Movement Arts In Worship

Worship and liturgy not only involve the use of the fine arts but may themselves be understood as art forms within the broader category of dance and other movement arts. These arts contribute to the worshiper's awareness of something "happening" in the corporate celebration of the people of God. Biblical worship always involves orchestrated movements, whether of gesture (bowing, kneeling, lifting hands), procession and pageantry, festive dance, coordinated movements of worshiper and priest involved in offering sacrifice, or the order for the administration of the Lord's Supper. Even the verbal worship of antiphonal statement and response may be understood in this way, so that all worship becomes a form of choreography. There is an ebb and flow in worship, times of solemnity alternating with times of abandon, as the congregation responds to the presence of the holy. Effective worship builds to a climax or central event. In ancient Israel it was the theophany or appearance of the Lor…