Worship Notes for Sunday 24th July 2022

Worship Notes

Dear Friends,

Worship is our core activity.  Sunday after Sunday we offer praise and worship to Almighty God through the length and breadth of these islands.  From humble meeting houses to grand churches built to rival cathedrals, from handfuls of people struggling to bear witness to their community to large churches with a variety of programmes on offer each week, we offer worship.  Our worship is diverse, emphasises different things, with a variety of musical and theological styles but is always offered to God as our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. 

As part of our commitment to local churches we have started to create Worship Notes  – prayers and liturgy, hymn suggestions, and notes on the readings which are designed to assist those who lead worship put a service together.  We recognise that more and more congregations don’t have a minister at all, only have a minister lead worship infrequently and don’t always have access to Assembly Accredited Lay Preachers.  

I have prepared the notes for next Sunday and focus on the difficult Hosea reading drawing.  The reading has Hosea’s understanding of God telling him to marry and to treat his wife, Gomer, as God treated Israel.  Gomer/Israel are portrayed as adulterous and are treated in very patriarchal, violent, ways.  I look at the problems with this metaphor for women now.  You can read the notes here https://urc.org.uk/your-faith/prayer-and-worship/worship-notes/

I hope you find them useful – do let us know your thoughts on these resources as you use them.

with every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship