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!
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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.
Worship in October
What Do We Seek? What Do We Worship?
Many of the scriptures this fall focus on idols. Although most of us don’t have golden calves or statues of Zeus or Marduk in our backyards, our world is filled with things that entice (or demand) our attention and our lives. Perhaps October is good time to take stock of what’s truly at the center of our lives. Then, just as a farmer plows under the old crop to make room for new life, we might want to let go of those things that don’t give life to us or others.
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Worship This Month
The Love that Moves the Sun and All Starts
October 4
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am Outdoor
Service
“All praise be Yours through Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” proclaimed Francis of Assisi. He echoed the long-ago Psalmist who praised the Creator for creating everything from rocks and mountains to the rock badgers who live there. (Psalm 104) We join that chorus of praise with all Creation as we gather outside for both the 8:30 and 10:00 services—and bless our animals, too.
A Refuge and a Feast: What to Remember - Indigenous People's Sunday
October 11
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am Sanctuary Service
(livestreamed)
While Moses was on the mountaintop, talking with the one true God, the people created a calf made of their jewelry and gold, roasted some fatted calves, and had a grand old party. Centuries later, Isaiah offered a different vision of God’s feast. The prophet saw a great celebration that was a refuge for the poor and needy from “the ruthless.” A feast to which all nations were invited, and no one went hungry. Whose feast would you choose?
What Do We Seek? What Do We Worship?
October 18
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am Sanctuary Service
(livestreamed)
In his letter to the church in Thessaloniki, Paul extols new Christians to turn from Rome’s idols of power and wealth. (I Thess 1:1-10) In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus makes a clear distinction between building our lives around Caesar and following the one true God. (Matt 22:15-22) The Bible repeats itself a lot. Maybe it’s because our idols are so enticing.
Sharing the Gospel, Sharing Ourselves - Reformation Sunday
October 25
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am Sanctuary Service
(livestreamed)
The development of the first Christian churches was often a messy affair. For one, even the Gospels didn’t agree on the details of Jesus’ life and ministry. Two, lots of people had lots of ideas about this new faith—how to live into it, what it required. In his first letter to the Thessalonians (his earliest extant letter), Paul addressed such concerns and also laid out the hows and whys of sharing this new faith—e.g., that it wasn’t for personal gain, greed, deceit, or trickery. In Paul’s last letter (to the church in Rome) he urges the new Christians “not to be conformed to this world but be reformed by the renewal of their minds.” (Romans 12:1-2)