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.
Re-Imagining God - Moving from Epiphany into Lent
Worship in February
The Season of Light (aka “Epiphany”) leads us into the wilderness season of Lent. We begin February worship with FebFest, welcoming nationally known African American composer and conductor Dr. G. Phillip Shoultz (Feb. 1) followed by the celebration of Mardi Gras (Feb. 15) with guest pianist Andy Kingston, and then plunge into the shadows of Ash Wednesday (Feb. 18) as we begin Lent’s journey. Yet even in the shadows, our faith promises that the journey leads to new life—and new understandings of who the Holy One is—and who we are. Join in—and invite a friend!
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Worship This Month
What God Wants - FebFest Sunday
February 1
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
What does God really want from us? How do we discern God’s will—individually, as a church, and especially for our ministry with children, youth, and families? The Prophet Micah (6:8-9) is a good place to start: “What does God require of you but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.” And so are Jesus’ Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:1- 12) Let both prophets be our guides as guest conductor G. Phillip Shoultz joins Talitha Arnold and Bradley Ellingboe in a “trialogue” sermon.
God's Wisdom
February 8
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
“God chose what is dumb,” the apostle Paul wrote to the United Church of Corinth, “to expose the so-called ‘brightest and best.’” (Eugene Peterson’s The Message). “God deliberately chose men and women the world overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these ‘nobodies’ to expose the hollow pretensions of the ‘somebodies.’” (I Corinthians 1:23-29) For Paul, God’s good news turned the world on its head. The Hebrew Prophet Isaiah said the same, telling his people that God didn’t want their great spectacles but instead wanted them to feed the hungry, shelter the poor, and create a just world for all. (Isaiah 58:1-12)
God's Glory - Mardi Gras Sunday
February 15
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
After Peter, James, and John make it to the top of a high mountain with Jesus, the three disciples see him in all his glory. (Matthew 17:1-9) “Sunlight poured from his face.” Not surprisingly, they want to stay in that mountaintop glory, but God tells them to listen to Jesus, which means they need to follow where he leads—which is down from the mountain to offer God’s light, life, and hope to others. Guided by guest jazz pianist Andy Kingston, we’ll take that journey, too. Bring a friend to our annual, toe-tapping Mardi Gras service!
Lent's Journey to New Life - Ash Wednesday
February 18
12:00 Noon
and
7:00pm
“Create in me a clean heart,” prays the composer of Psalm 51, “and renew a right spirit within me.” A new heart and a steadfast spirit—a good starting point for Lent’s journey. And the Prophet Joel reminds us that it’s never too late to turn back to God’s ways. (Joel 1-2, 12-17) When we turn our fears and sins back to dust and come for the marking of ashes, may we join with the Psalmist—and commit our hearts and spirits to a new and right relationship with God, God’s children, and God’s creation.
The Real Temptations - 1st Lent
February 22
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
Deep in the wilderness, the Devil of Doubt entices a hungry Jesus to turn stones into bread, a lonely Jesus to test God’s love, and a perhaps fearful Jesus to lord his power over all nations. To face down the Great Distractor, Jesus must remember what he really hungers and longs for. (Matt.4:1-11) What are our deep hungers? What—or Who—do we long for? Lent begins with such questions.