Worship Resources

Worship is an essential and vital part of Christian community. In the United Church of Christ, we believe that each setting is best equipped to discern the Holy Spirit’s guidance for itself. That means each local church develops and leads its own worshipping life. However, the local church is never “on its own.” Through covenant, it is connected with every other setting of the United Church of Christ. This curated list of resources is offered by the wider church in covenantal support of our local churches.

Copyright & Licensing

Local churches need to be mindful of copyright law whenever your community is gathered in-person, digitally or both. Any material that is not an original creation of the church – be it music, imagery, liturgies, or poems – may be subject to copyright. Your stream may be blocked, and your church could be sued, if you violate copyright law. Your church’s non-profit status does not afford any legal protections under copyright law. Copyright is also a justice issue: it ensures that writers and composers are properly compensated for their work. There are a variety of licenses that local churches can purchase to enable you to utilize certain copyrighted materials. You can read more on the guidelines and laws here.

Liturgy & Prayers

UCC Worship Ways provides original liturgies written in English and in Spanish, written both for lectionary-based worship and thematic worship.

The Text This Week is a treasure trove of liturgy, scripture study and worship resources organized around the lectionary as well as themes.
The Liberation Lectionary is a Black Liberation worship resource for Progressive Christian communities. Created & curated in partnership with Saint John’s Church - The Beloved Community, and the St. Louis Association of the United Church of Christ, the lectionary is updated every Sunday morning. Scroll through the seasons to learn more about the stories we’ll share.

Music

Go to our Music Performance Showcase on Vimeo for musical recordings you can download and use in your own church, provided your church uses your own licensing.

Sermons

The SNEUCC Sermon Bank offers video recordings of sermons by SNEUCC staff, on wide ranging topics and scripture, that local churches can download and use during worship.

Massachusetts Bible Society, which is now part of SNEUCC, has a number of sermons available on their website.

UCC Sermon Seeds is an exegetical reflection to spark a sermon that lay leaders often use when asked to fill in for their pastor on vacation.

Working Preacher offers fresh commentaries on the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary texts.

Other Creative Ideas:

- Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay, UCC Minister for Worship and Theology, suggests reliving your pastor’s “greatest hits!” In other words, you might reuse sermons from the pastor that really resonated with the congregation.
- Read a children’s picture book (they aren’t only for children!). Storypath from Union Presbyterian Seminary is a wonderful resource that connects picture books to scripture and thematic topics.

Other Resources

The SNEUCC has curated several full worship services, which can be accessed here in this Vimeo showcase. You can use them in whole or part, but please make sure music is covered under your church's license.
Partner with a neighboring church. You can attend each other’s services, stream each other’s services into your own sanctuary or find something else that works.