| abstract |
Every Sunday morning, whether for an hour or more--depending on your community--our sacred gathering time is the most common and can be the most consistent public witness Christians do. It is in this space, amid celebration and ritual that we grapple with the pathos and ethos of the Divine, as well as what that means in our daily living when we end our gathering and go back home. In this dissertation and project presentation, I will argue that everything we do in our weekly gatherings helps us confront what is and proclaim what is yet to come and if we are committed to the work of building the reign of God as part of our public witness, then it is imperative that we look at the ways in which Christian worship, particularly in this nation but not limited to it, has been shaped and influenced by colonialism, white supremacy, patriarchy and European exceptionalism. If we are to be intentional about developing congregations that are committed to being inclusive, anti-racist and egalitarian, the priority of this work must begin by deconstructing and reshaping our worship so that it reflects the transformative work of the Spirit.
The scope of this dissertation will present an argument as to the importance of this decentering work and provide website-based tools to help congregations and leaders do this important work.
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