by Rev. Janet Onnie
June 8, 2025
The new worship team has been meeting to look at the Sunday services here at HUU. One of the more theologically interesting discussions refers to the Order of Service. They asked the very good question why we do what we do in the order we do them. Why do we have to have an Order of service? Why is it not called the Order of Worship? They’re not so much interested in changing the elements of the Sunday service or even their order. Like good, curious Unitarian Universalists they want to know WHY we do what we do. They thought you might like to know too.
Being something of a worship wonk I welcomed the opportunity to explain the rationale for our Sunday morning activities. Let’s first distinguish between the words Service and Worship. The word service is derived from the word ‘serve’, which means giving something to someone. In the Christian context the something being served is praise and gratitude. The someone who is receiving the praise and thanks is a deity called God. It can also be seen as God serving the people. The something being served is limitless love. This is a bit different in the Unitarian Universalist context. The something being served are our values. The someone being served is ourselves and the whole human community or – for some — that which we deem greater than ourselves. That someone is called by many names, including God.
In all world religions, including ours, worship – praise, thanks, supplication — is the something being served. Worship is an outward expression of service. I understand that word ‘worship’ is a toxic word for some. Its current usage defines it as to treat somebody or something as a deity, and to show respect by engaging in acts of prayer and devotion. What immediately springs to many minds (mine included) is the image of God as the white-bearded Euro-American male in the sky who knows all, sees all, and judges all. Sort of a temperamental Daddy. It has taken years for many of us to shift that image to something else. Or to throw it out altogether. Some of us haven’t yet managed to reset this default. So when I use the word ‘worship’ I get a lot of responses that ask – with varying degrees of politeness – WHO I think we’re worshipping. Not WHAT. WHO. That anthropomorphic image of what is worthy of our most devoted consideration and highest respect is what keeps many churches and therapists in business.
Unitarian Universalists see the act of worship a bit differently. The root of the word worship is “worth-ship”, the act of considering things of worth. We default to this definition. We consider our values – not necessarily a deity — to be the things of highest worth. We spend our service time considering those values, reconnecting with them and with each other.
The Order of Service is how the activity of worth-ship is enhanced by the ordering certain elements within a given period of time, usually an hour once a week. The HUU order of service is rooted in the Protestant tradition, specifically the writings of John Calvin. Now you may not be a fan of Calvinism, but his influence is in our DNA. We are inheritors of the Protestant Reformation, which makes sense when you consider our history of protesting injustice and reforming systems of oppression.
So what is it we think we’re doing here on Sunday morning? How do we acknowledge and serve that which we deem of highest worth? What are some of the elements of this thing we call worship and what purpose to they serve? Let’s unpack these questions.
There are three basic types of worship: Sacramental or Dramatic Worship, Celebratory Worship, and Educational or Interpretive Worship. In a nutshell – a very small nutshell – the Roman Catholic Mass is representative of the first type. It is sacramental because words and actions are believed to participate in the divine reality. The second type of worship is celebratory. It attempts to reflect all of life, taking note of the realities already present in the worshipping community. It is simply to reflect, to celebrate. This is the type of worship most prevalent in the evangelical communities, where the service is centered on praise, especially through music. A drum set next to the altar is a good indicator that the worship style is celebratory.
The third type of worship is educational or interpretive. Rooted in Calvinism, the main purpose is to proclaim and interpret “the Word”, appealing to the intellect and the will rather than the senses. Most Unitarian Universalist worship today is educational and verbal. The ‘word’ is no longer restricted to the Old and New Testaments, but words are still central – the word of the expert: the latest authority in psychology, sociology, or political theory – the word of the service leader who is to be agreed with, argued with, or ignored. This educational model, which is shared with most of Protestantism, is dominant even when the sermon is not central to a particular service. Most Unitarian Universalist worship is thematic, expressing a particular idea or message. It develops a single idea or theme through readings, music, collective acts and a major presentation such as a sermon, panel, or sharing ceremony. Its goal is to move people — and through them, society – to help create community, justice, equality, and to widen personal horizons.
Before I get into describing the HUU elements of the service I want to say a little about liturgy, which is also a trigger word for some. The word ‘liturgy’ comes from the Greek ‘leitourgia’, which means ‘the people’s work.’ Typically these elements of the service are read or responded to by the congregation. Strictly speaking, HUU has a couple liturgical elements in our service: lighting and extinguishing the chalice, and the congregation singing the same songs after the Word for All Ages, the offertory response, and the Sending forth after the benediction. Now each week we sing “Spirit of Life” after the meditation. Other congregations recite their mission statement in unison. These liturgical elements are what distinguishes a UU service from a lecture.
We might be less reactive to language tussles if we understood that for most Unitarian Universalists today, the worship service rests on a foundation that is mainly psychological and not theological, at least in the narrow sense of the latter. Let me say that again: For most Unitarian Universalists today, worship rests on a foundation that is mainly psychological and not theological. It is psychological because of the tremendous diversity in the language we choose to describe what is ultimate or most meaningful to us. So what we are really trying to achieve in our order of service is to determine what worship forms or elements –and the order in which we use them — help us shape and celebrate worthwhile experiences and values. How they help us make use of the healing and transforming forces present in the world. By asking these questions, the psychological dimension opens us up to the spiritual.
Von Ogden Vogt, for many years the minister of the First Unitarian Society in Chicago, was the father of modern Unitarian Universalist liturgy. He believed that worship, to be true to human psychology, must touch the bases in a particular order. A worship service is an art form, a drama with a clear direction. The typical modern liturgy – like the form you’re experiencing today – is a drama in four acts. You can refer to today’s Order of Service if you have a print copy.
The first act is Centering. By combining the Welcome and Call to Worship we celebrate this unique community by stating who we are, and then explaining why we have gathered. The Prelude announces that it’s time for the play to begin and sets the mood for what is to come; almost like an overture in music. The lighting of the chalice grounds us in Unitarian Universalism. It’s a nod to our ancestors. With this action, we keep the path that they also walked, lit. The first hymn sung together solidifies the community in worship and references the theme of the day.
Act two begins with a prequel to the sermon. The Words for All Ages enlarges on one aspect of the theme that is particularly accessible to children. This is important for two reasons. First, it includes them in the first act solidifying their place in the community. Second, it frames the theme in a way that supports their learning and makes the concept accessible to their appropriate ages. Singing the children out assures them of the community’s recognition and support.
The sense of community is now established and is deepened by the sharing of Joys and Concerns. This is the service element most discussed in all UU worship team meetings. This is what one person said: “The visual image of different stones and petals held in water represents the individual joys, sorrows and concerns being held in this community. And it includes people who would normally not speak of very private things.” Another person said, “It brings everything to a personal level. This silent sharing is where people can say, “This is about me”. It is where people say, “This certain thing occurred in my life and it was important. And you are important to me. And I want to share it with you because it is important for me that you know, especially if we are going to be in a religious community with each other.” HUU has been experimenting with various ways to conduct this element so that it is as inclusive and reverent as possible.
Now that the community has heard about their members’ lives, the emphasis is on acknowledging the spoken sharing while encompassing those events and thoughts which remain unspoken. It is a time for individual silent meditation and/or prayer while embraced in the larger community.
The communal singing of “Spirit of Life” is one of the few pieces of distinctly Unitarian Universalist liturgy. (The lighting and extinguishing of the chalice is the other.) Both remind us that, whatever our path, we are at home in our free faith.
Act Three is entitled “Declaring the Possibilities”. It’s time to engage our whole person – intellect, esthetic sense, body, emotion. The intellect is engaged by the Reflection. The opportunity exists to experience what may be simmering below the surface of conscious thought. As the congregation contemplates reflection they are asked to contribute to the care and maintenance of our spiritual home. This Sharing of Our Abundance – the Offertory — is particularly important in areas where Unitarian Universalism is far outside the predominant culture. We are not only establishing and maintaining a safe place to gather; we are establishing and maintaining a beacon for those who are seeking a place to question and to grow.
The musical response acknowledges the value of generosity and invites the listener to be altered by the message of the day. The sermon is the centerpiece of the Unitarian Universalist service. Its goal is to move people — and through them, society – to help create community, justice, equality, and to widen personal horizons. The sermon moves us to not only consider possibilities of a different outlook but to declare those possibilities. The most gratifying phrase I can hear is someone saying, “I never thought of it in quite that way.” The closing hymn reinforces the message and calls us back into community through shared singing.
The fourth Act of the Unitarian Universalist service is that of Dedication. As we extinguish the chalice we promise to integrate the insights from the service into our values and carry them both ‘in our hearts and out into the world.’
HUU follows the chalice extinguishing with the opportunity to allow visitors to introduce themselves and the congregation to comment on the sermon. Both of these elements are unique to Unitarian Universalism and are included at the discretion of individual congregations. The benediction sends us out into the world with words of hope and encouragement. The congregation sings together one last time before gathering back into community as transformed beings. The physical gathering is now in the social area where the community gathers to hear announcements, greet guests, express support for those who have shared their joys, concerns, or sorrows, renew relationships, and share insights. And that is why we do the things we do.
Most of us participate in this weekly drama because it provides space to name our gods – to identify and remind ourselves of our values. We have found that naming our gods and taking responsibility for assessing their worth enlarges our freedom to make choices about our values and their worth. Indeed, to make choices about their relevance to our individual lives. But what individuals find to be worthwhile in their own experience must be tested in the context of other persons, society, and history, as well as in the innermost regions of the self. The critical tradition of Unitarian Universalism makes us wary of all beliefs and forms which claim to be final or absolute. This is why we often refer to ourselves as The Living Tradition. Therefore, the shaping process – the order of service — which activates worship, even though it focuses on the individual, must have a social and historical dimension if it is to be complete. I believe it is the search for that social dimension that brings people through our doors. I believe it is an environment of non-judgmental individuals seeking truth and celebrating communal values that keeps them here.
Let us never lose sight of the people who have yet to find our free faith. Let us remember that our Sunday morning experience is designed to not only sustain the people who are already here, but to invite the seekers who bring their own past and experiences. Let us do the things we do in a spirit of creativity. Let us do the things we do in service to the articulation and practice of that which is of highest worth. Let us do the things we do in gratitude to the traditions of our free faith. May it be so. Amen.
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Our final hymn is #287, “Faith of the Larger Liberty”, which celebrates our liberal religious heritage. The words we’re about to sing is by UU minister Vicent B. Silliman. It speaks to the importance of speaking truth and fighting against oppression while maintaining faith. The lyrics remind us of the costs and sacrifices involved in upholding a free faith. Lyrics that remind us of all who have died and all who may die in the fight for a just and compassionate world. Lyrics that stand up to oppression and remind us there is a cost. Lyrics that inspire our commitment to our values. This 1566 tune was written 13 years after our Unitarian martyr, Michael Servetus, was burned at the stake for speaking his truth. Strong words in a strong tune. Let us sing it with the strength it deserves.