I’m at Lake Junaluska this week! Sometimes considered the “mecca” of United Methodism, Lake J is a very large conference and retreat center operated by the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church since 1913. Nestled in western North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains, it is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been (and that’s coming from a hard-core Pacific Northwest snob!).
The event I’m attending is the annual Music and Worship Arts Week, sponsored by The Fellowship of United
Lake Junaluska
Methodists in Music & Worship Arts (I happen to be the immediate past president of this national organization). There are several hundred people here for the week, rehearsing in choirs or instrumental ensembles, practicing liturgical dance and dramatic scripture readings, ringing handbells, and participating in a variety of seminars related to creative worship. One of the best things about the event is that it’s intergenerational, so the amazing worship services that begin each day include babbling infants and energetic middle schoolers, smiling great-grandmas and giggling teens, thoughtful young adults and even people my age. And there are always ways for everyone to engage in worship, no matter their age or learning style: we clap and sing and dance, we remember our baptism by splashing in water, we share bread and cup together, and yesterday (without any spoken instructions) we even created a symphonic rain storm using our bodies as percussion instruments. Truly this is the Body of Christ gathered together!
Rev. Laura Jaquith Bartlett at Lake Junaluska
My specific role at the Sellwood Faith Community has to do with our worship life. Sometimes I lead music, helping us sing together our faith and our questions and our commitment and our love. Sometimes I design services for the entire parish as opportunities for us to perhaps taste the joy of intergenerational worship. Sometimes I work with Eilidh to create rituals or movements or visual elements to engage us more deeply in our relationship with God and each other. Always our rituals and discussions and prayers and songs help shape us into the Body of Christ—all ages, all abilities, all gifts molded into one Body. Hallelujah!
Rev. Laura
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