Authors: Susan Lukey

I am so glad that people are eager to find the material from each Gathering issue on the website. The Gathering team is working at refining our schedule so that you have what you need when you need it. We’d like to share with you the process for adding all...

The question came to me, “Why do we still use the Lord’s Prayer when the language is archaic and we don’t believe what it says?” Indeed, the words may not express exactly what we believe. “Our Father who art in heaven…” In my daily prayers, I often change this to...

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...