Click to see:
- Worship in Cyber Church Book: 1, Book 2, or 3.
- Sermons: Live Life to the Full Series. Book 1.
- About the authors
Book 3 - Worship in Cyber Church: Buildings and Missions.
Authors: Phebe Mann and David Wong. Publication: 2024.
Contact: worshipincc
gmail [ dot] com
Limited time offer £10.00 (Usual price: £15.00 to cover cost). Postage and packaging: £4.00.
Please click here to find out how to purchase Book 3.
This book is written for all readers interested in some aspects of worship. It is fascinating to learn that many churches' strategies and progress in Cyber Church Worship bear a resemblance to what we suggested in Book 1 (“Challenges, Opportunities and Debates”), and in line with our guidance in Book 2 (“Blendedness, Inclusiveness and Discipleship”). They provide important addition to current conviction and practices on worship leading.
As we move on from worship during the COVID-19 pandemic, we “recognise we have been living through liminal times, when some of our previous assumptions about church have been significantly challenged. Worshipping online - together yet apart - has been welcomed, and become almost ’normal’ for some. Others have been desperate to meet together in person and return to familiar surroundings.
We no longer live in a culture where people will be attracted to join a faith community because it has the best building (though an unattractive building might put people off). This book continues a journey of exploration of what it means to ‘be’ church in the twenty-first century. It might involve using a recognisably ’churchy’ building, or perhaps no building at all. It might be online, or outside.” (Clare Downing, Former Moderator of General Assembly, United Reformed Church.)
With the reduction of barrier brought about by the pandemic, and the use of alternative methods of worship including online, we encouraged readers to consider the Hybrid model of worship. By giving balanced attention to congregation on-site and online, we seek to encourage relationship building whenever possible. God has worked in marvellous ways. Community Church worship models have made interesting impact where we see God is blessing his kingdom.
In doing this, we can get to the “place” where we still experience God despite the lockdown. There is continuing anxiety with variants of the virus affecting the health and well-being of many people. At this place, too, that we celebrate God’s grace to all of us in the way we actively include everyone. Whether young or old, socially deprived or rejected, lacking in sight, hearing, or mobility, athletic or scholar, on diet, medication or vegan options, blue or white collar, or meditative or excitable, God loves us and welcomes us into his family that we grow in him, which is the mission of discipleship. Our church buildings is a physical presence of who we are. Despite our absence for long periods, that building identifies presence of God and his people.
As we make more use of our church buildings, we ought to examine what is our mission. A survey was carried out in one of the London Boroughs in 2016: the top three types of community events hosted on church premises were meetings of other charities (80%), social events (73%), and musical concerts (67%). One conclusion, though, that could be drawn is that communities require suitable space to meet, and spaces provided by churches tend to be acceptable and match their requirements.
An important question to ask is what characteristics of our buildings, or specific halls and rooms, that attract the community? A further point is to what extent such community engagement (hiring) upholds ethical business practice (e.g., fair use of resources in meeting community needs) and to what extent is it mission? Or do they overlap, or one leading to the other? The growth of mission during the pandemic, given the ease of reach to former members now residing in other countries, setting up cyber church as an extension to on-site church is an institutional progress. We expect and prepare for unexpected visitors to our worship events, whether on-site or online. It would be unwise to disregard significance of our buildings in our communities.
Book 2 - Worship in Cyber Church: Blendedness, Inclusiveness and Discipleship.
Authors: Phebe Mann and David Wong. Publication: January 2021.
311p with many colour illustrations, training packs and resources.
Limited time offer £15.00 (Usual price: £20.00 to cover cost). Postage and packaging: £4.00.
Contact: worshipinccgmail [ dot] com
Please click here to find out how to purchase Book 2.
This book is written for all readers interested in some aspects of worship. It is fascinating to learn that many churches' strategies and progress in Cyber Church Worship bear a resemblance to what we suggested in Book 1 (“Challenges, Opportunities and Debates”) and mostly in line with our guidance in Book 2 (“Blendedness, Inclusiveness and Discipleship”).
Book 2 is useful for ministers, those who have led worship for some time and those considering it – we find varying levels of interest and experience in our church. The book is written assuming readers to have some experience of using the internet and spent “a little” time (e.g. once or twice) in real-time applications (e.g. Zoom, Facebook Live, Open Broadcast Software, Google Meet etc.). Instructions are provided on numerous pages for readers to plan and lead their first cyber worship. It also has materials for designing and managing an Online Team to support worship which is simultaneously in-person in a church building and online. This is Hybrid Worship Model in support of congregation on church premises and on the internet simultaneously and interacting as a church family. This model affirms the on-going diversity in our church family and fellowship. It encourages us to consider the “blending” of different new ideas about our relationship with one another in the way we worship our God.
Inclusiveness in our worship is an important aspect of church life. The words we say, prayers we pray and praises we sing need also to be relevant to everyone. Not only in the act of worship, being inclusive is a key part of our relationship with each other. Walking the way in faith is about Discipleship which is training; and discovering and getting on new roads for discipleship for ourselves and our congregation. This means Blendedness of ages, talents, cultures, gifts, roles and responsibilities of our congregation to worship our God who is origin of creation and creativity. God is also spirit and truth. In our worship, Hybrid Worship gives us many guidance and further ideas about our liturgy that becomes less and less tied up to particular places but much more about God.
As in the first book, Book 2 also has numerous activities for us to make best use of the materials for us individually and with others: the Explore questions encourage all of us to discover or learn about something that relates to worship, and evidence of Hybrid Worship in our church. The Investigate questions are about a topic or situation that needs some research relating to Hybrid Worship and blending of people, talents and gifts. The Debate questions are for topics where multiple perspectives are useful for us to evaluate and apply important concepts in our own context of caring for one another, fellowship, and worship.
You are also invited to take part in the Worship in Cyber Church Discussion Group for sharing of ideas about worship and discussion on this topic from your church, those raised in the books or some other topics that might be of interest to you. To do so, please click here.
Book 1 -Worship in Cyber Church: Challenges, Opportunities and Debates.
Authors: Phebe Mann and David Wong. Publication: June 2020.
291 pages with many illustrations, tables, and colour images.
Price: £15.00 to cover cost. Postage and packaging: £4.00.
Contact: worshipinccgmail [ dot] com
Please click here to find out how to purchase Book 1.
With the variety of worship activities taking place in our churches and congregations, it was a tremendous sadness when all faced a new kind of problem in the first quarter of 2020. The problem was a virus, commonly referred to as Covid-19. The only practical preventive measure recommended by scientists was for people to cease meeting with anyone outside of their family, leading to closure of churches and activities.
“Hence, the timely production of this book by Dr Phebe Mann, Dr David Wong and friends, who have long appreciated the value and potential of online technology for worship, fellowship and mission. In the chapters which follow, the authors and contributors offer insight, guidance and pointers on what online technology is doing to our experience of worship and fellowship, what this means for our faith and how we can engage with this more meaningfully.” Simon Peters (Walking the Way Project Manager, URC).
The book caters for all readers interested in some aspects of worship in the life of their churches. It begins with an outline of worship in the early church and how our traditions of worship today have in-depth meanings to each of us. With social-distancing and lockdown rules, churches find renewed meanings on how to love despite the distance. Churches also use existing strategies to maintain care and fellowship with their congregation. This provides a refreshed view of how churches grew during this period, with many accounts of challenges but also positive change. This includes maintaining discipleship courses and prayer chains, methods for singing and playing music, strategies for effective communication in preaching, and a glimpse of what new forms of “borderless” cyber church might be.
Two chapters are devoted to developing suitable methods for “worship in real-time” and “worship using videos”. Many of us have been very patient to get these to work! Pre-recorded, or real-time recording, of services act as witness accounts to our faith.
Sermons
Intimate Conversations with God
Words of encouragement for all to grow in faith
No. 1. Live your Life to the Full series
Edited by David Wong
God desires to know us individually, our habits, strengths, weaknesses, choices, and preferences. The title of this book, Intimate Conversations with God, reflects how God in his love and faithfulness reaches out to us, and how we in turn respond to him to live a fulfilled life as individuals and community. In continuous two-way conversations with God, the more we reveal our interests, ambitions, troubles, anxieties and aspirations to him, the more we know and experience God who wants the best for us.
The chapters began as sermons in different congregations. While they spoke to specific situation and needs in each church, they will also speak to other individuals and groups. I suggest you pick a topic that interests you first, rather than reading the chapters in sequence.
The book is suitable for use on your own or in groups. Suggestions for making notes, discussion, reflection are provided for your use.
Because you are reading rather than listening to a sermon, you have more time to reflect on what you read. Without rushing, read the chapters and follow where it says to reflect what you learn. There are boxes for you to write down notes to help you remember what you learn, so that you can come back to remind yourself.
About the authors
Phebe is an Assembly Accredited United Reformed Church lay preacher. She is a Cambridge graduate in Computer Science and her PhD was on online collaborative design.
David’s “day job” is IT management at a university in London. He holds a PhD in music and passed a Bachelor of Divinity in 2019 with a dissertation on “Singing in the Early Church”.