First Universalist Church of Minneapolis

What is a Worship Associate?

The role of the Worship Associate is to help nurture the worship life of the church by creating a visible reminder that worship is a shared responsibility, by fostering a variety of worship opportunities in our religious community and by eliciting the sacred voice that is in all of us.

A Worship Associate is a layperson with a deep interest in the worship life of the church, a person who participates with the ministers and others in facilitating worship experiences.

Worship Associates' Mission Statement

Worship Associates are a group of selected members who have a desire to plan and/or participate in worship services along with the Ministers over a year’s time. Services include regular Sunday Mornings with a presiding ordained minister, guest speaker, or may be lay-led. In addition to Sunday services, Worship Associates plan and conduct other services, such as mid-week worship. Worship Associates will model speaking the sacred voice within, and will encourage, and provide opportunities for others to do so.

Meetings

The Worship Associates meet as a group two times per quarter. One meeting is a business meeting. They check in with one another, review how things are going, deal with issues that may arise, and review Sunday services.  The other meeting is a retreat (usually a half-day in length) to explore spiritual growth, longer-range planning and more in-depth issues. The retreat includes the ministers and some staff. Individual Associates will also meet together or with the Minister(s) as necessary to plan services for which they are responsible.  Schedules are maintained on a web based site to which staff, ministers and Worship Associates have access.

Composition

The Worship Associates will be comprised of nine or more contributing members of First Universalist Church.  A WA must have familiarity with or be actively studying the history and traditions of Unitarian Universalism and this congregation. Worship Associates must have experience in public speaking or be willing to be trained. The minimum time commitment is one year. For most Worship Associates, membership in this group continues for more than a year.  Terms overlap to provide continuity for the congregation and leadership for new members.  Members are recruited with the intention of having the WA membership be diverse and to also reflect the make up of the membership of the church.