Members are strong advocates in the anti-trafficking movement, and the church hosts a wide variety of support groups, from Narcotics Anonymous to prisoner rehabilitation programs. Though our hosts may not be familiar with the term tikkun olam (repairing the world), the church is, in fact, doing this important and holy work. More important, we learned we have much in common, including a commitment to social justice. Hunter acknowledged that Northland is being reformed as the church expands, and that its views have evolved many times since he joined in 1985. Although no female pastors or elders (the equivalent of board members) currently serve the church, Dr. The second major difference is the role of women in the church. With a sanctuary that can seat 3,300 people, Northland Church sees an exponentially larger congregation each week than even our largest synagogues. We noticed some salient differences between the Northland Church and our Reform congregations during our visit. Hunter also talked about art as an extension of worship, inspiring many of us to find ways to incorporate music, dance, and art into services in innovative ways. Hunter builds partnerships among communities with shared values, as he demonstrated by helping coordinate our visit. Over lunch, church members and key stakeholders shared their Northland experiences with us, including their perceptions about their strongest callings: Chairman Owusu Amaning ponders the spirituality behind prayer, Lead Pastor Vernon Rainwater advocates against human trafficking, and Senior Pastor Dr. On a related note, none of us was surprised to learn that in 2008, Ministry Today magazine named Northland Church one of the seven most innovative church buildings in America. Every week, the team produces five identical services – one on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday, a schedule that some of the clergy in our group likened to the marathon of High Holiday services – every single week! Having now been backstage, many in our delegation were even more impressed by the technology in the service, and pondered ways in which it could be adapted for our own congregations. It was impossible not to get caught up in the sheer joy of the worship we were witnessing, especially when the 3,300-person congregation got out of their seats to join together in intimate prayer.Īfter the service, a guided backstage tour revealed a team of more than a dozen people who organize cameras, lights, and audio/visual equipment, including dozens of microphones and speakers around the sanctuary, allowing acoustic engineers to create artificial echoes that can be modified to set the mood for each song. Behind them, a 100-foot-wide screen displayed song lyrics, biblical texts, and video of Northland Church sites and worshippers around the world. service got underway, we took it in from the pews, fascinated by the spectacle and the enormity of it all! Accompanied by a 12-piece house band, more than 80 volunteers sang and danced on stage. That’s because an interactive webcast adapts prayer to the congregants, enabling participants on five continents to pray and give – wherever they are – as members of Northland Church. Our visit began with a bit of background about the church: Since 1985, Northland Church has grown from 200 members to more than 20,000, including many worshipers who have never visited the main building. We hoped to learn about similarities and differences between the church and our own communities, as well as gain insights to elevate local programs in our home congregations. On a recent Sunday morning, a group of Reform rabbis, cantors, educators, and lay leaders visited Northland, A Church Distributed in Orlando, FL, which consistently appears on Outreach magazine’s list of the 100 largest and fastest growing U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |