On August 14, 2025, the North Carolina Conference’s Worship Committee, in collaboration with the Center for Leadership Excellence, hosted 4 in 1: Creating Transformative Worship Experiences at St. Mark’s UMC in Raleigh, North Carolina. Attendees were comprised of both clergy and laity, converging for a day devoted to deepening their worship practices through four back-to-back workshops, each featuring a different theme and facilitator.
Workshop Highlights
The day began with Praying the Great Thanksgiving Like You Mean It, led by Lester Ruth. This session invited participants to move beyond rote liturgical reading by exploring the structure and features of the Great Thanksgiving prayer and encouraging the freedom to compose authentic, theologically sound prayers. During the next session, Lisa Yebuah presented Words of Hope: Preaching God’s Grace in Times of Grief, offering guidance and pastoral sensitivity in crafting funeral homilies that interweave scripture and storytelling to comfort the bereaved and honor their loved ones.
Following lunch, the afternoon began with The Liturgical Laboratory: AI as Co-Intelligence in Worship Creation, presented by Cameron Merrill. This innovative workshop encouraged participants to experiment with artificial intelligence as a collaborative partner in worship planning—focusing on prompt crafting, theological evaluation of AI-generated content, and contextually faithful integration of technology into worship. The final session, Creative Worship Spaces with Rani Woodrow, was a hands-on exploration of visual worship design. Participants engaged with altar-scape creation, learned problem-solving strategies for worship environments, and discussed practical tools and materials—empowering lay participation in visual storytelling within worship.
Impact and Reflections
The 4 in 1 event proved to be a rich, multidimensional experience, fostering community and creative growth among worship leaders. Participants left equipped with renewed confidence in presiding over meaningful liturgical moments, composing heartfelt prayers, preaching with pastoral care in grief contexts, and integrating modern tools like AI with theological integrity. The hands-on nature of the creative worship design session, in particular, inspired attendees to reimagine their physical worship spaces. Overall, the gathering served as a dynamic space for shared learning and mutual inspiration, empowering both clergy and lay members to steward transformative worship with renewed imagination and spiritual depth.
–Glenn Stallsmith, Worship Committee Co-Chair
