Spoilers ahead…this Sunday, we’ll have a new order to the worship service!

With the beginning of the new church every September, we change the liturgy, that is, the standard script for the worship service. It keeps things fresh, prevents items from becoming “tin gods” that can never be changed, plus it allows us to focus in on different elements year to year.

The theme for the entire year is community. We’ll be addressing different aspects of community in both worship and faith development — things like covenant, relationship, citizenship, being good neighbors, and more.

For those interested, here are some elements of the 2025-26 liturgy and information about those pieces:

Chalice Lighting: this year, the words to the chalice lighting will change every week and will be chosen by the worship leader. Liturgy means “the work of the people,” and the worship leader is encouraged to find pieces that resonate with them. The response to the chalice lighting will be sung: Break not the circle of enabling love where people grow, forgiven and forgiving; break not that circle, make it wider still, till it includes, embraces all the living. This is an excerpt from Hymn #323 Break Not the Circle. My colleague, Rev. Kimberley Debus, writes about this hymn here. For me, it reminds me of the poem by Universalist Edwin Markham, a bit of slyness I think our world could use more of right now:

He drew a circle that shut me out–
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him in!

Welcome/Greeting: both the minister and the worship leader are invited to share our pronouns if we wish. This does two things: it normalizes communicating this particular part of our identities, and, because of resistance to this from those who do not support inclusion, it sends the message that this is an LGBTQIA-welcoming community. (Thank you, pronouns!)

Celebration of Community: most Sundays, there is some community ritual we are including in the service: having someone from the wider community there to tell us about their organization, new member recognition ceremonies, baby/child dedications, the yellow rose or bronze acorn awards, etc. These have their special Sundays and will be in this section of the liturgy. In addition, the 4th Sunday will be where we recognize “Service Ethic and Shared Work” by spotlighting one area of opportunity where a volunteer is needed.

Offering: this year, the worship leader will bring their creativity to bear as they choose a different offering reading each Sunday. In our culture, we are often timid about talking about money, but it is a part of community, and an aspect of living a generous life. (It would probably be good for all of us to get more comfortable talking about this!)

Community Prayer/Joys and Sorrows: As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.” We liberal religionists often use terms like meditation or reflection when we’re really talking about a communal prayer. (Yes, you can pray without believing in a deity.) I think this is a good year to reclaim the word from those who seek to limit what it means, and in the process, become more comfortable with the language of our interfaith neighbors. Joys and sorrows will be wrapped into this time of the service, as they often deserve a time of sacred intention. This will be followed by another sung response:

Love will guide us, peace has tried us,
hope inside us will lead the way
on the road from greed to giving.
Love will guide us through the hard night.

This is an excerpt from Hymn #131 Love Will Guide Us. A little bit of trivia: the tune for this song is called “Olympia,” in honor of Universalist minister Rev. Olympia Brown, one of our first ordained women ministers.

At the end of the service, will extinguish the chalice by saying these words to each other. Often, after a year of repeating certain readings or songs, you may find the words memorized, written on your heart. This year, I can think of no reminder that we need more:

Take courage friends.
The way is often hard, the path is never clear,
and the stakes are very high.
Take courage.
For deep down, there is another truth:
you are not alone.

By Wayne B. Arnason

p.s. Oh, and the most important thing about this change of liturgy? It comes with a new worship time: 11:00!