Worship Together

Worship Resources of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest

June | 2024

One Offs


Rev. Joshua Patty

Regional Minister and President


Summer has arrived.  With it comes the most exciting part of worship planning - vacation season!


Perhaps you’re looking forward to a vacation yourself, but mostly I refer to the challenge of planning worship knowing that other worship leaders and regular worshipers will likely be gone for a few Sundays over the next three months.


It’s a challenge to create worship over the summer that ties together with people coming and going.  In my planning, I always approached this as a season of “one offs” – individual sermons that could stand on their own without hearing others before or after.  But I also wanted for there to be consistent themes for a season or month.


My solution eventually was to find light-hearted series where pieces could stand on their own, but which fit together across several weeks.  My most successful was an annual series of theological themes in popular movies (sometimes new movies, sometimes films from previous years).  Each week could stand alone, but I usually offered 4 or 5 of them on successive Sundays.  It became something that many of us – myself included – looked forward to in the summer.  But it’s challenging to find the right series of “one offs” that will engage and be memorable.  Have you found any successful summer series?


Thank you for the ways you lead – and invite us all to experience the presence of God – these months!

Useful

Summer Sermon by Rev. Josh Patty, Regional Minister


The region will be offering a summer sermon this year, for use at any time during the summer. Congregational offices and ministers will receive an email by July 24 with instructions on how to access the sermon.

2024 Regional Calendar

 

For more details go to the Regional website:

uppermidwestcc.org



Now-Aug 3 - Summer Camp!

June 27 - Operations Council, 7p

July 3 - Praying Together, 9:30a

Aug 1 - Praying Together, 9:30a

Sept 27-29 - Upper Midwest Women's Retreat

Oct 19 - All Congregational Gathering



Looking for Worship Resources?


2024 Regional Prayer Calendar


Shared UMW Worship Resources


Zeteo Preaching and Worship


Videos:


Music:


Prayers, Liturgies & More:


Worship Planning Opportunity


Marcia McFee, who leads Worship Design Studio, is offering our region (and other similar church ministries) a chance to purchase registration for all of our congregations to three upcoming planning retreats in August, January 2025, and May 2025.  These would offer themes for 1) Advent/Christmas/Epiphany, 2) Lent/Holy Week/Easter, and 3) Ordinary time in the summer.  Retreats would be livestreamed and recorded.  This would also include materials for a related series for each season that your congregation could use.


Learn more about these retreats and resources.


Would you and/or your congregation participate in this and use such worship planning materials?  Provided there is sufficient interest, this seems like an excellent way for our region to support your worship ministry.  Please let me know [link my email address, please] if your congregation would access and use some of these materials over the course of the next year.

Special Resources for Worship and Education

The link for the July Praying Together.

Beautiful Feet

Disciples Preaching Retreat

Phoenix, AZ

October 28-30, 2024


Join Disciples preachers for three days of connecting, learning, and lots of good preaching. Spots at the retreat center are limited, so register today.

2024 UMW Summer Camps


Iowa State Fair Hymn Sing


The Iowa State Fair will be here sooner than we know it! Once again, we will be hosting the Iowa State Fair hymn sing. Contact Don Hiscox for more information and to volunteer.

Previous Resources and News

Resources to Strengthen Your Worship Services


These are some resources that have been featured in previous issues of Worship Together:


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