Worship
Coming together for worship at United is like finding water in a dry and thirsty land. That’s why we do so, not only on Sunday mornings but midweek, too!
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Like a stream in the desert, worship can refresh and renew us. Each week it offers us God’s new life and hope, for ourselves and for this world. At United, worship is the center of our life together, from which everything else flows: outreach, education, care, among others.
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Whether on Sunday mornings, midweek, or other times, worship at United offers that new life in different ways. Sometimes – especially in the Sunday 8:30 AM service and the midweek contemplative services – worship is like the deep, still waters that God promises in the 23rd Psalm. In the later Sunday service, worship can be like a living stream, offering life in all kinds of ways. Similarly, like on Mardi Gras and Fiesta Sundays, worship is a river, full of life and surprises.
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At United, we believe all of us – regardless of age – need the living waters of worship. That’s why children and younger youth join in the first part of the late service each Sunday and why Children’s Ministry always begins with prayer and song. It’s also why we offer a number of “intergenerational” services for all ages throughout the year.
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We hope you’ll join us in worship at United. Together may we be renewed by the waters of life God offers us each week.
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Worship This Month
2nd Easter - Thank God for Thomas
April 7
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am (Sanctuary)
The disciple Thomas gets a bad rap. Just because he wanted first-hand proof (literally) of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, he’s labeled “Doubting Thomas.” (John 20:19-31) A more accurate name is “Truthful Thomas,” as he expressed what many of us also need. United Church Council members lead both services.
3rd Easter - We Had Hoped
April 14
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am (Sanctuary)
The early Christians were an honest group, especially when it came to the difficulty of believing in new life. “We had hoped,” two disciples confessed to a stranger on the road that led away from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:13-34) Despite the women’s eyewitness testimony, the two men still couldn’t believe in new beginnings— whether Jesus’ or their own. Can you?
4th Easter and Earth Day - Like a Good Shepherd
April 21
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am (Sanctuary)
Both Jews and Christians often image God as the shepherd who cares for the sheep, even to giving up one’s life for their safety and well-being. (Psalm 23 and John 10:11-18) This Sunday before Earth Day, can we live into our call to be Good Shepherds in our care for creation?
5th Easter - Abide
April 28
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am (Sanctuary)
Jesus may have been a carpenter’s son, but he apparently knew his horticulture. “I am the vine, you are the branches,” he told his followers. (John 15:1-11) “Apart from the vine, the branches cannot bear fruit,” he said, “and neither can you.” But surely, Jesus, you’re not talking about us rugged individuals who’ve pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps in our own unique and independent ways. Or maybe you are.