Worship Ways
Worship Ways are original liturgies written in English and in Spanish by United Church of Christ pastors, based on readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. Look for Sunday, festival and special UCC worship services here, organized by seasons of the Church Year.
COMING SOON: Check out the newest feature of Worship Ways, The Living Psalms. The Psalm for each week is reinterpreted in poetry and art as a reflection of God’s work of justice and compassion in our midst today.
COMING SOON: The National Offices have secured licenses for the use of curated recordings of individual compositions that are available for use by the local church setting. No further licenses are required. Please find these recordings here.
NEW MUSIC RESOURCE: Marking the anniversary of George Floyd’s death in custody, the United Reform Church, our partner in the UK, has published a music resource with themes of racial justice and responses to Covid-19. New words are created for familiar hymn tunes. It is available for free download until April, 2022 in booklet, PowerPoint, and music files. The link to Sunflowers and Thistles is here: https://urc.org.uk/sunflowers-and-thistles
Click here for Mission Moments, which can be used with your newsletter or Sunday worship bulletin.
Seasons
Lent / Cuaresma
Lent, Year B
February 17-March 28, 2021
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The late Representative John Lewis of Georgia talked about stirring up “good trouble” that leads to justice. Jesus stirs up a lot of good trouble in the Lenten Gospels this year; we are called to prepare ourselves and follow. The traditional color for Lent is purple; churches may want to adopt subdued colors such as gray or beige or no color at all to signify the starkness of the season.
- Prayer of Protection – from the Celtic Tradition
- Living Psalm 25—Lent 1 B
- Living Psalm 22—Lent 2
- Bible Studies and Sermons from Churches Uniting in Christ:
- Living Psalm 51 – Ash Wednesday B
- Ash Wednesday – February 17
- Lent 1 – February 21
- Lent 2 – February 28
- Lent 3 – March 7
- Lent 4 – March 14
- Lent 5 – March 21
- Palm-Passion Sunday – March 28
Spanish Worship Ways
Holy Week / Semana Santa
Holy Week Year B
March 29-April 3, 2021
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The church follows Jesus and the disciples from triumphal procession into Jerusalem through the devastating procession to the Cross. With storytelling, ritual and music we travel all the way to the tomb. Colors for Holy Week may be the purple of Lent, a festival color for Maundy Thursday, and a mourning color for Good Friday.
Easter Season/Temporada de Pascua
Easter, Year B
April 4-May 23, 2021
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An empty tomb astonishes Mary Magdalene and the other disciples on Easter morning, and Jesus is soon discovered in the community, alive and present in a new way, especially in the “breaking of the bread”. Easter Sunday begins a season of fifty days celebration of Jesus’ new life. The season ends with Pentecost Sunday, when Jesus sends the Spirit to guide and challenge the church. Festival colors are worn through the season until the last day: Pentecost, when the color is red for the Spirit’s fire.
- Living Psalm 104–Pentecost B
- Living Psalm 1-Easter 7B
- Living Psalm 93 for Ascension Day B
- Living Psalm 98-Easter 6B
- Living Psalm 22-Easter 5B
- Living Psalm 4–Easter 3B
- Living Psalm 23 (Mental Health theme)–Easter 4B
- Pentecost B-May 23
- Easter 7B-May 16
- Easter 6b-May 9
- Easter 5B – May 2
- Break the Silence Sunday materials
- A Just World for All – PAAM Sunday
- Easter 4 – April 25
- Easter 3 – April 18
- Easter 2 – April 11
- Living Psalm 118 – Easter B
- Easter Day – April 4
- Living Psalm 133 – Easter 2 B
Spanish Worship Ways
Season after Pentecost, part 1/Temporada después de Pentecostés, primero parte
Season after Pentecost, part 1
Year B, May 30-August 29, 2021
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The Spirit at work guiding the church in our day is the theme for the very long season after Pentecost. In year B, the primary gospel is Mark. The color for the Season after Pentecost is traditionally green, the color of nature’s growth.
- LGBTQ Pride Celebrations,June
- Trinity Sunday–May 30
- Living Psalm 29–Trinity Sunday B
- Pentecost 2–June 6
- Living Psalm 130–Pentecost 2
- Pentecost 3–June 13
- Living Psalm 92–Pentecost 3B
- Pentecost 4–June 20
- Living Psalm 133–Pentecost 4B
- Pentecost 5–June 27
- Pentecost 6–July 4
- Pentecost 7–July 11
- Pentecost 8–July 18
- Pentecost 9–July 25
- Pentecost 10–August 1
- Pentecost 11–August 8
Spanish Worship Ways
- Domingo de la Trinidad–30 de mayo
- Pentecostes 2–6 de junio
- Pentecostes3–13 de junio
- Pentecostes 4–20 de junio
- Pentecostes 5–27 de junio
- Pentecostes 6–4 de julio
- Pentecostes 7–11 de julio
- Pentecostes 8–18 de julio
- Pentecostes 9–25 de julio
- Pentecostes 10–1 de agosto
- Pentecostes 11–8 de agosto
- Pentecostes 12–15 de agosto
- Pentecostes 14–29 de agosto
Season after Pentecost, part 2/Temporada después de Pentecostés, segundo parte
Season After Pentecost, part 2
Year B, September 5-November 21, 2021
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The Spirit at work guiding the church in our day is the theme for the very long season after Pentecost. In year B, the primary gospel is Mark. The color for the Season after Pentecost is traditionally green, the color of nature’s growth.
Advent/Advenimiento
Advent, Year B
November 29-December 24, 2020
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Advent is the start of the church year, a season of expectation, four weeks looking forward to celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmas. Scriptures give voice to longing for God and searching for the Holy in challenging times. We are challenged to get ready—to recognize and make room for the Holy One in our midst. Seasonal colors are purple or deep blue; the third Sunday anticipates the joy to come with rose, the color of dawn.
- Living Psalm 85—Advent 2 – Year B
- Living Psalm 80—Advent 1 – Year B, image
- Blue Christmas Liturgy
- Service Prayers for the First Sunday of Advent – Year B, 11.29.20
- Service Prayers for the Second Sunday of Advent – Year B, 12.6.20
- Service Prayers for the Third Sunday of Advent – Year B, 12.13.20
- Service Prayers for the Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year B, 12.20.20
- Living Psalm for Advent 3 and 4 – Year B – Luke 1
Christmas Season/Temporada de Navidad
Christmas, Year B
December 25, 2020-January 5, 2021
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The twelve days of the Christmas season celebrate the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us. The stories tell of the God of all born into a poor family, travelers in need of shelter. We ponder the mystery of how this can be; we celebrate as we seek the presence of God in our world, surprising us with possibility. Traditional liturgical colors have suggested light—white or gold—but expanding the festive color palette is appropriate for celebration.
Season after Epiphany/Temporada después de la Epifanía
Epiphany, Year B
January 6-February 14, 2021
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The Church explores the identity of Jesus in this season after Epiphany—Gospel story after story challenges us: who is this person of power and Spirit who has appeared in our midst? The season begins and ends with Festival days—Epiphany and Transfiguration—with festival colors; the Sundays in between are green.
- Living Psalm 50—Transfiguration Year B
- Living Psalm 111 – Epiphany 4 B
- Living Psalm 62—Epiphany 3 B
- Health and Human Services Sunday – January 31
- Revealed to Us – Epiphany 2 – Year B, January 17, 2021
- Martin Luther King Weekend Service – January
- 18, 2021 – Year B
- 2 epifania -17 de enero
- Living Psalm 29 – Baptism of Christ – Year B
- Living Psalm 139 – Epiphany 2 – Year B
- Black History Month Call to Worship – February 2021 – Year B
- Light’s Wisdom: Service Prayers for the Festival of Epiphany – Year B, January 6, 2021
- Baptism of Christ – Epiphany 1 – Year B, January 10, 2021
- Reluctant Evangelists – Epiphany 3 – Year B, January 24, 2021
- Holy, Whole One – Epiphany 4 – Year B, January 31, 2021
- The Delightful Lightness of Being in Light – Epiphany 5 – Year B, February 7, 2021
Spanish Worship Ways