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
Jobs Dilemma, Job's Discover
After our annual “St. Francis Pet Blessing” service, worship in October explores the story of Job, the righteous person whose life is turned upside down due to a bet between God and Satan. It’s one of the most challenging books of the Bible—and also one of the most misquoted and misunderstood. It’s also one of the most important for it takes on the deeply human question: “Why do people suffer?” Or, as Rabbi Harold Kushner framed it, “why do bad things happen to good people?”
Join in this exploration – and invite a friend to do so, too.
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Worship This Month
Going from Strength to Strength
September 29
8:30am Outdoor Contemplative Communion
10:00am (Sanctuary)
The disciples complain to Jesus about someone casting out demons in his name. They’d told him to stop, but Jesus tells them not to hinder deeds of power and compassion. (Mark 9:38-39) The story poses the question: What does it mean to be Christian? Simply assuming the name? Professing a creedal formula? Or does it mean committing to certain actions, doing what Christ did? Jazz Pianist Andy Kingston is our guest in the 10:00 service for a morning of gospel and spirituals. A great Sunday to welcome new members.
Ask the Animals - St. Francis Sunday - Pet Blessing Outdoor Worship
October 6
8:30am Outdoor Contemplative Communion
10:00am (Outdoor)
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you;” Job told his friends who had come to help him in his troubles. “Seek the birds of the air, and they will tell you.” (Job 12:2) Given the less-than-helpful advice those friends offered (i.e., that his suffering was due to his sin), it’s no wonder Job turned to God’s other creatures for solace and wisdom. “Ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare to you.” It’s a perfect text for our annual Pet Blessing. Bring your critters (on a leash, in a carrier, or as a picture). Invite your friends and their critters, too!
A Deal with the Devil
October 13
8:30am Outdoor Contemplative Communion
10:00am
The book of Job begins with an odd story—Satan tricking God into a bet God is sure to lose. (Job 1:1, 2:1-10) It’s also a bet that ensnares a good and righteous person in the competition between the Creator of Heaven and Earth and a fallen angel. What could such an ancient and strange story have to teach us modern humans? Quite a bit actually.
With Friends Like This
October 20
8:30am Outdoor Contemplative Communion
10:00am
Within a few short verses, Job loses his cattle, his camels, even his children. Then he loses his health and is covered in boils. Three friends sit shiva with him, wrapping the grief-stricken Job in silence for seven days. Then they open their mouths, and Job’s suffering real- ly begins. Each friend offers their reasons for his ills—it must have been his fault, his children’s fault, or the animals’ fault. It’s a normal human response. If we can find a reason for someone’s misfortune, we can distance ourselves from their suffering. Surely it can’t happen to us. But Job’s story tells us otherwise—and demands we not be deceived by such easy answers.
The Divine Advocate - Reformation Sunday
October 27
8:30am Outdoor Contemplative Communion
10:00am
In the 10:00 service, the Sanctuary Choir offers Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata #80, based on Martin Luther’s most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Luther took the problem of evil and suffering seriously. So did the author of Job, thousands of years before. In the very depth of his suffering, Job cries out his faith that he has not been abandoned. Arguing against his friends’ facile “advice,” Job proclaims, “I know that my advocate lives.” (Job 19) He is not alone. Job puts his faith in the One who will take up his case and tri- umph over evil. For Martin Luther, that One was and is Jesus Christ—who triumphed over death itself and who taught us God’s ways of life as well. What a full and rich Sunday.
All Saints Sunday - Answer to Job
November 3
8:30am Outdoor Contemplative Communion
10:00am
When God finally engages Job directly, the Almighty’s answer to his suffering is odd. No extended theological explanation, no real pastoral care. Instead, God asks “Where were you when I made heaven and earth, horses and hippopotami? Do you, Job, control the stars in their courses or rein in the rivers?” (Job 38-41) Is God just pulling rank? “I’m God, you’re not.” But perhaps God is doing something else—putting Job’s life in perspective, connecting him to the whole world, revealing that the mystery of life is a mystery of infinite creativity and wonder. On All Saints Sunday, perhaps saints are those who understand God’s answer to Job and have found their place in God’s never- ending circle of life.
It’s just a thought.