Worship that Speaks to the Core of Our Being

Through his 35-year ministry, Rev. Dr. Marple witnessed anincreasing lack of interest and declining attendance at Christianworship. But he also was aware of the growing struggle of manypersons to find meaning in worship, despite efforts to have theChristian message be relevant to contemporary times. Whilepreparing a dissertation for his Doctor of Ministry degree, heobserved that there is an increasing number who no longer choose toinvolve themselves in Christian worship within the establishedtraditions. Yet, in more recent years, growing numbers have beenturning to Eastern mysticism, the new age spirituality, and theoccult in an attempt to find meaning. In his search for the answerto what makes worship meaningful for persons within the UnitedChurch of Canada, Rev. Dr. Marple complemented his extensiveresearch of literature with interviews of six persons. Theinterviewees brought varied experiences of worship from rural andurban churches. Worship That Speaks to the Core of Our Being is avaluable resource for any clergy and worship teams seeking toincrease worship attendance and improve the experience ofworshippers in the 21st century.