[Worship] PENTECOST WORSHIP RESOURCES--Part 3

["Charity" <choirangel@excite.com>]

SHALOM ALEICHEM, O YE LISTFOLK!

Now that we have a fuller grasp of the Festival of Shavuot, we can craft a celebration that combines the biblical themes of Old and New Testaments--a worship service that reflects our Jewish roots and biblical heritage, our comprehension of the gospel of Jesus Christ and our joy in, and appreciation of, the work of the Holy Spirit in human life and the great harvest of souls in the Kingdom of God. 

We music and worship leaders have a myriad of resources to help us, and there's more available in 2003 than ever before! When I began to design Pentecost celebrations, I discovered that there was a long and colorful history of this holiday. I then set out to combine Old and New Testament scriptures and themes, but also integrate both Jewish and Christian worship traditions into the service.  This is a "quickie overview" of some of them:


FESTIVAL CUSTOMS FOR SHAVUOT/PENTECOST/WHITSUNTIDE

1. Decorating synagogues, churches and homes with greenery, flowers and roses--since roses were and are abundant during the late spring, Jews and Christians often used these as gifts during Shavout-Pentecost. Italian churches and cathedrals would drop rose petals on the worshippers from the "Holy Ghost hole", a wooden disc that had a dove and flames painted on a blue background. This disk was swung in ever increasing arcs as it was lowered on a rope and pulley mechanism--the fluttering petals represented the "tongues of fire." 
Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine rite churches use green as the liturgical color, and worshippers often carry birch branches and other greenery with them to church on Pentecost. Many churches  and synagogues today use floral wreaths, garlands and swags to decorate the doors and sanctuary/nave. We use red and white flowers and ribbons/streamers, and I have also seen all the flame colors--red,orange, yellow--used in combination with white to create a striking visual Penteost theme. This makes the church a festive place to be! 2. Using brass music to represent the rushing mighty wind--this was customary in French churches and cathedrals. The blast of sound was also produced by choristers banging prayerbooks against the pews of the choirstall.

MUSIC TIP#1--
I have often used good old Giovanni Gabrieli's "Canzon per sonare #2" as a great festival prelude. The bass line MUST be turned up, of course, so that we can hear those mighty tubas getting a good workout! If you have access to a high school or college brass choir, this would be a great piece to hear on Pentecost morning. I have also used the "Jubilate Domino" by Scheidt as a prelude. Nothing like that High Renaissance/early Baroque BRASS BLAST to stir the blood on Pentecost...!:-) This also gives your organist a break and
permits her/him to worship, too! If your church has brass players, this is a good time to incorporate their talents.

OTHER WORSHIP TIP--We now also use a sound effect tape of a  gale force wind that my brother Patrick recorded for me years ago. This is played during the Acts 2 reading--we blast it right after "that filled all the house where they were sitting",then turn it down a few notches while the text is being read. We also have folks stand up out in the congregation who begin to read from anywhere in the chapter in a foreign language Bible. The tape gets "turned up" then down throughout the passage, and continues to verse 38. When played through a church sound system, the gale force wind sound really does "fill all the house."

3. Spreading grass on the floor of the synagogue--evoking the memory of standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah. The entire scroll of Ruth was also read, since it is in the barley harvest.

4. Folk dancing--common throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Europe, as a celebration of the descent of both Shavuot as a spring harvest, and Pentecost-Whitsuntide as the Festival of the Holy Ghost. English Morris dancing also occured during Whitsun, and the Whitsun Ales--folk festivals, were a common feature of Pentecost celebration. Dancing was done in some churches by both choristers and laity--as well as after the worship services. Spring folk celebrations were common throughout Europe as an essential part of Whitsuntide, and are slowly "coming back" into use. Many churches and Messianic synagogues now incorporate Israeli folk dancing as a part of worship--you can get many lively worship songs by going to this website:

 http://www.messianicdirectory.com  I call this the "Mother of All Messianic Websites"! Here you will find links to Messianic music distributers and suppliers, stores, music ministries,etc.

DANCE TIP#1

Movement and dance is a great way to celebrate Pentecost. You  can choreograph a simple movement routine to any good theme song. I have used the following songs for movement routines:<

Send Your Rain--by Donnie Harper and the New Jersey Mass Choir
Not By Might--as sung by DeGarmos and Key on the old album "The Overcomers."

Another great song for movement is "It's Raining" by Kirk Franklin.

I use red, orange and yellow crepe paper streamers attached to sticks. If you split the streamers vertically after they are mounted to the sticks, you will get a great "split triple" effect, that makes these appear as "tongues of fire." 

5. Processionals--commonly used in both synagogues churches and cathedrals. I have always incorporated a "Processional of the Firstfruits", which uses all choirs, and any and all children, youth and adults who wish to participate. I also encourage any and all baptismal candidates, confirmands, new members who will be received into fellowship and Sunday School folks to join in. We carry wave loaves--usually challah, the braided Jewish sabbath bread, and French and Italian breads--olives, dates, figs, honey, grapes, strawberries  and sheaves of wheat and barley  that are tied with red and white flowers and bound together with red and white ribbon. 

As in ancient biblical times, we carry the produce in decorated baskets--honey stays in the jar, but is placed in the basket. The fruit baskets are lifted up and the wave loaves are also lifted up and waved before the Lord, when the participants come up to either a table or the communion table/altar in the chancel. In some churches, we've placed everything on the altar steps, if there was no central table available. You can also uset those typical fellowship hall tables--cover this with a red and white cloth or plain white or red, and the firstfruits remain on the table throughout the service, to be devoured fter the worship and during those famous "coffee hours" we love in our churches...:-)

These represent the "seven species" of Israel, as noted in Deuteronomy 8:8. In addition, we try to include the "firstfruits" of wherever we are--in Canada, we had jars and bottles of maple syrup carried in procession, since this is the "firstfruit" of the Canadian harvest. In Cleethorpes, England, fishing had once been the staple industry of that community, so one of the members of St.Aidan's Church arranged a beautiful platter of fresh fish and shellfish, interspersed with greenery! You can include the "firstfruits" of whatever produce is grown in your area--so you good Southern choral directors might have peaches, pecans and other goodies brought in baskets as your "firstfruits." Midwest and Heartland folks can also bring early wheat/barley sheaves, and Californians may wish to include apricots, strawberries and other produce.

PROCESSIONAL TIP #1

You can include little kids and tiny tots in your procession if you give them silk flowers to carry, and red streamers  mounted on plastic straws that they can wave happily as they march in. You can easily make these straw streamers for little hands, and they can take them home as Pentecost souvenirs.

PROCESSIONAL TIP #2

The processional can occur either where your choirs normally process, or at a later point in the service. People can also carry banners, crosses, torches and crepe streamers mounted on dowel sticks, flags of the nations--symbolizing the nations that "went up to Jerusalem," and the nations also receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ. The streamer-sticks can be used for any movement and dance routines performed during the worship. 

We also hand out streamers to the congregation to wave during the Acts 2 reading, and during any music/dancing being done in the service. "Light blue" is used any time the words "wind", "breath" or "spirit" is used--red is waved for "fire", "smoke" or "tongues of fire" is spoken. This was used in Connecticut at a Congregational church--the pastor had an "interactive sermon" that involved congregational participation to "tell the story."

PROCESSIONAL MUSIC TIP

We've used "Ancient of Days" as sung by Ron Kenoly as a great song to process on. You can use any song or hymn your church enjoys, such as:

Lift High the Cross
Come, Thou Almighty King
Hail! Thee Festival Day (Salva festa dies--the Pentecost words)
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
Come, Christians Join to Sing
Revive Us Again--there's a great old black Gsopel version of  this sung by James Cleveland, and also by Shirley Caesar. The black gospel version can also be choregraphed. Another good processional piece is "Processional of the Levites" by Richard Smallwood, as recorded on his "Persuaded--Live in DC" album.

If your church is blessed to have a pipe organ, there are any number of good Baroque voluntaries and hymn settings that are good processional pieces. Handbells and other instruments can also be used in the processional--Pentecost is an excellent time to incorporate all the music resources of the church, and the more congregational participation you have, the more the festival is "owned" by<br>the local assembly.

Part 4 will contain more service music suggestions and additional music resources.

Charity Dell
JubilateDeo@ureach.com
"Jubilate Deo omnis terra!" (Psalm 100:1)

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