Community Worship Planning

Worship is a vital part of our life together at UBC. Each week we gather to proclaim and find ourselves caught up in the story of salvation in Christ Jesus. How we structure our worship—the scripture readings, prayers, and music—is most often called our liturgy.

Liturgy is “the work of the peopPle.” At its best, worship is an expression of praise to God issued from the people of God, a true work of the community. I am thankful that UBC has a long legacy of involving laity in the work of worship as readers, musicians, and preparers of worship space. Even so, we have ample opportunity to grow our strong tradition of lay participation and more fully utilize the creative capacity of our membership and the larger University/Midtown community .

In order to increase lay participation, the Worship Committee has approved a new monthly wor- ship planning event for the congregation that we are calling “Worship Studio.” Worship Studio will be an open forum where all are invited to come and think about worship services at UBC and how we might more faithfully engage Scripture and the arts to share the story of our faith through worship.

Participants will be invited to come together around the Narrative Lectionary texts for upcoming worship services in order to share insights and ideas related to each text. It is hoped that the larger body will present connections between Scripture and literature, visual art, and music. For instance, I know we have a congregation who reads widely. It could be that a particular Scripture text sparks a connection to a poem or a piece of fiction that someone has recently read—that connection could be used to form a Call to Worship, included in the sermon, or as a reflection in the bulletin. Others have expertise in the visual arts and might suggest connections to art that can be included on our bulletin covers or in preparation of our worship space. With so many talented members of our congregation, the possibilities for enriching our worship are significant.

So please, come join us. We plan to gather in Kelley Hall at 6:00 P.M every second Sunday of the month. Our first gathering will be on August 10. Join the conversation and help UBC take another step in making the work of worship a truly congregational venture.

Journeying Together, Rusty