Carolla, you raise an issue that is rarely discussed and raises the more general question of how pastors structure the order of worship. Most pastors draw their responsive readings and unison prayers from old prayer books. Some of those readings are excellent, but most begin to sound like shopworn clichés and jargon that deaden the spirit. A better choice is the repertoire of responsive readings and unison prayers from the best of modern books on creative liturgy. As a pastor, I drew heavily from these, but more often spent hours weekly composing such liturgical pieces that spoke to the theme of the service, especially my sermon. I also selected hymns and praise choruses with lyrics that fit that theme.
An honest evaluation of such creations is hard to make. A handful of people told me they collected all my liturgical creations for later meditation. I reveled in that affirmation until I realized that the people who benefit less from all this remain politely silent. A couple told me that they had to focus so much attention on the simple act of reading that the meaning went right over their heads. I suspect that these spoke for more than I'd like to admit. I tried to provide fresh language for worship and spiritual insight, but, though such efforts work for some, for others, it is unpleasant to put words in their mouths that they may ultimately embrace, but are not yet comfortable reciting. The ideal situation is to have a representative feedback group to hear a broad spectrum of reactions from various types of people with varying poetic and philosophical sensitivities.
This brings me to the question of alternative orders of worship. I always provide a couple of minutes for silent prayer and meditation. Many people loved this and looked forward to it, but others seemed uncomfortable with silence. I disregarded those naysayers because of the profound gratitude many others expressed for such moments. I even occasionally inserted Quaker meditation techniques into the service. My pianist loved these Quaker-style meditations and left instructions for me to lead such a meditation at her memorial service. She died after I retired, but the new pastor objected to her request, until family protests forced him to comply and I uncomfortably led a meditative process that should have been unifying, but rankled the new pastor's nerves! '
So, Carolla, what is your idea of the best structure for a worship service? In my retirement church hopping, I've noticed that most nonliturgical churches begin with 15-30 minutes of praise choruses and hymns, during which the congregation is expected to stand throughout. That struck me as too taxing for the elderly and began to bore me after the 4th hymn or chorus. I am dogmatic about one point, though: announcements need to come at the start of the service. If announcements are made in the middle, it disrupts the contemplative flow of worship.
My Toronto Baptist church almost never has responsive readings or unison prayers. The pastor's style is to have spontaneous prayer and for him to do the Scripture reading himself before he preaches.
My pastor in Suwon has a responsive reading each week - of the passage he has chosen to preach on. There haven't been any unison prayers yet.