Jennifer Noricks

“Finding resonances in a world and a church that was not made for you is the daily work of LGBTQ+ people. The good news is ‘Seek, and ye shall find.’”¹ ~Keegan Osinski

What is Liturgy?

Liturgy is a broad word for all the planned activities in a worship service. Its literal meaning is “the work of the people.” People create hymns, prayers, responsive readings, dances, dramas, and sermons through which worshipers express theological belief. Ideally, these worship experiences lead to inward transformation of the heart so that followers of Jesus move differently in the world, empowered to love their neighbors more deeply, to work for justice more diligently, and to make peace more intentionally.

In the United Methodist tradition, we have several hymnals and songbooks, as well as a Book of Worship, that provide basic tools for leading a worship service. However, new liturgy is routinely created in every worship service: An original prayer offered by the liturgist, a sermon written by the pastor, a song written by the worship leader. All of these are works of the people. All of it is liturgy.

Why is it necessary to expand our liturgy?

The church is called to inclusive worship, modeled for us by early Jesus followers starting at Pentecost (Acts 2).

In Revelation, John’s holy vision for the future reveals humanity united, each person so overwhelmed by the love of God that we cannot help but to respond by worshipping. “There was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing…” (Revelation 7:9-12, NRSVUE) Presently, this vision of every tribe and language worshiping together is far from being realized. Instead, our liturgy is work done by a few people. Voices of the marginalized are too often underrepresented or excluded altogether. 

For example, I – a woman – grew up singing songs in church such as “Rise Up, O Men of God.” The scripture readings often contained masculine pronouns: “If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23, KJV) When I commented that this gendered language bothered me, I was told, “It doesn’t just mean men. It means everyone. Women are included too.” But I’m not a man, and when I hear the word man, I don’t automatically identify myself with it. The expectation was that I and other women would constantly do mental gymnastics in worship, taking extra steps so that we could have the privilege of finding meaning in the liturgy. But why was this expected of us? It’s not that hard to say person instead of man, or they will keep my words instead of he will keep my words. Many updated Bible translations have made these adaptations, as has The United Methodist Hymnal (in many cases.) Those changes have taken nothing away from men, but have made the liturgy more accessible to others. 

Yet, the church continues to limit its representation of God and diverse people in liturgy, struggling to engage in meaningful corporate worship experiences with our LGBTQ+ siblings. The church is missing opportunities to celebrate and be drawn toward our expansive, infinitely creative God. It is not enough that The United Methodist Church removed harmful language from its Book of Discipline in 2024. We must now exercise the creativity given to us by the Spirit to author liturgy that is relatable and life-giving to a more diverse congregation.

What is “Queering the Liturgy”?

To queer something is to approach it from a different perspective. Queering the liturgy means looking anew at our worship practices, our rituals, our terminology, and asking, “Is this meaningful for all who may worship here? Is it leaving out the perspective of certain people groups? Is it harming some people?” In queering the liturgy, we are seeking to find different ways to express what we already believe. I am writing from the perspective of a bisexual person who carries a lot of concern for the spiritual well-being of LGBTQ+ people. My work here will focus on finding the intersections in worship that include the most people. Expanding the liturgy allows us to grow in our faith as we learn about God from the experiences of others. This liturgy is relevant for straight, cisgender people just as much as it’s relevant for queer people. What is missing from it is the expectation that queer people must do mental gymnastics in order to find the liturgy transformative.

How is this relevant to faith communities in the Wesleyan tradition?

John Wesley taught three general rules for living a Christlike life: Do good, Do no harm, and Stay in love with God.

• We are God’s good creation, called to DO GOOD. Expansive liturgy points us toward the goodness of God and, as people made in the image of God, our potential to do good.

• But through manmade prejudices and misuse of Scripture, the church inflicted religious trauma upon LGBTQ+ people. We failed to DO NO HARM. Expansive liturgy is a means of repenting of our sin of exclusion, and of practicing radical inclusion. 

• People who have experienced religious trauma are unlikely to fall in love with a God, much less STAY IN LOVE WITH a GOD, who they believe seeks to punish or turn them away. Expansive liturgy empowers every person to see their place in the story of God and to be transformed by the holy love that is available to all.

Expansive liturgy empowers every person to see their place in the story of God and to be transformed by the holy love that is available to all.

Sources

1. Keegan Osinski, Queering Wesley, Queering Holiness (Cascade Books, 2021), Kindle, 12. ↩︎