We Can't Create Gathering without You!

Gathering is a unique resource in the world of worship resources. From its beginning, Gathering has been curated and crafted from the materials that worship leaders like you send to us. While other worship resources contract with writers to create material, Gathering is shaped by the prayers, ideas, and resources that you have tried and tested in your congregation.

Gathering is just that: a gathering of gifts from the church for the church, gifts that come out of lived experience. Gathering is the pulse of The United Church of Canada’s worship practice and theology. It is grassroots: a variety of voices, a connection with colleagues, a reflection of the changes and evolution in worship, and an opportunity for sharing wisdom and teaching about worship practice.

So, we need your contributions to make the Gathering resource work.

• You don’t have to edit your submissions ahead of time. We’ll do that for you, according to the United Church and Gathering style guides.
• You can put a whole bunch of original prayers, ideas, and/or hymn texts in one document and send it to us.
• You can send us your worship bulletin, clearly identifying the prayers that were written by you.
• You can send us a description of a ritual or activity you used in worship that your congregation loved.
• Consider the upcoming themes listed in each issue and send us your reflections on one of the topics.
• Send the material by clicking on the Submit Your Material button at the end of the monthly email or on the website, or you can attach it to an email or paste it and send it to @email.

I delight in opening my inbox and finding contributions from worship leaders across Canada and other countries. It is always a joy to witness the care and love that you put into curating worship for your congregations. Tammy-Jo is thrilled to receive new hymn texts and musical compositions to share through Gathering. We know you are out there, prayer writers and hymn creators! Make our day and send along what you have composed.

And we can tell you that your colleagues across Canada and in other parts of the world will treasure being inspired by and using what you have taken time to share.

We invite you to take time today to submit your prayers, worship materials, worship sparks and ideas, hymns, and reflections. We can’t create Gathering without you! The more you send us, the better!

Susan Lukey, Editor