AWE: AUTHENTIC WORSHIP EXPERIENCE

What is AWE?

AWE stands for Authentic Worship Experience and is a kinesthetic interspiritual service with an emphasis on New Thought. An AWE service is:

  • Authentic - invites relaxation into an expression of our Divine Nature
  • Worship - helps redefine the concept of worship
  • Experience - encourages participation, movement and interactivity


AWE is designed to provide a service that:

  • Offers an alternative for those seeking an experience of spirituality and community who aren't drawn to traditional church services
  • Engages attendees and invites participation
  • Serves diverse age groups and backgrounds

What happens at an AWE service?

AWE services, while having a similar format, are unique experiences that express a particular theme or idea. Each program lasts around 90 minutes. Past AWE themes have included "The Power of the Word", "Sacred Fire", "The Peaceful Warrior", "The Divine Feminine", and "The Seed in the Darkness". AWE contains elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Native American Spirituality, and Sufism, among others. An AWE program honors the basic message of Divine Love inherent in all paths while providing an experience that speaks to many hearts.

Most AWE services include:

  • Drumming
  • Dancing / Movement
  • Singing / Chanting
  • Video / Slideshow
  • Poetry / Prose / Reader's Theatre
  • Meditation / Prayer / Affirmation
  • Passing the Peace
  • Celebration Stations
  • Communion Ritual
  • Music, Music, Music!

What are "Passing the Peace" and "Celebration Stations"?

Passing the Peace is an enhanced form of greeting or "hello" sometimes done during traditional Christian church services. Participants honor the divine within themselves and others by facing a partner, holding hands and gazing deeply into each other's eyes for a moment, hugging, bowing to one another, and then moving to another person.

Celebrations Stations, or "Soul Stations", are areas of the room set up with activities for participants to engage in while the musicians sing and play. Examples of stations include a candle-lighting station, a prayer station, and creative activities like making and hanging prayer flags, writing a letter to God, or adding symbols and designs to community artwork hanging on the wall. Guests may also choose during this time of the service to sing, dance, drum or be still and observe.

What led to the creation of AWE?

The AWE service is an evolution of dale's "Saturday Night Live" program that was offered monthly in Alabama and taken to various spiritual centers around the country from 2003 to 2005. This new AWE program has evolved not only from this work but also from experience with Matthew Fox's "Cosmic Mass", the concept of "Emerging Church", and dale's passion for dance and ritual. The word "AWE" emerged at the conclusion of a day-long silent retreat.