Two decades ago, when I first started in the ministry, it was the culture in our UU churches for ministers to do what’s called “topical” preaching.  That means every worship service was a stand-alone event built around a sermon based on whatever happened to attract the minister’s attention that week (or the month before when the minister wrote a blurb in the newsletter). 

That practice didn’t work well for musicians, who need more than a month’s notice to plan music, and made it difficult to coordinate the worship themes with the religious education classes for children.  Topical preaching kept worship relevant, but random topics had the effect of keeping our faith stagnant.  Instead of growing in our faith, we were treading water, always reactive to the latest news rather than purposefully following a faith goal of our own.

Many ministers began to adopt a series of monthly themes to organize worship:  “forgiveness” or “grace” or “joy” or what have you.  These could be arranged a year in advance and the RE classes could follow the same themes.  A lot of UU ministers use this system now, there’s even a nationwide program so churches coordinate the same themes.  It’s very possible your next minister will use this “theme-based” ministry.

For me, though, monthly themes still felt too random, so several years ago I began to organize worship following a year-long plan.  Each summer, I set one large worship goal for September through June, with each week representing a step along the way.  My intention is that we will arrive in June really having grown in our faith in some way.  And there’s a through-line that links each Sunday to the next, hopefully generating a sense that every Sunday is a don’t-miss event.

Here’s what I have planned for next year’s worship.

I’m going to begin in the fall with sermons about spiritual practice.  What are the practices Unitarian Universalists engage in to grow their faith?  I’ll start with spiritual practices we do together (worship, singing, religious education); then alone (practices around diet, movement practices like tai chi or yoga, prayer and mediation, journaling, art-making, experiencing nature through gardening or hiking) and finally spiritual practices done in public spaces (volunteer work, activism, evangelism, parenting and teaching).

By the way.  If you have a regular spiritual practice and would be willing to share a testimonial with the congregation I would love to include you in a worship service.  Talk to me!

In the winter and spring, I’ll turn from the “how” of faith, to the “why”.  What’s the goal of religion, anyway?  Why do we hope to get from a spiritual practice, like coming to church on Sundays?

I’ll begin in the winter months with personal spiritual goals, like wisdom, courage, joy, strength, peace, a sense of order to our lives, a feeling of belonging and feeling needed, recognition for our contributions, beauty.

In the spring I’ll talk about the social goals of religion as we strive to change not just ourselves but the world, including the goal of Unitarian Universalism expressed in our sixth principle, “The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.”

Don’t worry, I’ll still address any important events that come up in the news or in our congregation.  I’ll recognize holidays and other special services.  And on the Sunday I’m off each month the guest preacher will be free to speak about anything they like.