We are a Worshipping People
Dear Friends,
Ever since our formation – and for hundreds of years before – we’ve been concerned with worship. From 1972 we’ve looked at how to resource worship in a church which has few, if any, set liturgies. We’ve wanted to reflect the contexts we’ve found ourselves in and to ensure that our worship is ever new yet reflecting our traditions – fresh yet familiar. We’ve done this through hymnbooks and worship resources, through sharing good practice, and taking ideas from places in our wider Reformed family – the Iona Community in particular has shaped our worship. Week after week we gather to worship – in church, at home around a screen, listening on our phones, or reading an order of service emailed or printed off for us. We are a worshipping, yet dispersed, people.
In order to help our dispersed people worship we produce a range of resources which can be downloaded and adapted for local use. Worship Notes assist in the careful preparation of worship. They offer all the prayers needed (and some that might not be!), notes on the readings that could be built into a sermon, and suggestions for hymns (which might be used or might stimulate the thinking of those who lead worship). They are used by hard pressed Elders who haven’t been trained to lead worship as well as busy Lay Preachers and ministers. Sometimes they spark thoughts, other times they can be used in their entirety, most often selections from them are used to enhance the worship leader’s own ideas. The notes can be found here https://urc.org.uk/your-faith/prayer-and-worship/worship-notes/ They are always produced at least a month in advance, often longer.
This week our notes have been provided by the Rev’d Martin Knight. Martin looks at the Gospel passage where Jesus gave instructions for dealing with conflict in the Church. His all-age activity includes singing Bob the Builder and Martin introduces a lovely sung Prayer for Illumination. He also includes a Communion liturgy as well as all the prayers and hymn suggestions you need.
This resource is designed to help plan worship locally. We also offer services by PowerPoint (which can be adapted) if you’d prefer to facilitate worship that way as a form of pulpit supply. Our preachers video themselves giving the introduction, sermon, and blessing and, at least once a month, presiding at Communion. These videos are placed into a PowerPoint file along with audio recordings of the prayers. The words of the hymns and recordings of them are also placed into the file too. We provide an Order of Service too. Some churches want to change the hymns, or strip the sound file out so they can be played locally. Others want to just use the videos and use the script we provide to lead the prayers and readings locally. All this is possible with this resource. Sign up here if you’d like to access those materials and drop me a line so I can send you the current set of PowerPoint material for pulpit supply along with the audio and print versions to distribute locally to those who can’t get to church and don’t have access to the Internet.
We are building up a bank of prayers that can be useful as people craft worship or wish to use in their own prayer life. We’ve arranged the material by season on the website – click on the Your Faith tab, then Prayer and Worship, then Prayers for Church Seasons or click here. This resource is being expanded all the time and is another way in which the church is hoping to equip leaders of worship.
Finally, each week we provide sample prayers of intercession. Worship leaders for the Daily Devotion services prepare their material months in advance and so we like to also offer intercessions which reference the readings but also draw in current events. This week’s prayers have been written by the Rev’d Camilla Veitch and they can be downloaded here.
I hope you find them useful – do let us know your thoughts on these resources as you use them.
With every good wish
Andy
The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship