By Jennifer Nicholson, Worship Ministry Intern & Master of Worship Studies Candidate
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” –Romans 12:1
Did you know we have a Worship Ministry Intern at St. Peter’s? Maybe you noticed in the worship section of the Keys several weeks ago that an analysis of Sunday service music was being offered, and you wondered, “What’s that about?”
St. Peter’s has graciously provided me a space to complete a Worship Internship under Fr. Matt Wilkins. I’m a graduate student at the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, an innovative, hybrid program that allows students to learn directly from a ministry context while taking classes. Imagine the Charles Simeon Summer Fellowship here at the Cathedral, but expanded to an entire degree program open to anyone involved in worship. Part of my degree requirements is to complete a nearly 8-month internship of 10 hours a week, which I started at the end of July.
So what falls under worship, and what have I been doing this whole time? In all of my internship areas, I try to get to the heart of worship, namely God’s story: Creation, Fall, Covenant, Incarnation, Crucifixion, Redemption, Resurrection, and New Creation. When we worship, we are rehearsing God’s grand story and what he has done for us, on a personal and congregational level.
We have many fantastic worship opportunities at the Cathedral, some of which were highlighted at Connections Sunday. I started here in music ministry as a section leader singing on Sunday mornings, but worship is much more than music. I have attended Evening Prayer, a beautiful spoken service that ends the day in praise to God, consistently every week at 4:30pm. I have been trained as a LEM-V and taken Communion to those unable to come to the Sunday service. I have been writing canticles, songs of Scripture, based on translations from our 2019 Book of Common Prayer. I co-lead an Engage group for 9th and 10th-grade girls, where I create lessons, teach and encourage the next generation in their faith and understanding of worship. I’ve been leading devotionals for the choir on Sunday mornings, analyzing the songs and our purpose in the service.
You don’t have to be a worship intern to participate and grow in worship. Regularly attending the Sunday service is a great start, but our worship is meant to remind us of who we are as the Body of Christ, to praise God for who he is and what he has done, and to shape our hearts in service to Christ. Jesus leads the way; let’s worship as he does!