An Introduction from Dr. Lisa Hancock: Our Interim Minister of Worship and The Arts
Greetings!
Psalm 133 begins with the joyous declaration, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” You may look around you right now and not find much unity, but I believe that every time we gather for worship and join our hearts, our voices, and our breath together to offer our praise, thanksgiving, lament, questions, and concerns to God, we are practicing what it means to live together in unity. Worship is a holy and beautiful rehearsal for how we live as the people of God in the world, and it is my honor and humble privilege to be part of leading worship as the Interim Minister of Worship and the Arts at White Rock for the next few months.
My love for music, the arts, and worship began when I joined the Cherub Choir at St. Luke’s UMC in Lubbock, Texas at the age of 3.5. For the next 15 years, I grew up in the music ministry and Sunday school programs at St. Luke’s, benefiting from a superb choir conductor—Mr. Wert—and numerous Sunday School teachers who poured into me and the other children. Because of their presence and witness in my life, I discovered early on how music and the arts play an integral role in forming us as Christians by teaching, tending, nurturing, and equipping us in community with one another. So, when it came time to go to college, I knew I wanted to study church music as I followed my call into sacred music. While in undergraduate school, I discovered a love for the organ while falling in love with and marrying Justin, both of which influenced my decision to attend Perkins School of Theology as a Master of Sacred Music student. As I started my graduate work in sacred music, God was already laying the groundwork to expand my call into disability theology, which I did through a Master of Theological Studies and PhD in Religious Studies at SMU. Yet, through it all, I always came back to worship as central to my calling, even when I did not fully understand what that meant. After completing my PhD, I knew God had a place for me to fulfill, but it took over a year before I fully understood that that place is Discipleship Ministries, where I now serve as the Director of Worship Arts and the co-lead of a new initiative focusing on formation of nondisabled and disabled children through anti-ableist worship practices. It’s amazing how God’s grace leads us where we need to go!
We have a lot ahead of us in the coming months as a community. The journey through Advent, Christmas, and into 2025 (can you believe it?!) present us with opportunities to companion one another in song, prayer, meditation, and joyous witness to the work God is doing in, through, and among us. I’m especially looking forward to the children leading us through the Christmas story during their pageant on December 8, complete with drums, costumes, and shepherd-themed antics. And then, on December 15, the choir will lead us as we remember the promise God has made to us, the promise God fulfills among us through the Christ child, and the promise God calls us to live out in the world through hymns, anthems, prayer, and proclamation.
All this to say, I am so blessed to do the important work of worship alongside such a wonderful community!
Blessings and peace,
Lisa
Psalm 133 begins with the joyous declaration, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” You may look around you right now and not find much unity, but I believe that every time we gather for worship and join our hearts, our voices, and our breath together to offer our praise, thanksgiving, lament, questions, and concerns to God, we are practicing what it means to live together in unity. Worship is a holy and beautiful rehearsal for how we live as the people of God in the world, and it is my honor and humble privilege to be part of leading worship as the Interim Minister of Worship and the Arts at White Rock for the next few months.
My love for music, the arts, and worship began when I joined the Cherub Choir at St. Luke’s UMC in Lubbock, Texas at the age of 3.5. For the next 15 years, I grew up in the music ministry and Sunday school programs at St. Luke’s, benefiting from a superb choir conductor—Mr. Wert—and numerous Sunday School teachers who poured into me and the other children. Because of their presence and witness in my life, I discovered early on how music and the arts play an integral role in forming us as Christians by teaching, tending, nurturing, and equipping us in community with one another. So, when it came time to go to college, I knew I wanted to study church music as I followed my call into sacred music. While in undergraduate school, I discovered a love for the organ while falling in love with and marrying Justin, both of which influenced my decision to attend Perkins School of Theology as a Master of Sacred Music student. As I started my graduate work in sacred music, God was already laying the groundwork to expand my call into disability theology, which I did through a Master of Theological Studies and PhD in Religious Studies at SMU. Yet, through it all, I always came back to worship as central to my calling, even when I did not fully understand what that meant. After completing my PhD, I knew God had a place for me to fulfill, but it took over a year before I fully understood that that place is Discipleship Ministries, where I now serve as the Director of Worship Arts and the co-lead of a new initiative focusing on formation of nondisabled and disabled children through anti-ableist worship practices. It’s amazing how God’s grace leads us where we need to go!
We have a lot ahead of us in the coming months as a community. The journey through Advent, Christmas, and into 2025 (can you believe it?!) present us with opportunities to companion one another in song, prayer, meditation, and joyous witness to the work God is doing in, through, and among us. I’m especially looking forward to the children leading us through the Christmas story during their pageant on December 8, complete with drums, costumes, and shepherd-themed antics. And then, on December 15, the choir will lead us as we remember the promise God has made to us, the promise God fulfills among us through the Christ child, and the promise God calls us to live out in the world through hymns, anthems, prayer, and proclamation.
All this to say, I am so blessed to do the important work of worship alongside such a wonderful community!
Blessings and peace,
Lisa
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