The Ministry Lab supports worship leaders with robust resources.
Check out these resources to help clergy, sacristans, musician, and other leaders prepare and facilitate meaningful worship.
Liturgy and Music
- Jesus was born in a time such as this; Jesus is born for such a time as this. Ministry leaders and whole congregations are invited to join Church Anew for Christ / Christmas / Covid, a free online event featuring engaging and short talks from both world-renowned speakers and emerging voices providing space to grieve and lament, while reclaiming the prophetic hope of this season.
- RevGalBlogPals offers Words for Worship from an international group of female clergy contributors. You’ll find resources you can use or adapt—or you can share your own creations.
- The Work of the People is a subscription-based streaming service with a range of virtual resources that can be included in your online worship service or streamed to your congregation, including visual prayers, poems, and benedictions. The service costs $250/year or $25/month.
- Plural Guild develops full online worship services and leads downloadable workshops that address relevant, timely worship planning questions. Its full liturgies are poetic and visually powerful.
Preaching
- Thanks to Brian McLaren for two (+) excellent resources for preaching [and study… and discussion…] in this election season. PLEASE READ: The Five Electorates in 2020 and Clergy – Please Don’t Be Silent! (but be non-silent wisely and legally!). The former offers insight to the minds of voters; the latter offers legal and social insight to doing something about it.
Children & Youth
- Illustrated Ministry offers numerous at-home worship resources for young people of all ages, interests and abilities. Resources follow the Revised Common Lectionary and are updated seasonally. Supplemental materials (stickers, coloring cards, etc.) and Spanish-language materials are available.
Technology
Social media is a complex congregational question in the simplest of times; COVID-19 has generated an online tsunami that most of us struggle with on a daily basis.
- Worship Times assists congregations with their tech questions and needs, providing point-of-need consulting and online webinars to address tech concerns. The next 15-minute webinar on August 13 (12:00 CST) focuses on What Social Media Platform Should Your Ministry Use?
Hard Copy Resources
Hard copy resources—including how-tos, liturgical elements, and music—are available for preview or to borrow. Contact Rev. Emily Meyer to access these resources.
Great Idea
Generated by The Ministry Lab’s partners, congregational leaders and director. If you have a Great Idea to share, let us know!
Gratitude: A Thanksgiving of Images
For a beautiful way to get to “see” one another, share some joy, and build community, you might invite your whole congregation to share a single photo of what they are grateful for, right now.
In the MN Conf. UCC article (from whence this idea comes), the photo includes a sheet of paper with “#gratitude” on it. You might include a similar visual as a unifying theme throughout the images, to emphasize how unity of the experience of gratitude is woven throughout the diversity of expressions/images.
VISUAL WORD
Visual Word videos—created by gifted United Theological Seminary, judicatory and community artists—provide theologically sound, artistically rich resources for a variety of parts of worship.
They enrich local expressions of church by providing diverse perspectives and creative elements. The videos are appropriate to seasons of the church year and are shareable online or in person.
Learn More
Have something you’d like to discuss? Need to check out resources? Share questions, interests and ideas with The Ministry Lab’s Executive Director, Rev. Emily Meyer.