Inclusive and Expansive

Corporate Worshiping
We can define "worship" in many ways; we are invited to think of it, for our purposes, as a verb. In Christianity, we have normatized "worship" into a time and a place, such as "After worship (10am on Sunday at 101 E. Main Street), we'll go next door for lunch." I'm asking you to think of "worshiping" a little differently for the next few minutes.
Dictionary.com defines "corporate," in part, as "pertaining to a united group, as of persons: the corporate good; united or combined into one." In North America, at least, "corporate" refers to big-business and leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many during these troubled economic times. I'm asking you to think of the word in terms of its etymology so that we can identify the "corpus" in "corporate", that is the "body."
The Worshiping Body
We read all over the epistles about the Body of Christ, and are reminded in 1 Corinthians 12 that our Spiritual Gifts, when combined with the Spiritual Gifts of other members of the Body, act as one Corpus. Gifts such as wisdom and healing and discernment are compared with human body parts such as feet and hands and eyes. We are reminded that we need each body part in order to be complete; all parts work together to comprise the whole and we are to value every one.
We worship corporately for many reasons including offering honor and praise to God, being in community with others, inspiring worshipers to action, and providing theological and cultural education. A weekly Worship Celebration may be the only time the whole body is gathered in one place. In just one to a few hours, depending upon the style in which we worship, we have a long list of things to do.
Each word proclaimed in every element of the corporate worship service is important to the overall message, should be intentionally chosen for its part of the whole, and should celebrate each person who comprises the sum of its parts. Consider this: everything that takes place in a corporate worship service makes a theological statement. What does the setup of the space say about the Body that worships there? What does the shape and orientation of the chancel or stage or pulpit, or baptismal font or baptistery, or alter or communion table, or technology or lack thereof say about the doctrine and priorities of this Body? What does the language used to worship our God mean as we strive to welcome every one of God’s children?
Expansive Language
Expanding our language does not mean “throwing out the baby with the bath!” In contrast, expansive language relies on the rich tradition from which we come. The language appropriate for our worshiping context is determined anew as time passes; we do not hold one committee meeting to “cross out” words we will no longer use or “vote in” their replacements. Rather, we expand our language in community, in dialogue, prayerfully and respectfully listening to one another. For example, if your congregation has one or more visually impaired or blind people, you may consider inviting your congregation to occasionally sing “was bound but now I’m free” in place of “was blind but now I see” in Amazing Grace. Are we trying to rewrite the song? Of course not! Does that change welcome, in the moment, those who cannot see?