First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
Worship and Prayer...
God
Numbers from one to ten, however, are called
"God." In other words, counting to ten you would
say, "God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God
God." It is possible to distinguish among these
numbers by the tone in which each is pronounced.
"God," for example, corresponding to our "five,"
is pitched relatively high on the musical scale,
and accordingly sounds an inquisitive, even plaintive,
note. It is in sharp contrast to the number corre-
sponding to our "ten," which has a slightly accented,
basso finality, thus: "God."
--Annie Dillard
Worship, simply put, is a Christian response to Grace--the naming of what has brought us life, sustained us, helped us "get over". It has to do with encountering Holy Mystery, abundance, and joy.
Worship at First Congregational is informal, joyful and relaxed. Some people come to church in
jeans; others dress more formally. What matters is not what you wear, but the connection that you make at a worship service.
That's the whole point--to make a connection with God, a connection with the truth that speaks from our spirits, a connection with each other. Worship offers the opportunity to re-ground ourselves, to understand our lives from the perspective of God's love and calling.
One person described worship at First Congo as "organized disorganization"! It's organized in the sense that we take it seriously and we invest energy in bringing creativity and imagination to our time together. We love and value good preaching. We incorporate silence and art, prayer, scripture reading, personal sharing and testimony as part of our worship experience.
But it's disorganized in the sense that it's free. We trust in the Spirit to guide us as we gather, and we try not to take ourselves too seriously!