Spring For Change Worship Resources 2022

2022 Virtual Worship Resources
for Earth Day & Spring for Change

As part of Spring for Change: A Season of Sacred Activism this year, UU Ministry for Earth is producing a robust and beautiful virtual worship service for viewing online on Earth Day, or using in full or in part by participating congregations this Spring.

Service Details

Theme & Description:  Get Rooted, Get Ready!

“It will take all of us, working with all of us… doing what none of us can do alone”
–All of Us, a new hymn by Dana Clark

Our faith calls us into relationship with the sacred elements of Earth and to put power in the hands of the many and not the few. This Earth Day, join the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth in meditation, song, and stories to honor nature’s elements and respond to the call for Earth Justice, a call to action in the face of the climate crisis. This worship will be a visual feast, and the worship structure may be a bit different from what you are used to — lean into it and enjoy the journey! The service includes somatic movement exercises led by Sahar Mushin-Laufman. Please join in these as you are willing and able.

This program will include a special collection for the UU Ministry for Earth – donations are encouraged and received with deep gratitude.

For Congregational Usage

The worship service is offered in two formats:

• Complete service: a video of the entire service, including all worship elements, will be available online to congregations to stream via the platform of their choice. 

• Individual worship elements: videos of elemental piece of the service will be available for congregations to choose from and integrate into their own liturgies. 

Timing

This service is being developed with “Earth Sunday” (April 24) in mind, but can be used on whatever Sunday works best for your congregation’s worship calendar.

Cost

We are asking that congregations make a donation to UUMFE for this worship service resource, much like they would pay a guest worship leader and/or musician.

We recommend using the UU Ministers Association’s Scale of Professional Fees as a guide ($315 – small congregations; $350 – mid-sized congregations; $385 – large congregations; $500 – very generous congregations). If such a donation is beyond the abilities of your congregation, please pay what you can. We encourage larger congregations with bigger budgets to donate more.

Your donations are critical to the work of UU Ministry for Earth to sustain and nurture UU Young Adults for Climate Justice, UU BIPOC Caucus on Climate Justice, Strengthening Local Climate Commitments, and all the justice-seeking initiatives of UU Ministry for Earth.

We also ask that your congregation dedicate a Sunday offering to UU Ministry For Earth on the day you use these materials, if possible. We will provide the invitation to the offering, as well as instructions about how to give, in the worship video(s).

If you commit to making a contribution to UUMFE in either or both of these ways, you will receive follow-up communication from us about how to complete your donations. Your generous contributions allow UUMFE to continue our shared ministry to create a better world rooted in environmental and climate justice.  We appreciate your congregation’s participation, and your generous support. 

We look forward to worshiping with you!

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Other Worship Readings & Resources

Selected Readings by Stephen Shick

This resource contains seven new unpublished works, as well as twelve selected readings from Stephen Shick’s two Skinner House publications: Be the Change: Poems, Prayers and Meditations for Peacemakers and Justice Seekers and Consider the Lilies.

Other Resources:

• UUMFE Worship & Inspiration page
• UUA WorshipWeb library

Taking a “Share the Plate” Donation

Many Unitarian Universalist congregations have a practice of sharing their Sunday offering with community organizations and groups: some congregations give away their entire offering one Sunday each month; others “split the plate” every Sunday and give half of the offering to a deserving cause.