How do we integrate grief into worship?
Integrating grief into worship is hard, but there are times when it's important for a Christian community to figure out how. 1. I've seen grief verbally acknowledged from a pulpit, then someone leading the service asked the participants to set it aside to enter into worship. This seems better than not acknowledging the grief, but I think it conveys the impression that grief is insignificant, or that the show must go on—that the participants are less important than the ceremony of worship. 2. I've seen someone invite participants to enter into triumphant worship with their grief, to express their faith in the middle of the circumstances. This seems like a better response because it invites participants to meditate on how their worship relates to their grief. It opens up opportunities to recognize Jesus as the resurrection and the life (John 11:23-27). The drawback of 2 is that it can tend toward papering-over grief rather than integrating it. We are often so uncomfortable