Mosaic Worship Service Questions and Answers

Effective September 11, 2005, Central Presbyterian Church will be making changes to the 8:15 and 11:30 am Worship Services. Following are some questions & answers regarding the changes, written by Eileen Gathman, Worship Arts Coordinator.

1. What is Mosaic?

Mosaic is a worship service where broken people express an ancient faith in today's language. This service will combine the former First Light and EPIC congregations in creative, multi-generational, and diverse worship, exalting the Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.

2. What about the style? Is First Light becoming EPIC? Is EPIC becoming First Light?

The music and arts expressed at Mosaic will reflect the team and by extension, the congregation. It is neither First Light becoming EPIC nor is it EPIC becoming First Light. Because this is a new service you will experience new music, as well as new arrangements of classic praise songs and hymns. Our focus is on authentically worshiping God with excellence and inspiring others to do so more than it is about a particular style.

3. Is everything going to be the same at both services?

Yes and no. Although the same planning and implementation will take place from behind the scenes serving to up-front leadership, it is difficult to repeat what God does in a particular gathering of people. Still, our goal is to provide the same experience at both services.

4. Who is on the Mosaic Worship Team?

The Mosaic Worship Team consists of a multi-generational collection of musicians, pastors, visual artists, drama artists, media artists, hosts, and other creative thinkers. Members of the former First Light and EPIC teams were invited to participate in this new team. Most have decided to join the combined team, although some have felt a call to a new ministry area. Still others are taking some time to further develop their skills and seek God's will for using their gifts. I am delighted that people are being obedient to the call that God has placed on their lives and trust that wherever they serve, whether on the Mosaic Worship Team or elsewhere, God will use His people in mighty ways.

5. Why did you choose the name Mosaic? Is it an acronym for anything?

Mosaic: n 1. art consisting of a design made of small pieces of colored stone or glass. (Webster's)
When stepping back and looking at the characteristics of what the goal is in this service, we were influenced by passages like 1 Peter 2:5: "You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." They challenged us to think of ways to worship God together as His broken, diverse, and beautiful people. Mosaic does not stand for anything, nor is it meant to be "hip" or "cool." It reflects the worship of multiple generations who are looking for fresh ways to express their faith.

6. Why are we making this change now?

In my first few months as Worship Arts Coordinator, I've noticed that there has been a lot of overlap in planning and implementing two separate, though recently more converging, contemporary worship services. As I brought this observation to Pastor John, we began working on what it would look like to consolidate our resources, celebrate the past, and to birth something new. In consultation with the Pastors, Session, and Staff, the decision was made to create a worship service that lines up with the vision for Central Presbyterian Church "to be a place where the broken have found a home."