Seek Inspiration: Exploring Thematic Worship
Many UU (and Christian) congregations ground worship experiences throughout the year by exploring monthly or seasonal themes that invite deeper reflection during and after a Sunday service. This year at UUCUC, we’ll be using Soul Matters as our foundational themes each month. As Rev Beth explored the idea of incorporating themes into worship, using Soul Matters seemed a great starting point since we already subscribe to their resources for our small group ministries. And while many folks are familiar with the Soul Matters topics, exploring the themes in worship creates a shared experience for everyone, whether or not they are in a Soul Matters group.
What will this mean for Sunday mornings? Do you have to attend every Sunday to understand what’s happening each week? No, of course not! Rather, each week will still be its own service with a specific topic, but connected to the larger theme with shared resources, images, music, and opening words. We’ll also have resources such as books, songs, poetry, podcasts, and other media as suggested material for people to explore the themes on their own or with others. The themes and the message series that Rev Beth has developed for this year:
September: Invitation – Becoming Behavior: Our UU faith is rooted in the radical notion that all life is interconnected and ever-evolving, which can be both wonderful and terrifying. In this message series, we’ll explore practices that help us to accept the invitation to become wholly, lovingly all that we long to be in the face of constant change and uncertainty.
October: Deep Listening – The Space We Hold: With the hectic pace of our contemporary lives, the constant pulls on our attention, and the divisive discourse that dominates public life, the practice of deep listening can seem impossible. But our spiritual communities allow us the space to practice listening to each other, to the larger world, and to the wisdom of our own souls.
November: Repair – Breaking Open Not Apart: In her seminal work, On repentance and Repair, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg writes, “While we can’t undo the past, we can address the present with integrity and endeavor to create a future that is much more whole than anything we can imagine from here.” The practice of repair requires facing hard things with bravery and honesty, trusting that when our hearts break open, they make room for growth and deepening connections.
December: Presence – Holy Expectations: The Christian season of Advent is one of waiting expectantly for what can be born in the darkness. That theme resonates across cultures and religions, and our own religious tradition calls us to be present to the worlds’ pains and joys as we work to lovingly transform expectations into thriving reality.
January: Story – Up From The Depths: “Stories are what we tell ourselves to make ourselves come true,” British novelist Jeanette Winterson wrote those words in a retelling of a Greek myth. In this series, we’ll explore mythic tales alongside our personal ones to highlight how we are all made up of stories, individual and collective, that tell us who we have been and point us to who we may yet become.
February: Inclusion – Moving Mountains: We are a community of diverse histories, bodies, identities, and beliefs. Yet practices of being radically inclusive continue to challenge us. As the Chinese proverb says, “Those who wish to move mountains must begin by carrying away small stones.” Let us consider how we can move mountains to be more fully the inclusive community we long to be.
March: Trust – Learning to Fly: Researcher and writer Dr. Brene Brown wrote: “Trust is not built in big, sweeping moments. It’s built in tiny moments every day.” What are the “tiny moments” that help us practice and build trust, for ourselves and our community? Building trust, especially in our spiritual homes, creates capacity for curiosity, creativity, and the inevitable mistakes that enable thriving.
April: Joy – The Necessity of Joy: In the face of the world’s tragedies and our personal griefs, the cynics among us might say that beauty and joy are frivolous. But our souls are fed by beauty and nourished by joy, and if we aren’t making room for our joy in our spiritual practices, in our relationships, and in our activism, then what are we making room for? This message series invites us to notice the ordinary, everyday miracles all around us and to seek joy with our hearts wide open.
May: Imagination – Beyond Our Wildest Dreams: Albert Einstein famously said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Imagination allows us to transcend our current realities and to create possibilities for thriving. Flexing our imagination in spiritual community can be a grounding practice to break out of old ways of doing and being and move into deeper love- centered, justice seeking, radically inspiring relationships.
June: Freedom – Singing New Songs: American culture tends to focus on individual freedoms and rights, with too little conversation about shared responsibilities and collective liberation. But as Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer said, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” How can we as a community create space and practices for getting everybody free?