from Mark’s “Roll Down Justice” songbook and Mark has done a special arrangement that fits exactly with the flow of music, synopsis and prayer. See more about doing this song with the liturgy in the

Music Notes file that you downloaded. The musical score created just for this liturgy was also a file you downloaded called

“Roll Down Justice Excerpt for The Call Liturgy”

Opening Hymn/Song We have chosen familiar hymns and songs (depending on your style of worship) as

suggestions. But you can also feel free to adapt, using something more beloved by your congregation if you choose..

The Peace We have scripted a traditional “Peace be with you” that remains the same each week. To tell each other that we yearn for peace goes right with our theme! Whenever I am

designing a series, I weigh how much new material there is and try to find some elements that can be really familiar and consistent. This is one of those elements for

this series. However, if this way of doing the peace is not familiar for your folks, feel free to adapt.

WE PROCLAIM

Come as a Child Worship Design Studio Guest Expert, Mark Burrows, has done it again! The full scripts for every week are include in your downloads in a file named “Children’s Resources.”

Mark has created very concrete ways at getting to the core messages of this series and

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incorporating aspects of our feature songs. Mark’s introduction to the scripts in that document are so helpful as we prepare to engage children with issues of justice.

We suggest that you include a note in your Worship Guide that says something like this: Even though we invite the children forward for this time, we want to encourage all worshipers to “come as a child’ in spirit to this time in the service. Children often

possess the curiosity about the world and an openness to all people that we as adults struggle to embrace. So let us come as a child to learn.

A Word for Humanity This section consists of a sequence of a woven feature song with scripture, poetry and sermon. Mark Miller’s songs were the starting point for this series in the design so we

want to encourage you to see all the resources in this section as fodder for exegesis for the sermon. Likewise, our featured poet, Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling, brings

powerful words in the prayer poem and this could provide inspiration for preachers as well. Finally, our Sermon Fodder document contains information about particular parts

of the baptismal rituals of early Christians that reflect the theme for the day and incorporating this into sermons will inspire people as they prepare to remember their

baptisms in a deeply meaningful Holy Week experience.

WE RESPOND

Petitions Praying happens in many ways. We have added a prayer posture to this series as

worshippers are invited to make a fist and then slowly open their hands with a meditative way of experiencing a “letting go” or “giving up” connected to the message of

the day. The prayers are written out with opportunity to add the names of people and places particular to your context and what is happening in the world. It is all woven with

a beautiful contemplative “thread” song (repeated each week) that asks God to “let justice roll down like water.” It is a simple song and will become a favorite (and probably

“ear worm”) of the congregation. This song is also interwoven into the communion setting for Week 5. Please note: if you practice weekly communion, I encourage you to

move from petitions into communion utilizing this song.

Offering, Doxology, Prayer of Dedicationf The visual metaphor, or what we call in the Worship Design Studio, “anchor image,” for this series is a waterfall. In the Visual and Media Resource Ideas document download,

you will see more about how this will be constructed from strips of fabric, adding on each week. At this point in the service, people will write a word or phrase on a strip of cloth at their seats as they listen to the Offertory. What they write is a response to the

message of the day and differs each week.

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The Doxology words were written to fit this theme but are to a familiar doxology tune. The Prayer of Dedication is a simple call and response that changes slightly depending

on the message of the day but the people have the same response throughout the series–a simple “we give thanks.”

Closing Hymn/Song Again, it is important to have familiar elements and so the closing music suggestions from us are hopefully familiar enough to your congregation to use but if not, just use it

as inspiration to find something more familiar to your community.

Benediction/Benediction Song This consists of a dismissal urging folks to remember to live out the message in all of their lives and then people are invited to bless one another with a short unison spoken blessing. This is followed by a short refrain that functions as a Benediction Song, “May

Peace Flow Through Me.”

Postlude Music as people leave–offers energy for moving into the world to make it a better place

(I’m not a fan of making the congregation sit and listen to a postlude for this series especially. They have been dismissed, blessed and inspired to go forth!)

NON-SUNDAY SERVICES

Ash Wednesday This series is one that your congregation will want to experience from front to back, from top to bottom, from beginning to end. The imagery and content are rich and will offer a true journey of spiritual renewal. The visual “waterfall” begins this night as people tie on

blue fabric strips to begin the work of letting justice roll down like water.

Holy Week Pilgrimage I am so excited for your community to experience this special journey. I have created an

experience of all three days of the “Triduum” (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday) in one pilgrimage. It moves from fellowship hall to outside (weather

permitting) to the sanctuary and incorporates all ages in leadership. My hope is that this format will allow greater participation and deeper encounter with the story. This will be

the culmination of the focus on baptism with a very special remembrance.

Easter I’ve incorporated some of the things repeated each week of Lent but with a joyful twist. Your Easter visitors will experience amazing spirit, singing and a community that has been on a wonderful journey together. Who wouldn’t want to come back for more?!

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