About UU Worship

“Worship should speak to our experiences in life, challenge us to develop deeper relationships, and connect us to things that are beyond ourselves—be that in human relationships, struggles for justice, or a connection with nature or God or any other profound mystery.”

~ from the UUA Worship Web section on contemporary worship.

Worship means many different things to people. As stated by the 1982 UUA Commission on Common Worship: “Worship is a human activity. Though it is often defined as an activity to placate and get in touch with divine powers, it need not have any supernatural implications. The origin of the word "worship" is in the Old English weorthscipe, meaning to ascribe worth to something, or even to shape things of worth. We worship, then, whenever we ascribe worth to some value, idea, object, person, experience, attitude, or activity, or whenever we give form or shape to that which is of worth.”

Further Reading/Worship Resources:

• Unitarian Universalist Association
• Excerpt from 1982 UUA Commission on Worship
  
  “Worship is a human activity. Though it is often defined as an activity to placate and get in touch with divine powers, it need not have any supernatural implications. The origin of the word "worship" is in the Old English weorthscipe, meaning to ascribe worth to something, or even to shape things of worth. We worship, then, whenever we ascribe worth to some value, idea, object, person, experience, attitude, or activity, or whenever we give form or shape to that which is of worth.

  A worship experience can occur at any time, while one is alone, or part of a group. Whenever something beautiful is perceived, wherever there is a deep sense of connectedness with other persons or with the natural world or with the transcendent, whenever one gains new insight or a new sense of wholeness, whenever one perceives an ethical challenge, wherever life is deliberately focused or ordered--in all these situations it can be said that one is worshiping.

  Most studies of religious experience have focused on the individual. The work of the late Abraham Maslow on “peak experiences” has attracted the attention of many Unitarian Universalists because it makes no explicit theological assumptions. Maslow, however, did not deal with the collective dimension of these experiences. In fact, he questioned whether peak experiences could be created or cultivated. They seemed to him spontaneous, totally unplanned.

  Yet when we gather together for worship we are making an assumption that we can create some kind of common experience. Common worship is a deliberate shaping, ordering, or recalling of the things of worth which we experience individually at various moments in our lives. The ordering process which is done in common adds a new and important dimension. The term “common” has several meanings depending on the context. It may refer to those beliefs, attitudes, and activities we share as members of a particular congregation. Or it may refer to what we share as religious liberals, or what we share by virtue of being human.”
  

“The building of strong souls and strong communities requires strong rituals – occasions that both link us to our ancestors and speak in a language that is fresh and challenging.”

~ Matthew Fox

“Worship is not the only engine that drives the health of a church [fellowship; congregation], but without compelling worship that moves people towards lives of wholeness, service, and joy, a church community is at best self-sustaining and ingrown, and at worst a slowly dying artifact of a passing era.”

~ from the introduction to Worship That Works, by Wayne Arnason and Kathleen Rolenz