A 3-day Immersive Retreat to Design Worship for the 2021-2022 Liturgical Year
"Creating Worship for this Metamorphosis Moment"
The Worship Design Studio Planning Retreat
Denver, Colorado, September 19-22, 2021
IT HAS BEEN "A YEAR!"
That might be an understatement. "Never in a million years" did we anticipate the kinds of pivots and pirouettes that our worship has taken in this last 15+ months. We learned a lot and now as we begin to emerge, it feels like...
... a "metamorphosis moment" in the life of the church.
Worship can be a catalyst to help us reimagine the call
to personal transformation,
to be a more vital presence in our neighborhoods,
to make the world a better place.
I am thrilled to announce that we will be coming together physically AND virtually to discern, brainstorm, create, dream, and get a fresh dose of inspiration, energy, and support for the work of the next liturgical year. Watch the video below for more about this unique event...
YOU DON'T HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH,
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE
It is my goal to resource leaders like you in practical ways that help you create relevant, meaningful and memorable worship in the places that you serve, no matter the form, style, or format of your worship. Come to my planning retreat on September 19th-22nd, 2021 in Denver, Colorado to get an amazing jump-start on your planning for the year (starting with Advent 2021)!
Event Location
Our retreat will be hosted by Lakewood United Methodist Church in Denver, CO. This church is, in some ways, quite typical–a formerly large congregation in a neighborhood that changed and now is reimagining its mission. We will immerse ourselves in this place of metamorphosis so that you might imagine your own and the worship that can inspire it.
Click here to download details about accommodations near Lakewood UMC. If you're bringing your team, be sure to check AirBnB too!
Address: 1390 Brentwood St., Lakewood, CO 80214
A One-of-a-Kind Experience
After so much time spent over the past year and a half in endless Zoom meetings and virtual substitutes for in-person events, we are so happy to be planning a live retreat! Register to join us in person, either as a solo attendee, or with your worship team. OR sign up for the livestream option and tune in from wherever you are! ***If positive trends continue, we will not require masks so if you are not vaccinated, please consider the livestream option. If unforeseen negative trends require the cancellation of the in-person retreat, we will convert in-person payments to the livestream option and refund the balance.***
UNIQUE LIVESTREAM EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR TEAM!
Our livestream experience will blur the lines between virtual and physical participation with an optional avatar community experience in the Worship Design Studio Virtual "Chateau" where you can virtually sit at a table with other registrants and work together. Whether you join us live in Denver or virtually via livestream, this retreat will be an engaging and inspiring immersion into your 2021-2022 worship plans.
What Makes this Event SO Great?
"This weekend has been quite an eye opening experience for me! As a new pastor... this has opened my eyes in so many ways to bring a new and more energetic ways to worship with my congregation."
"I'm glad I came. I wasn't sure if there would be anything for me particularly because I'm from a smaller church, but I got so much useful information..."
"I've really enjoyed the worship experience with Marcia. Those were great times and very spiritual, and so I enjoyed that uplifting and refreshing experience."
What You’ll Learn
Dr. McFee has designed and led worship at gatherings around the world, taught at more than 15 seminaries and is the Creator and Visionary of the Worship Design Studio that resources churches all over US and Canada.
1) Rejuvenate your passion for your work
2) Plan your worship themes for the liturgical year with an experienced guide
3) Learn to train others to work with you!
ACCESS TO OVER 12 YEARS OF WORSHIP THEMES
INCLUDED in your event registration is one month of complimentary access to the Worship Design Studio online community, where you will be able to reference over 12 years of worship themes (lectionary and non-lectionary) to turbo-boost your creativity, put you in touch with hundreds of amazing ideas and resources and train (or start) your worship team. When you register for this event at check-out, you will be given the opportunity to upgrade to a full-year subscription at our deepest discount. (If you are already a full-year WDS Subscriber, you can add another year onto your existing subscription cycle at this deeply discounted rate!)
Meal Ticket Details
Meal tickets can be purchased after you buy your ticket package. The meal tickets include three dinners (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday), one lunch (Monday), and drinks throughout the event. These are scheduled so that you have maximum time for planning!
Please send notice of dietary requests, including vegetarian meals requests and food allergies to [email protected] no later then September 3, 2021.
This could be YOU!
Watch the recording of my FREE webinar about the "Metamorphosis Moment" we are in.
On August 12th, 2021, I hosted a special webinar all about the "gooey" moment of uncertainty and transformation that we are facing right now as leaders, as churches, as a world. This webinar is actually meant to serve as the first "pre-session" of my fall planning retreat, so this will give you an idea of the content and themes we will be considering throughout the planning process. Watch a short three-minute clip from this webinar below...and click the button below to see the full session.
Event Itinerary
All times outlined below are MST. Use a timezone converter website to see what time that is where you are. All sessions are recorded and will be available to registrants throughout the year.
Sunday evening (7 PM - virtual experience starts at 6:00pm): THE CREATIVE PROCESS AND THE LITURGICAL YEAR – We'll lay the groundwork as we discern our context this year, look at planning seasonally, team processes, timelines and how to get the most out of your time at this planning retreat.
Each of the following sessions is divided so that the first half is Dr. Marcia's presentation and the second half is a group work session to plan for your church.
Monday morning (9 AM): THE ADVENT/CHRISTMAS/EPIPHANY CYCLE – Make plans to start the liturgical year off with deeply meaningful worship that has people talking about "the best Advent season ever." You may choose to use one of Worship Design Studio's fully-scripted series to give yourself a great foundation for training your team in more sensory-rich worship and give you an even greater chance of getting planned WAY ahead.
Monday afternoon (1 PM): THE LENTEN SEASON – Dr. Marcia will offer you glimpses into the possible depths you can offer your congregation in this poignant season that offers personal and communal transformation. We will highlight the power of symbols and spiritual practices that flow easily between worship and home, connecting what we do in worship to our daily lives.
Monday night (6:30 PM): HOLY WEEK – We will take a deeply moving "Journey with Egeria," the first person to record her experience of Holy Week in the 4th century Jerusalem church that will inspire us to make our Holy Week an experiential pilgrimage.
Tuesday morning (9 AM): FREE TIME – After four packed sessions, you'll be ready to sleep in, catch up, take a brief mountain hike, or you may just want to use the time continuing to plan.
Tuesday afternoon (1 PM): EASTER CYCLE AND THE DAY OF PENTECOST – In the first part of this session, we will move to the Great Hall to surround ourselves with the work of feeding children as we talk about various ways to deepen our practices of communion throughout the year. Then we will move back to our tables to dive into the theology and planning of the season of resurrection.
Tuesday evening (6 PM): THE SUNDAYS AFTER PENTECOST – We'll look at how to manage and plan for this long season, making "ordinary time" extraordinary! Our goal here is to spark many, many ideas that you can easily develop for the second half of the year.
Wednesday morning (9 AM, finished by 11am): CONTINUING THE PROCESS – Now that we have broad brush strokes planned for the year, this session will help you know what to do when you go home, how to keep the creativity flowing, manage teamwork and how to get to the nitty-gritty of planning details without falling back into a last-minute rut.
Questions about content?
Email Dr. Marcia McFee at [email protected].
Questions about registration?
Email Kelli at [email protected]
or call (888) 725-5202.
