Authors: Susan Lukey

The church in which I grew up had a beautiful set of stairs leading from the front door to the sanctuary. As a child, I loved skipping up those steps to enter the sanctuary, the steps giving me the feeling of entering a very special and sacred space. I also...

Every hymn, prayer, song, idea, sermon, photo, and personal approach in worship has a cultural origin. Nothing is neutral. For too long, the frequent assumption has been that materials from White, usually British, European, or North American, cultures are the standard or neutral materials. When we list the cultural origin...

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...

“Please stand.” The words are so easily offered in preparation for a hymn. Yet they assume that everyone present is able to stand and that those who are not able to stand will just understand that they aren’t expected to do so. Yet, many of us have been trying other...

A Mother's Day Blessing to all those who offer mothering love in so many ways, to birth mothers, adopted mothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, chosen mothers, grandmothers and godmothers, to soon-to-be mothers and those yearning to be mothers, to those of all genders who offer tender care and understanding to children...

I don’t quite remember when I fell in love with scripture. It might have been when I was a preschooler and was introduced to the hardcover books of the New Curriculum of The United Church of Canada. Love One Another ; Praise Him, Praise Him ; Jesus and the Children...

For five decades, worship leaders across the country have been sharing resources through Gathering, so we’re celebrating by giving five contributors a free one-year subscription to GatheringWorship.ca (print and online). That’s one for every decade that Gathering has been enriching worship across Canada and in countries around the world. Each...