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. (Please note: Previous Worship Ways are archived and may be found using the search function.)
Imagine the holy excitement of beholding the tangible, touchable, holdable presence of God. Enter into the baptismal waters of the Jordan River with John the Baptist as Jesus shows up alongside the Voice and the Spirit. Hear the prophetic call to live in the radiance of God and do the simple if difficult things required of those who claim and are claimed by the Holy One. Experience the thrill of the mountaintop and the reluctance to return to the low and ordinary places where life and ministry really takes place. Be prepared and committed to witness, testify, and demonstrate the realization of the kindom. That is the joy of Epiphany.
Nestled between two joyous seasons of the Christian calendar, Lent takes us into the valley, into broken spaces, and into dry places. Yet, this season offers its own perspective of hope. Lent invites us into the deep work required for restoration to take place. We remember that demolition often proceeds building and strong structures need sure foundations.
The traditional color for Lent is purple.
Holy Week / Semana Santa
Holy Week Year C April 3-8, 2023
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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 A April 9- May 31, 2023
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Easter begins a new season. It’s a new week and a new day. The power and glory of the resurrection forges forth a new way of being. Life and death have been transformed through the work of Christ. The emptiness of the tomb demonstrates the power of what has been left behind as well as previews the promise ahead. In the weeks of the Easter season, we journey from the tomb with Jesus and the early disciples from that perspective. From the Day of Easter to the Day of Pentecost, we find God in flesh and in spirit moving in the world and in us…from the tomb.
Season after Pentecost A, Part 1
Year A, June 4 – August 27, 2023
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“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18 CEB)
The longest season of the liturgical calendar are filled with Sundays called “Ordinary Time.” It begins with Trinity Sunday and ends with the Reign of Christ. We move from concentrating on the event of Christ in the world and shift to the impact of being in Christ in the world. A life in the unity of the Trinity is one of being shaped and sent daily in the image and in the purpose of Holy Love.
Season after Pentecost, parts 4-6
Season After Pentecost, part 2 Year C, September 3 -November 26, 2023
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What are human beings that you think about them; what are human beings that you pay attention to them? (Psalm 8:4 CEB)
The longest season of the liturgical calendar is filled with Sundays called “Ordinary Time.” It begins with Trinity Sunday and ends with the Reign of Christ. We move from concentrating on the event of Christ in the world and shift to the impact of being in Christ in the world. A life in the unity of the Trinity is one of being shaped and sent daily in the image and in the purpose of Holy Love.
Advent celebrates anticipation. It reminds us that the days to come offer promise and a future with possibilities. We remember days of our past, heritage, and history as a testimony to the evolution of time and circumstance.
Anticipation is best accompanied by preparatory action. How do we respond to the confession that Christ has come, Christ has risen, Christ will come again? How shall we ready ourselves and participate in the coming of Christ in the world?
Many cultures mark birth with a celebration of the naming of the child. Names have the significance we assign to them. Some honor a loved one, living or deceased, by bestowing their name upon the new addition to the family. Others choose names based on the meaning of the name itself. Whatever the background, names serve as a means of identification. The Christmas season lifts up the baby Jesus in many ways through many names. We might remember the prophesy of Isaiah with the promise of the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Son of God and Son of Man, depending upon which Gospel account you read, also speak to who Jesus is. Perhaps the most indicative and faithful to the season of Christmas is “Emmanuel” (“God With Us”).
The Christmas event is the gift of incarnation, mercy manifested, and love made visible.
Check out The Living Psalms. The Psalm appointed for each week in the Revised Common Lectionary cycle is reinterpreted in poetry and art as a reflection of God’s work of justice and compassion in our midst today.
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.
Click here for Mission Moments, which can be used with your newsletter or Sunday worship bulletin.
To access weekly readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, click here.
