Worship At United
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!
​
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.
​
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.
​
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.
​
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.
What Does It Mean to Be a Christian Community?
United Worship in Eastertide
After the Resurrection, the first Christians had to figure out what it meant to be followers of Jesus Christ when he was no longer with them, at least in his earthly life. They also had to determine their relationships with one another and with the wider world. 2,000+ years later, we still need to engage those questions. Through the 50 days of Eastertide, we explore what and who we’re called to be in our individual lives and in our life and ministry together.
_JPG.jpg)
Worship This Month
Which Direction? - Rev. Peter Marty, Guest Preacher - 3rd Easter
May 4
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
When Jesus called Peter and the other fishermen to be his first disciples, he told them they would be “fishing for people.” But only a few days after his Resurrection, Peter went back to fishing for fish – and got the others to do the same. (John 21:1-19) Given all that happened to Jesus under the Roman Empire, it seemed like a logical decision. What would we have done? What are we called to do in our time? We welcome Rev. Peter Marty, editor and publisher of The Christian Century and Lutheran Pastor, as our guest preacher to explore what this story says to us in America 2025.
Saints, Widows, Angels, Shepherds - 4th Easter and mothers Day
May 11
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
The 4 Sunday of Easter readings include diverse snapshots of early Christian congregations, from “saints and widows” (Acts 9:36-43) to shepherds and sheep (Psalm 23; John 10:22-30) to angels and people of “all tribe and languages” (Revelation 7:9-17). Great texts for the secular holiday of Mother’s Day, too!
Love One Another and Don't Hinder God - 5th Easter and Graduation Sunday
May 18
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
Two visions of what it means to be a Christian community. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples on the last night of his life to “love one another.” (John 13:31-35) In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter thinks it’s wrong and downright sinful to eat with people who aren’t of his religion. But then God gives him a weird dream to remind him (and us) of the breadth and depth of God’s love and welcome. (Acts 11:1-18) What do we envision our United community to be? Who’s included? Who’s invited?
Its Light Is the Lamb - 5th Easter and United's 45th Birthday
May 25
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
The book of Revelation gets a lot of bad press—much of it justified :-). It also has some of the most beautiful imagery in all the Bible. When John envisioned the “New Jerusalem”—God’s community on earth—he saw it had “no need of sun or moon to shine, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” John continued, “The nations will walk by its light, and the rulers of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day – and there will be no night there.” (Revelation 21:23-26) What a powerful vision for United’s 45th Anniversary as a Christian community and for the Sunday before Memorial Day as we pray for all nations to
Who's in Your Circle? - 7th Easter
June 1
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
A wealthy widow, an enslaved girl, and a guard at the NM Penitentiary. All of them were part of the first Christian community in Philippi (okay, so the guard was at the Macedonian pen). (Acts 6:16-34) Their story challenges us to consider not only who’s welcome at United but whom do we actually reach out to and invite?