As part of our Planning Worship for Advent & Christmas Zoom brainstorm meeting, Pastor Sarah Stadler of Grace Lutheran, Phoenix, provided some ideas for meaningful worship in these unique times using the five senses.

In this season of Covid-19, it is easy to see what we don’t have or what we can’t do. My questions are: What can we do? What resources are at our disposal to make worship meaningful? How might we engage the senses? 

Hear 

• Instruments: rhythm, string, piano, organ, socially distant wind 

• One singer socially distanced from the congregation 

• Elements that we don’t usually use in worship, like poetry 

• Recorded music with singing 

Touch 

• Anything that can be picked up by people individually, such as Holy Communion individual element sets, candles, bulletins, shells (if you are remembering baptism), small devotionals, stones, small strips of paper with a blessing that they share verbally with a family member or neighbor at the end of worship, small strips of paper with a word or phrase to ponder (as Mary did at the birth of Jesus) 

• Provide cleaned rhythm instruments for appropriate songs. One person may sing, and everyone else can play a tambourine, maracas, shaker, or other percussive instrument. 

• Clapping, stomping, snapping—to music or in response to a reading such as the gospel (if you want to eliminate choral speech and singing, for instance, you could invite everyone to offer snaps before and after the gospel) 

Smell 

• If it does not bother those with allergies, you can burn incense. 

See 

• Poinsettias and/or other flowers 

• Festive arrangements, including Christmas trees (even set up outside), lights, garland, Crismons 

• Invite children to make Christmas-themed art at home and bring it in to decorate the worship space 

• Liturgical dance 

• Advent wreath 

• Bring (professional) art into the worship space or explore your stained glass windows 

• Include art having to do with the stories in your bulletin; make sure it is legal from a copyright perspective to do so before printing. 

• Consider the symbols around your worship space and how you can use them to tell the stories and messages of Advent and Christmas 

Taste 

• Holy Communion 

Events 

In addition to the stimulation of senses, we can include events in worship or places where people can engage their bodies.

Examples of Events: processions and recessions (perhaps with candles), acting out biblical stories in a socially distanced fashion, inviting people to raise their hands and share prayer concerns, gathering prayer concerns through the church’s facebook page in real time, gathering prayer concerns by providing clean markers and newsprint—give people time to write on it while organ/piano music is shared, inviting people to come up to the altar to put their offering in a basket 

You can also utilize Facebook by posting a question, maybe related to the sermon, and have people respond before worship or while they are sitting in worship.