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
    “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