Worship as a Refuge in a Noisy World

Blog by Alan Fadling

In my reading and research, I always appreciate when I find a warning about hurry from a previous generation. Consider these words that Elton Trueblood, a philosopher and spiritual writer in the twentieth century, wrote nearly ninety years ago:

"Our lives are, for the most part, full of noise and bustle and hurry, and it is certainly clear that our service of worship should be remarkable by contrast. The ‘snappy’ service in which ‘something is doing every moment’ is too much like the great noisy world outside.”*

Reading his reflections, I can’t help but think how much truer they feel today. Life has only grown noisier, more hurried, and more distracted. We live in a world of notifications and multitasking, a constant hum of productivity and entertainment. And, sadly, sometimes our worship gatherings echo that tendency rather than combat it.

Trueblood’s insight reminds us that the church doesn’t need to mirror the culture’s frenetic pace. Instead, our gatherings for worship can be a sanctuary for stillness, reflection, and renewal.

Worship as a Sacred Contrast 

Trueblood critiques the idea of a “snappy service,” where every moment is packed with activity and spectacle. Such a service, he argues, risks becoming indistinguishable from the rest of the busy, noisy world.

Instead, the church is called to offer something both deeper and slower—an encounter with the God who is among us. In this way worship becomes a countercultural act, a deliberate pause to seek God’s presence and realign our hearts to his purposes.

This resonates with me deeply. One of the reasons I love our worship service in the Anglican tradition is the way it gently invites us into rhythms of stillness and sacred space. There is space to hear scripture read aloud. There is space for quiet reflection. The goal of worship is not to give us yet another self-improvement task for our already too long to-do list. Instead, we are invited to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness, trusting that the fruit of such a pursuit will overflow into every area of life.

Seeking First Things 

Jesus’s words in his Sermon on the Mount remind us of what matters most: “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

When we gather for worship, the focus is not mainly on practical takeaways to better manage our lives or solve our problems. While God’s wisdom does, of course, bear fruit in our lived experience day to day, the higher purpose of worship is to seek God himself. The focus of worship is God.

It’s a shift in priorities. We don’t gather to first ask “What can I get out of this?” but “How can I realign my life with God’s purposes?” The church is at its best when it helps form us spiritually, equipping us to live as disciples of Jesus in a noisy, chaotic world. It’s less about quick fixes and more about deep, transformative growth. We learn to live and work at the pace of Jesus.

Growth Beyond Measurement 

This kind of growth—seeking God’s kingdom first—is often not immediately tangible or measurable. Trueblood asks, “Will this have tangible results? More than can be measured … but not directly.”

Spiritual growth is not easy to assess by quantitative measures. Instead, it unfolds subtly over time. The fruit of a life centered on God’s kingdom shows up in patience, peace, humility, and love—qualities that transform how we live, work, and relate to others.

The unhurried rhythms of worship, prayer, and reflection invite us into this kind of slow, lasting transformation. Growth at the pace of grace, as I like to call it, is both freeing and deeply hopeful.

An Invitation to Rest 

If our lives are marked by noise, hurry, and busyness, how might that impact our experience of worship? What if our gatherings became spaces of rest and renewal rather than just another engagement in my already-too-busy week?

In a world that constantly pulls us to achieve and produce, the church reminds us of our truest identity: we are beloved children of God. Worship becomes not just a duty but a refuge, a place where we can rest in God’s presence and be reminded of what matters most.

As we embrace this vision for worship, we’re reminded that spiritual formation is not about keeping up with the demands of life but about slowing down enough to meet God in the midst of our life.

For Reflection:

• How might your worship practices become a space for slowing down and reconnecting with God’s presence?
• In what ways are you seeking God’s kingdom first in your life right now? What might need to shift?
• How could your weekly rhythm include moments of stillness and sacred rest?