A recent gathering in Estes Park brought together participants from the 1001 New Worshiping Communities movement to explore new forms of worship and reimagine the future of the church. The event, themed “(re)considering Jesus,” invited attendees to deepen their understanding of faith in community and develop rituals relevant to the next generation.
The gathering featured diverse worship experiences designed to foster imagination and participation. Rev. Katrina Zezza, serving as “vibe coordinator” for the sanctuary space, transformed the chapel into a welcoming and interactive environment. She decorated the area with serapes on pews and cloud-shaped stickers, encouraging participants to write on butcher paper about their community-building efforts. Zezza also distributed cloud-shaped “thought bubble” stickers to spark conversations among attendees, embodying the invitation to “dream about the future of the church.”
Tuesday morning worship introduced a communal art practice, facilitated by Rev. Ruth Lin Nakai, leader of The Weaving Table in Chicago. Titled “An Invitation to a Creative Faith,” this session encouraged participants to use watercolor pencils and paint, adding layers to one another’s work. Nakai approached the gathering's theme through creativity, grace, and freedom, referencing the First Nations translation of Jesus's name as “Creator Sets Free.” She described creativity as an inherent force within each individual, inviting the community to “dance with zeal,” sing, paint, and create as expressions of faith, framing the exercise as a model for experimental and shared creation.
Tuesday evening's worship further experimented with scripture, with Rev. Raafat Girgus inviting attendees to consider Jesus as a unifying presence. Girgus, originally from Egypt and experienced in seminary instruction and multicultural ministries, currently serves as founding pastor of All People Intercultural Community near Denver. The worship team incorporated song, personal storytelling, and participatory movement. Following a song about inclusivity, participants shared their initial encounters with Jesus and Christian community, utilizing a liturgical model called (re)Play, developed by Rev. Laura Beth Buchleiter. The Word was explored not through traditional preaching but through group improvisational games. Girgus guided participants in “Yes…and” conversational techniques and group movement, emphasizing listening and building on one another's ideas, contrasting it with “Yes, but” as a potential indicator of “institutional decline.” He emphasized distinguishing discernment from defensiveness, encouraging participants to ask questions such as, “Yes, and what if we try it?” and “Yes, and who else should be at the table?”
Wednesday morning featured a contemplative service that included visio divina, a form of meditative viewing. Chris Dingman prepared a slideshow titled “Transformations for the Weary” for this session, accompanied by improvisational atmospheric jazz performed by Ike Sturm and Jesse Lewis. Sturm, who founded the New York City-based new worshiping community Finding Our Way Home, has also composed a significant choral and orchestral piece.
Wednesday evening worship drew inspiration from Jeremiah 29’s letter to the exiles, challenging worshipers to reconsider their circumstances and “try to find what God is doing in and through you” amidst uncertainty. The call to build, plant, and seek the city's welfare resonated with new worshiping communities, especially those operating outside traditional institutional structures or serving immigrant populations. Buchleiter suggested cultivating faith and community in present circumstances, rather than waiting for ideal conditions. Rachel Doll performed a dramatic staged lectio divina of the passage three times, while Buchleiter guided listeners to reflect on it through the lenses of body and time, soul and mystery, and evolving wholeness. Buchleiter offered the mantra, “I am whole and seeking wholeness.” The proclamation of the Word also included a dramatic performance written and enacted by Buchleiter and the worship band, with Buchleiter portraying an immigrant baker in Babylon, Sturm on bass as the voice of Daniel, and Lewis on electric guitar representing the collective voice of Babylon.
The gathering concluded with a unique communion invitation from Rev. Michael Gehrling, manager of 1001 New Worshiping Communities. Gehrling acknowledged the complexities of the communion table, noting its past use “to exclude and hold power over others.” He characterized the gathering's communion table as distinct, emphasizing its singular nature for the participants present. Attendees were invited to receive communion by intinction at the front, followed by prayer and anointing, preparing them to carry their experiences of belonging, creative reflections, and inspiration for new rituals back to their respective communities and contexts.
