the worship workout

most of my life i have heard about the aerobic exercise that comes with good lutheran worship: stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down...i almost want to add "fight! fight! fight!" to the end as if we were at a sports game.  well, this past sunday i was a banner carrier and a bible bearer in the same service.  it wasn't until halfway through the gospel reading that i realized i might need to build a bit of my upper body strength a little as my arms began to shake (luckily my supervisor, who was reading could follow along despite my tremors).

it did get me thinking though that as far as strength-building, very active worship participation would go a long way.  the banner is not too heavy, though a bit wobbly, which requires muscles, but the cross that we use at immanuel is fairly heavy and very much top-heavy, which requires a considerable amount of strength (i believe people are told they need to be able to lift at least 50 lbs if they want to process with the cross).

add in carrying the bible, especially if you carry it above your head, and holding it out from your core and you've got some good arm workouts. (a disclaimer, lest you think i cannot carry a bible: the bible we use is the whole bible, quite large, with a substantial cover, not a lectionary for the liturgical year or a study bible)

in the handbell choir some of the bells are quite large, so ringing them again builds strength.  also, holding your arms out in the orans position when praying up front or when presiding at communion, especially if you were to wear a chasuble, is yet another upper arm strength builder.

then, if you add in the kneeling and standing up and sitting down, your legs can get a pretty good workout as well.  then, if you're baptizing a baby and walk it down the aisle, that builds up strength as well.

i'm thinking about creating a new workout video and going through the different parts of worship for the workout.  it'll be a bit top-heavy, but arms are my least favorite for strength-building, so maybe that's a good thing.  this might also be a tricky way to get people to participate more in worship: you want a workout? come help with worship!

hmmm...maybe that's the wrong reason to come to worship, but intriguing all the same...