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 April
Palm Branches, Olive Grove, the Cross of Death and the Tree of Life
The journey from Palm Sunday to the Last Supper and Calvary and finally to Easter morning is peopled with human beings making human decisions. But the natural world, and especially trees, are also part of the story, from palm branches to olive trees to a wooden cross and the Tree of Life. What does creation teach us about our decisions to choose life over death?
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Worship This Month
Midweek Lenten Communion
April 2, 9, 16
12:15 to 12:45pm
Do you yearn for silence or an opportunity to breathe, pray, and replenish? United offers a Len- ten Noontime Communion each Wednesday. All welcome to recharge and renew midweek (through Wednesday of Holy Week: April 16).
Bearing the Seed for Sowing - 5th Sunday of Lent
April 6
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
The journey from Palm Sunday to the Last Supper and Calvary and finally to Easter morning is peopled with human beings making human decisions. But the natural world, and especially trees, are also part of the story, from palm branches to olive trees to a wooden cross and the Tree of Life. What does creation teach us about our decisions to choose life over death?
Tree Branches and an Olive Grove - Palm Sunday
April 13
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
We begin as the Palm Sunday crowd, singing “Hosanna” and waving branches. Four nights later, we join Jesus as he prays in an olive grove, knowing a wooden cross awaits him. Renowned poet Tony Silvestri shares in worship
Maundy Thursday
April 17
7:00pm
We share Communion, followed by the account of Jesus’ Passion. We follow him from the Garden of Gethsemane to the courts of Herod and Pilate and finally to Golgotha, place of the “skull.” United Youth and our new Family Ministry Director Dana Bender lead the Tenebrae and extinguishing of light.
Good Friday
April 18
9:00 Creation Care
12:00 Worship
As we gather to engage this hard story, we pray for ourselves and our loved. We pray, too, all God’s people and God’s crucified creation living under the shadow of the cross. The Sanctuary will also be open until 3:00 pm for private prayer.
The Tree of Life - Easter Sunday
April 20
6:30am Outdoor Sunrise Communion
10:00am
King Herod, Pilate, and the whole Roman Empire thought Jesus’ story ended on the treeless hill called Calvary. But three days later, when the women went to a tomb for the dead, they found new life has burst forth in a garden. The tree of death had become the Tree of Life. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Closer than the Next Breath - 2nd Easter
April 27
8:30am Contemplative Communion
10:00am
“Let everything that breathes praise the Lord,” Psalm 150 proclaims. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” Jesus tells his disciples as he breathes new life into them. (John 19:20-31) Every Sunday we take time to breathe in God’s gifts and remind ourselves that God’s new life isn’t confined to Easter morning. We take it in with every breath.