First Unitarian Church of Nashville moved to a different way of recognizing joys and concerns several years ago. Says Director of Music Jason Shelton, "Our practice of people coming up and lighting a candle and speaking their joys and sorrows had become unsafe. People were saying inflammatory and...

Creating a night at midweek for friends and members to come out for a "church night" is a tradition for many of our congregations. It's an important time to build relationships in a more relaxed setting than on Sunday morning. And it provides a worship opportunity for those who have difficulty...

Good worship can be a challenge. The sermon may be inspiring and uplifting, with just the right tone and number of examples, but the transitions from one service element to another may not be smooth. Or the special music may not complement the sermon, or vice versa....

The annual water service, sometimes called a "water communion" or "Waters of the World," is beloved by Unitarian Universalists (UUs). The water service is a UU ritual, usually conducted in the fall when friends and members return from their summer travels....

Jefferson Unitarian Church, Golden, CO, start each Sunday with 10 minutes of Morningsong—a hymn sing just before the official start of the service. The practice started with one or two hymns and now is up to three. Minister of Music Keith Arnold says Morningsong is used to teach new hymns, sing...

Carmen McDowell, membership director at East Shore Unitarian Church, Bellevue, WA, invites friends and members to welcome visitors by thinking of three personas: "First there's the Forrest Gump introduction. Forrest wouldn't miss a beat if he inadvertently mistook a founding member for a newcomer.

When members of All Souls Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church in Kansas City, MO (400 members), began having trouble finding a place to sit on Sunday morning they knew it was time to face the future. There are two solutions to crowded Sundays—expanding the building or adding a service. For All...

Danvers, MA (221 members), gather for a service honoring "memory and tradition." The service includes awards for church and community service, a naming of those who have died (including dropping a stone for each into a bowl of water), a short sermon, and a meditation period....

Q. Our church bought enough copies of Singing the Living Tradition so each person attending a service can use the hymnal. Since we have made that purchase, do we have automatic permission to excerpt readings, hymns, etc. to print as inspirational messages in our newsletter that circulates to more...

Rev. Jacqueline Ziegler, interim minister at the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, PA (281 members), holds an annual service where members and others may come to remember an animal companion. People are invited to bring pictures of animals that have been part of their lives. At the service they are...

Q.A.Notice to Visitors: People who attend St. Mark's regularly are for the most part kind and friendly people, but they tend to be a bit shy and self-conscious with strangers. They are afraid of greeting people they think are new and discovering that "the visitors" have been attending St....

Every congregation has lots of visitors who come once, twice, even sign up for the newsletter, but never return. We wonder if we did something wrong, if no one spoke to them, or the coffee was bad. If we have our act together we have someone from the membership committee call all visitors within...

Music feeds our souls and many of us wouldn’t stay in our congregations without it, but to do it properly takes vision, time, and talent. Ten years ago, when Tom Benjamin, a choral director who had recently moved to the area, was asked to build a music program at the Unitarian Universalist (UU)...

Many of the ten congregations in metropolitan Pittsburgh, PA, have fewer than one hundred members, but together they have nearly 1,000 and in recent years they've found more and more ways to come together and make their numbers count. For about six years representatives of the congregations have...

Don't feel it's necessary to reinvent the wheel. Originality in worship is no special virtue. Familiar language, like an old shoe, soothes and reassures. Don't put anybody down, including yourself. Do take care of your congregation....

Getting members out at midweek for a "church night" is a tradition for many of our congregations. It's an important time to build those community connections in a more relaxed atmosphere than on Sunday morning. Members of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Berkeley in Kensington, CA (555...

When a congregation adds to its space by building or remodeling, it has cause for celebration. But there are right and wrong ways to perform these ceremonies. Rev. John A. Buehrens, Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) President, has participated in more than one hundred building dedication...

Jean McCormick continues to be amazed at what comes out of the mouths–and hearts–of people she thought she knew. For four years she has been one of the coordinators of Unitarian Universalist (UU) Religious Odysseys, a program at All Souls UU Church in Kansas City, MO (317 members), in which...

As another election season approaches, many of us are getting involved—and thinking about getting our congregations involved—in the political process. But what actions are permissible? Americans United (AU) for Separation of Church and State, a public policy organization that advocates for...