Welcome to UUism! (Worship)

Our faith is not like others in many ways, and it can be confusing for people who are new (or not!) to our pews. I’ve written broad strokes about our faith, what it takes to become a UU minister, and the role of covenant in our faith life in previous months. This month I thought I’d write about worship.

Our history as a faith comes from two Christian denominations – Unitarianism and Universalism. Although there had been movement from the centrality of Christianity in either denomination for some time, this became more solidified during the consolidation of the two into Unitarian Universalism, and even more since. I have described us before as “coming from Christian traditions but no longer bound by them,” one way to frame our pluralism.

There are various aspects of our congregational life/lives that draw from those Christian roots, and one of them is worship. The structure of our worship services – our liturgy – still is rather Christian in its form. The content of the services is only occasionally Christian in flavor, but the outline very much is.

There are probably a variety of reasons for this, but two that are important are that it works and is adaptable. Most elements change between one service and another, but the familiarity of the structure lets people know what to expect when in the order and flow.

I can go on about this for a while, but I’ll try to stick to some of the main points. Good services have an emotional arc. There’s welcoming in; opening and settling; pastoral and community care (this is both the time for Joys and Sorrows as well as the offering); deepening, challenging, affirming, and other things, hopefully in the right balance; and closing, preparing us to re-enter the wider world.

Music is meant to complement the message, to affirm what is being said, to set the tone for different elements, to provide familiarity as we think our thoughts.

Good services also have a core message that is carried throughout. All the elements of the service, from the Opening Words through the Closing Words/Benediction, and the prelude to the postlude, should all reflect that message. Each element offers its own lens or frame or viewpoint on the central message while also fulfilling their role. Not everyone hears all the parts of the service, or experiences them in the same way. The variety of kinds of ways to engage with the theme allows everyone to get something they can take with them.

I would also add that good services reflect many voices. While I very much believe that worship is a conversation between minister and congregation (or in my case currently, two congregations, which is sometimes quite an adventure!), and it is clearly my work to lead in this area, I am also quite sure I am not the only one with wisdom to offer. In my home congregation, just like Tri-UU, many people participated in worship services, from the chalice lightings and extinguishings, worship associates, musicians, and others. Participation by many is a beautiful expression of our values and community-making.

Every congregation’s liturgy is a little (or sometimes, more than a little) different from others, unless they have taken theirs from another. This reflects our congregations’ individuality as well as being an expression of what has been important to them.

I have been thinking about some new ideas to explore in worship. In the meantime, if you have questions or ideas, please feel free to reach out! And if there’s something else you’d like to hear about, let me know!