I recently attended the Calvin Worship Symposium in Grand Rapids, and thought I would share one of the worship experiences I had there. It was a surprising and moving time of worship that I am not likely to forget.
I attended a seminar entitled, "Drum Circle Worship" led by Eric Nykamp. There were no other details listed with the seminar title, so I wasn't really sure what to expect...but it sounded somewhat musical in nature, so I decided to check it out! Plus, I have an ongoing joke with one of the drummers at my church (who is phenomenally talented) that I really need to learn 'drum-speak'! So, I thought I might learn a little 'drum-speak' at this seminar. I arrived a little early and found myself in a large room that had rows of chairs arranged in a circle with a fairly large space in the middle. It was reminiscent of sitting around a campfire. The room quickly filled up with other curious worshipers and more chairs had to be added to the circle. There were people of various races and traditions with ages ranging from high school students to elderly folk.
As the seminar began, everyone was given some sort of instrument (drums, tambourines, maracas, shakers, guiros, etc) to play. The seminar instructor, who referred to himself as the "circle facilitator" gave us some instructions. He showed us several motions that he would use to guide our worship time...motions that encouraged us to play loudly, motions that quieted us, and an emphatic motion to stop playing altogether. He asked for 3 volunteers (who had some drumming experience) to 'keep the beat' with big African bass drums.
With these preliminary and very helpful instructions, worship began...and words were not spoken again until the seminar ended about 60 minutes later. The circle facilitator tapped out a beat on his hand drum for the 3 volunteers playing the bass drums to echo. He then turned to other sections of the circle and gave them specific rhythmic patterns to play. Once all of the worshipers had joined in, he lifted his arms toward the sky and the room crescendoed with pulsating praise. After awhile, the facilitator signalled for our attention using only motions, encouraging us to watch him carefully. He gradually changed tempo and rhythm, building again into a chorus of embodied exaltation. As this new rhythmic pattern took hold of the room, he went to one section and had them shout "Hallelujah" in rhythm with the drumming. He then signaled the whole room again, prompting us to play slower and quieter, slower and quieter, s l o w e r a n d q u i e t e r until we were barely tapping on our drums. In this suprisingly deafening quiet, as we maintained this gentle rhythm, we sang the simple chorus "Alleluia". After this, the facilitator again built the tempo and volume. He then came over to the section where I was seated and handed each woman seated there a long, colorful scarf. He then motioned for us to stand and follow him to the center of the circle. He led us in a beautiful dance while the rest of the room continued drumming. He then let us continue with the dance on our own and exhorted one section of the room to call out a shout of praise and for the other side of the room to respond. The facilitator used his whole body, jumping into the air and crashing to the floor, his stomps leading us in a grand and glorious finale.
Words cannot begin to describe the embodied experience, can they? When I try to think of descriptive words for these moments of worship, a few that come to mind are: visceral, guttural, earthy, physical, and rooted. Yet, these words seem somehow inadequate. I have never felt so strongly connected within a community of worshipers as I did that day...each of us offering something unique and creative, yet held together within shared rhythm...if that isn't a profound picture of community within the body of Christ, I'm not sure what is!
I attended a seminar entitled, "Drum Circle Worship" led by Eric Nykamp. There were no other details listed with the seminar title, so I wasn't really sure what to expect...but it sounded somewhat musical in nature, so I decided to check it out! Plus, I have an ongoing joke with one of the drummers at my church (who is phenomenally talented) that I really need to learn 'drum-speak'! So, I thought I might learn a little 'drum-speak' at this seminar. I arrived a little early and found myself in a large room that had rows of chairs arranged in a circle with a fairly large space in the middle. It was reminiscent of sitting around a campfire. The room quickly filled up with other curious worshipers and more chairs had to be added to the circle. There were people of various races and traditions with ages ranging from high school students to elderly folk.
As the seminar began, everyone was given some sort of instrument (drums, tambourines, maracas, shakers, guiros, etc) to play. The seminar instructor, who referred to himself as the "circle facilitator" gave us some instructions. He showed us several motions that he would use to guide our worship time...motions that encouraged us to play loudly, motions that quieted us, and an emphatic motion to stop playing altogether. He asked for 3 volunteers (who had some drumming experience) to 'keep the beat' with big African bass drums.
With these preliminary and very helpful instructions, worship began...and words were not spoken again until the seminar ended about 60 minutes later. The circle facilitator tapped out a beat on his hand drum for the 3 volunteers playing the bass drums to echo. He then turned to other sections of the circle and gave them specific rhythmic patterns to play. Once all of the worshipers had joined in, he lifted his arms toward the sky and the room crescendoed with pulsating praise. After awhile, the facilitator signalled for our attention using only motions, encouraging us to watch him carefully. He gradually changed tempo and rhythm, building again into a chorus of embodied exaltation. As this new rhythmic pattern took hold of the room, he went to one section and had them shout "Hallelujah" in rhythm with the drumming. He then signaled the whole room again, prompting us to play slower and quieter, slower and quieter, s l o w e r a n d q u i e t e r until we were barely tapping on our drums. In this suprisingly deafening quiet, as we maintained this gentle rhythm, we sang the simple chorus "Alleluia". After this, the facilitator again built the tempo and volume. He then came over to the section where I was seated and handed each woman seated there a long, colorful scarf. He then motioned for us to stand and follow him to the center of the circle. He led us in a beautiful dance while the rest of the room continued drumming. He then let us continue with the dance on our own and exhorted one section of the room to call out a shout of praise and for the other side of the room to respond. The facilitator used his whole body, jumping into the air and crashing to the floor, his stomps leading us in a grand and glorious finale.
Words cannot begin to describe the embodied experience, can they? When I try to think of descriptive words for these moments of worship, a few that come to mind are: visceral, guttural, earthy, physical, and rooted. Yet, these words seem somehow inadequate. I have never felt so strongly connected within a community of worshipers as I did that day...each of us offering something unique and creative, yet held together within shared rhythm...if that isn't a profound picture of community within the body of Christ, I'm not sure what is!
