Authors: Susan Lukey


The dark and light dance together creating beauty and wonder in this piece. It was written as an alternative to counter the many uses of light as good and dark as bad. The verses go with the lighting of the Advent candles: hope, peace, joy and love. The tune is...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Theme(s)
Dance
Darkness - the goodness of
Diversity
Hope
Jesus
Jesus - life and ministry
Joy
Light
Love
Peace
Unity
Music

This Advent candle-lighting for two voices and the whole congregation is inspired by Psalm 104:19: “You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting." The litanies invite us to understand dark and light as partners in creation in a dance that blesses us...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Theme(s)
Beauty
Dance
Darkness - the goodness of
Diversity
Hope
Jesus
Jesus - images of
Joy
Light
Love
Peace
Unity
Complete Service
September 15, 2023

Do you have a sense of the general literacy level of your congregation? If you take time to observe and reflect, you might get a feel for the comfort level for reading among the people you serve. Yet, be aware of your biases and the assumptions that might be shaping...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Theme(s)
Community in Christ
Diversity
Family of God
Inclusiveness
Understanding
Unity
Worship Column
September 06, 2023

Sylvia Dunstan (1955–1993) served as Editor of Gathering from 1985–1988. In the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany 1986 issue, she writes: “The editor’s mother (a restaurateur/food and wine writer) was visiting recently and looked through Gathering . She was of the opinion that Gathering is badly in need of a food and wine column...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Blog
September 02, 2023

A Prayer for Students and Teachers As a new school year begins, we offer this prayer for students and teachers to use as they enter into the adventure of learning together. Loving God, Wise God, remind me that you are with me as I return to school. Give me delight...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Blog

By joining in this worship, Gracious God, we are making a choice, a choice to be part of your transforming love in this world. We are offering ourselves—body, mind, and spirit—to the mending and tending of your world. We are opening ourselves to be changed by your compassion working in...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Theme(s)
Blessing
Body - physical
Choice; Decision
Christian Life or Experience
Commitment
Compassion
Restoration
Sharing
Transformation
Trinity
World
Prayer
July 26, 2023

We, the Gathering Worship editorial team, would like to introduce ourselves to the whole Gathering Worship community! Get to know a bit about who’s behind the names that appear frequently on your page and screen—the people who put it all together. The first in the series is Susan Lukey. Hello...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Blog
July 24, 2023

We’ve got to stop being defensive about not reading the Bible literally and not believing it is the inerrant word of God. Taking the Bible literally as the inerrant word of God is not “good old-time religion.” The approach only took root about 130 years ago, at “Believers Meetings for...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Blog

These prayers were shared in the weekly congregational email and posted on the church website the week before school began. A Prayer for Students and Teachers As a new school year begins, we offer this prayer for students and teachers to use as they enter into the adventure of learning...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Theme(s)
Children
Compassion
Diversity
Enthusiasm
Fear
Frustration
Gender and Sexual Diversity
God's Presence
Jesus - life and ministry
Learning
Seasons of the Year
Teaching
Wisdom
Prayer
May 31, 2023

Next time you are writing a prayer, consider the period, a simple dot that carries profound power and responsibility. Punctuation was developed in the seventh century CE to help make the written word approximate human speech. For example, a question mark or an exclamation mark at the end of a...

Author(s)
Susan Lukey
Theme(s)
Commandments
Hospitality
Incarnation
Learning
Rest and Quiet
Worship Column