NOTE: What follows is a typical Order of Service with comments on how I normally conduct it. Use this as it fits you and the particular service you conduct. Specific wording possibilities for various elements of the service -- e.g., Call to Worship, Chalice Lighting, Benediction, etc. -- are found at the bottom of this document.TYPICAL ORDER OF SERVICE
- Striking the Bowl to Begin - Check that the Pianist and Music Director are ready to go, then promptly at 9:15 or 11:15 strike the bowl with the wooden striker 3 times. The bowl should be placed in the upper right part of the pulpit. Be sure it is not touching the wood or it will not ring properly. After the bowl has sounded, push the pulpit microphone switch to "on." Otherwise the microphone picks up the sound in an unpleasant way.
- Gathering Song - The Music Director will typically lead this. Come to the pulpit as Gathering Song concludes.
- Call to Worship - Give Call to Worship immediately after the Gathering Song concludes and while congregation is still standing. Any hesitation here on your part and some people will begin to sit.
- Lighting the Chalice and Musical Response - A unison recitation of the Covenant Statement (or other words for the Lighting of the Chalice) follows the Call to Worship and precedes the Lighting of the Chalice. I typically introduce this with the following statement: "Please join me in the words of our Covenant Statement (or words for the lighting of our chalice) found in your Order of Service."
NOTE #1: Prior to the service check to see that the oil lamp in the Chalice is ready to go.
NOTE #2: Also check to see that a lit candle is in the bowl used for Joys and Sorrows. The Chalice Lighter uses this candle for lighting the oil lamp in the Chalice.
NOTE #3: Also check to see who is lighting the Chalice. You may have to find your own lighters for this. The Chalice Lighters should come up to the front as the Gathering Song is being sung, then take the lit candle from the Joys & Sorrows bowl, and, after the unison words are spoken, light the oil lamp in the Chalice. Following the lighting, they should remain facing the Chalice during the Musical Response (which sometimes is sung and other times is played). When the Response concludes the Chalice Lighters may return to seats.
- Responsive Reading - I usually print the Responsive Reading in the Order of Service and simply refer the congregation to it by saying: "Please join me in the Responsive Reading found in your Order of Service." Other times I may want to say something about the Responsive Reading - e.g., who wrote it, why it was chosen for the service, etc.
- Hymn - No need to announce hymn, though you may if you want to, even saying something about why it was chosen, who composed it, etc.
- A Time for All Ages - If you are doing the Time for All Ages, invite the children to come forward for the story or message. I usually aim for 2-5 minutes and then ask the congregation to sing them on their way to their classes. If the speaker is doing this, assist as needed.
- Reading - The speaker will generally do this.
- Prayer/Meditation, Period of Silence, Musical Response - Again, the speaker will generally do this, in this way:
- Simply introduce a Period of Silence. The Period of Silence is usually about a minute in length, controlled by the pianist who ends the silence with a short meditative piece.
- Introduce the Period of Silence with a short prayer.
- Joys and Sorrows, Musical Response - Invite members of the congregation to share personal joys and sorrows -- with Joys first and then Sorrows -- either by lighting a candle and saying a few words or simply by lighting a candle. (Use hand-held microphone for this. It is activated by pushing the upper switch to the on position. (NOTE: The bottom switch should always be in the on position.) Following the Joys and Sorrows turn the upper switch off again. As persons come forward to share a joy or concern, I usually hand them the microphone and an unlit candle. Assist persons as needed. When there are no more persons who wish to share, light one final candle for unspoken Joys and Sorrows (see below). At this point the pianist will play a short meditative piece before the Congregational Announcements.
- Congregational Announcements - This is an opportunity to introduce the speaker and to call attention to whatever you judge is of value to the congregation as a whole. Check the Order of Service for announcements you may want to mention. Sometimes there are also last minute items that may need to be included. I typically give the Congregational Announcements first and then invite any visitors to introduce themselves - name and whereabouts - and invite them to a Social Hour and refreshments following the service. Finally, DON"T FORGET THE OFFERING!! (unless you never want to do this again). I usually simply say: "Our Offering will now be received" - but if you can think of something more clever to say, go ahead.
- Offering & Offertory - Take a rest here.
- Special Music - Enjoy the music.
- Sermon - Guest Speaker
- Closing Hymn - Generally, there's no need to announce the closing hymn. But other times you may find it helpful to do so. I play this by ear.
- Spoken Benediction & Extinguishing the Chalice - As the hymn is ending come to the pulpit and give a spoken benediction while congregation is standing (see possibilities below). Again, don't wait long here or there will be confusion. Following the Benediction, give the words for the Extinguishing of the Chalice, and after the words are spoken (or while the words are being spoken) extinguish the oil lamp with the extinguisher (that should also be on the stand). Then as the Closing Song is beginning, I usually walk up the center aisle with the guest speaker. This enables the speaker to greet people at the back of the sanctuary. However, you may feel more comfortable doing the last part of the service a different way.
- Closing Song - The Director of Music takes care of this.
RESOURCES FOR SERVICE
(Also see the back of our hymnal)Call to Worship
Holy and beautiful is the custom by which we gather together on this Sunday morning.
Here we come to give our thanks, to face our ideals, to remember our loved ones, to seek that which is permanent, and to serve goodness, beauty, and the qualities of life that make it rich and whole.
Through this hour breathes the worship of all ages, the cathedral music of all history, and blessed are the ears that hear that eternal sound.
This is indeed a day that God has made (or, This is a new day that has been given to us).
Let us then rejoice in it and be glad.
And let us count our many, many blessings:
Let us be grateful for the incredible gift of life,
And for the capacity to see, to feel, to hear, and to understand.
Let us be grateful for this time of fellowship, for work to do, and service to render.
And let us then be especially grateful for the ties of love which bind us together, giving dignity, meaning, worth, and joy to all our days.
(Duncan Littlefair)
O Spinner, Weaver, of our lives,
Your loom is love.
May we who are gathered here
be empowered by that love
to weave new patterns of Truth
and Justice into a web of life
that is strong, beautiful, and everlasting.
(Barbara Wells)
Lighting the Chalice
We are ever bound in community:
We build on foundations, we did not lay.
We warm ourselves at fires, we did not light.
We sit in the shade of trees, we did not plant.
We drink from wells, we did not dig.
We profit from persons, we did not know.
We light this chalice in thanksgiving
For those who have passed their light to us.
(Freely adapted from Deuteronomy 6:10-12)
We drink from wells we did not dig.
We have been warmed by fires we did not build.
We light this chalice in thanksgiving
For those who have passed their light to us.
(Adapted from Deuteronomy 6:10-12)
With deep gratitude for all who have kept burning the flame
Which lights our path, we kindle our chalice.
We remember thus in love the long pilgrimage of those living and dead
Who have in faith and hope guided our way.
Though our knowledge is incomplete,
Our truth partial,
And our love imperfect,
We believe that new light is ever waiting
To break into our hearts and minds,
To enlighten our common path,
That there is mutual strength in willing cooperation,
And that the bonds of love keep open the gates of freedom.
We are here to abet creation and to witness to it,
To notice each other's beautiful face and complex nature
So that creation need not play to an empty house.
(Annie Dillard)
May this flame,
symbol of transformation since time began,
fire our curiosity,
strengthen our wills,
and sustain our courage
as we seek what is good within and around us.
(from Candy Drollinger)
We gather this hour as people of faith
With joys and sorrows, gifts and needs.
We light this beacon of hope,
Sign of our quest for truth and meaning,
In celebration of the life we share together.
(Christine Robinson)
At times our own light goes out,
And is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude
Of those who have lighted the flame within us.
(Albert Schweitzer)
We come together this Sunday
To renew our faith in the holiness, goodness and beauty of life;
To reaffirm the way of the open mind and the full heart;
To reclaim the vision of an earth more fair, with all her people one.
Joys And Sorrows
Invitation: We gather as a religious community not only to share common events and concerns in which all of us participate, but also to bring to our religious community our individual joys and sorrows.
At this point in our service we set aside a time for the expression of these individual joys and sorrows. I'd like to ask that those who have a joy to share to please come forward first, light a candle to it, and say a word about that joy, if you wish. And following that there will be a similar time for the sharing of individual sorrows. Is there anyone with an individual joy they wish to share?
Candle for Unexpressed Concerns: I light this final candle for unspoken joys and sorrows, and perhaps for thoughts and feelings too deep or tender to be put into words or expressed in a public way.
Introducing the Period of Silence (after lighting the final candle, and if you aren't doing a poem or prayer before the Silence (see options above). I typically, say: Now let us be together in a time of silence, holding in our hearts these sorrows and joys.
Benedictions
Now may peace be in our hearts,
and understanding in our minds,
may courage steel our wills,
and the love of truth forever guide us. Amen.
May the Love which overcomes all differences,
Which heals all wounds,
Which puts to flight all fears,
Which reconciles all who are separated,
Be in us and among us,
Now and always. Amen.
(Frederick E. Gillis)
May the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding,
The strength of God which sustains us,
And the love of God which binds us together,
Be with us, now and forever. Amen.
Cheered by our community,
Blessed by our covenant,
Uplifted in mind,
And renewed in spirit,
Go forth with courage and in peace
To meet the days to come. Amen.
(Burton D. Carley)
And now may faith sustain us,
hope inspire us,
love surround us,
and joy fill us
as we go our separate ways,
knowing that we will gather again
in this beloved community.
(Jim Wickman, Adapted)
Now may the love of truth guide you,
The warmth of love hold you,
And the spirit of peace bless you,
This day and in the days to come. Amen.
(Jane Mauldin)
May the love that gives to life its beauty,
the reverence that gives to life its sacredness,
and the purposes that give to life its deep significance
be strong within each of us
and lead us into ever deepening relationships with all of life. Amen.
(George G. Brooks)
And now may the blessings of life be upon us.
May the memories we gather here give us hope for the future.
May the love share strength us
And bring joy to our hearts,
This day and forever. Amen.
(Adapted frfom Gary Kowalski)
We clasp the hands of those that go before us,
and the hands of those who come after us.
We enter the little circle of each other's arms,
and the larger circle of lovers, whose hands are joined in a dance,
and the larger circle of all creatures, passing in and out of life,
who move also in a dance,
to a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it except in fragments.
(Wendell Berry)
And now may the faith we nourish here
And the memories we gather here
Give us hope for the future.
May the love that we share
And the companionship we feel
Strengthen us and bring joy to our hearts.
And may the blessings of this time rest upon us,
This day and forevermore. Amen.