The UUA’s Congregational Life Staff Group has two new offerings this fall for small congregations, lay-led congregations, congregations with part-time ministry, and any congregation that is seeking resources for worship.
Sermon of the Month
The first offering is the Sermon of the Month series, a monthly subscription service that provides recorded sermons congregations can download and use for worship. Along with a transcript of the sermon, each month’s offering will include suggested readings and hymns. Speakers will be members of the Congregational Life staff, other UUA staff groups, or guest preachers from around the country.
For our September sermon, the Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh, from the Pacific Western Region Congregational Life Staff, shares her sermon “Living Into the Living System.” In her sermon, she reflects on what it means to see our congregations as “living systems,” and although living systems are naturally resistant to change, beauty and power can emerge in unexpected places when we tend to our living systems.
The subscription costs $350 for 12 monthly sermons that can be used at any time. Annual Program Fund (APF) Honor Congregation will receive a $50 discount. For more information about Congregational Life’s Sermon of the Month series, visit our CL Sermon Series page.
Spiritual Deepening through Worship and Small Groups
Our second offering is a virtual course on Spiritual Deepening through Worship and Small Groups, presented in conjunction with the Center for Congregational Spirituality.
This four-session course will lead participants through a process of planning a liturgical year that is authentic to their congregation, gathering resources on the year’s seasonal themes, integrating those themes through communal spiritual practice in worship, creating opportunities for spiritual practice in small groups, and inviting participants to engage in individual practices centered on the theme.
The structure of the course will include both on-demand videos and in-person virtual sessions beginning on Saturday, October 28, and continuing through Saturday, November 18, 2023. While the course is open to individuals, congregations are encouraged to have two to four people participate. The registration fee is $125 for one person, $225 for 2 people, $300 for 3 people, and $350 for 4 people.
The course is compatible with a variety of UU Holidays, Holy Days and Worship Themes, including Earth-centered Wheel of the Year celebrations and monthly theme-based subscription services like Soul Matters or Touchstones.
For more information on Spiritual Deepening through Worship and Small groups, visit the Congregational Spirituality website.