How to Prepare for Worship

Back when “preparing for worship” meant “herding the family out the door by 9:45” it was tricky to get ready to worship. Now that we are isolated from one another and in our homes, it can be even more difficult! Here are a few tips from Fr. Eirik, Karen Cassiday and John Traylor on setting aside time and space on Sunday morning–so church doesn’t just feel like another installment of your favorite Netflix series.

Fr. Eirik Olsen

• 9:00 am – Prepare your space for worship.
• Watch on the largest screen you have available. If you’ve got good speakers, plug into those.
• 9:30 am – Sign on to the Zoom call and begin to pray for the service. (We’ll provide prompts on the screen.)
• Pray Psalm 91.
• Turn on your video! It helps me to speak to you directly when I can see your face.
• During the service, notice who’s missing and reach out to them.

Dr. Karen Cassiday

• Participate in all of the movements that are the normal part of the service, such as kneeling, crossing yourself, standing, singing.
• Set the stage for worship in your home. Get a candle ready to light at the beginning and to snuff out at the end, signifying the presence of God in the worship space. Appoint a family acolyte to light the candle.
• Agree not to do chores and not to do distracting things just like you would in church.
• Come as you are is fine, but if you normally dress up for church, then do the same for Zoom church.

John Traylor

• Put away anything in the space that you’ll be worshiping in that will remind you of things you still need to do, such as unfolded laundry, and dirty glasses.
• If you have it, use some holy water just as you would at the entrance of the seating at Kemper.
• Have a cross or icon you can bow to when you enter the space.
• Do your RC exercises! Be ready to engage relationally with your family, Light of Christ and God. (Sharing gratitudes will also help.)
• Have the volume of the Zoom call loud enough that you can sing with your full voice.

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking about how to make our Sunday service special. How do you prepare for worship on Sundays?