August 2007

Volume 21   Number 8

God is Here!

Designing, leading and participating in worship has long been my passion.  Worship, at its best, helps to center us in our relationship with God, grow in our understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and equip us for being in mission. Being Christian isn’t always easy. We need the gathered community of faith to encourage us, guide us, and join with us in carrying the good news of God’s love to a broken world.  Worship is one of the primary places where we experience that sense of community and connectedness, with each other and with our Maker.

 

Beginning last Sunday and throughout the month of August, we’ll be looking at some of the components of our worship as United Methodists, how they fit together, and how they help to reveal God to us. We gather to worship each week because God has invited us to come for this special time apart. We take a step back, reflect on our lives and respond to the amazing love and grace that God continues to shower upon us. Through reciting the Lord’s Prayer, receiving holy communion, singing the songs of the faith, hearing the scriptures, joining in the historic creeds, listening to the anthem, responding to the sermon and praying for others, we are about the

From Dianne’s Desk  

work of the people of God. (That’s the true meaning of the word “liturgy:” it is the “work of the people.”) These practices help God to form within us the character of Christ. It is a lifetime process, guided by the Holy Spirit, who entrusts to us the message of reconciliation and healing. For this one hour each week, we remind each other that no one is self-sufficient; all are dependent upon