Table of Contents
Page 1 - Brief History , Overview and NEWS
Page 2 - Members of RAWWG 2009-2011
Page 3 - Church Depot Day, November 21, 2009
Page 4 - Links and resources - Fabulous sites for renewing worship.



In February of 2009 Bishop Michael Ingham sent out letters to 6 recipients inviting them to consider accepting his appointment to a new Bishop’s Commission on Liturgy.

The Liturgical Commissions of the past had done stellar work within the worship life of the Diocese of New Westminster with the most recent version of the Liturgy Commission having completed its work in 2008.

Since then, the Strategic Planning team organized numerous meetings and events where people from every part of the diocese were encouraged to share their ideas about how they would like to see God’s Mission through the church develop as we move toward the year 2018.  Those who participated in the consultative process have been recorded in an excellent report assembled by the Diocese of New Westminster – Plan 2018 Strategic Planning professionals, Marleen Morris and Associates Ltd.

Item 10.4 of that report under the heading Renewing Anglican Worship states the following:

People highlighted the need for Anglican worship that is relevant to people of all ages, at all life stages and from diverse communities. They spoke of creating new, more inclusive approaches to worship while maintaining traditional forms, with the hope that this would enhance meaning and relevance for more people, engaging existing members and energizing people to come to church.

Actions include:

• Offering a broader, more diverse range of liturgy/worship by developing more inclusive, contemporary liturgy – keeping in mind the needs and preferences of different ages/life stages, as well as multicultural communities
• Taking worship and ‘church’ out into the community
• Incorporating new music.

Developing new forms of liturgy to compliment existing forms that engage, welcome and uplift and range from contemplative and prayerful to energizing and praiseful is a tall order but it is also an exciting challenge. The Renewing Anglican Worship Working Group is not the Liturgy Commission with a different name, it is a different concept and different approach to visioning where worship is going and where it needs to go in order to spread the Good News.

When asked to encapsulate the mission of the RAWWG into one brief sentence RAWWG original member Richard Leggett responded:
"We are tasked with building Anglican worship that is faithful to our tradition and is vital and life-giving."