Whether at summer camp, protests, or in the pews, music has a way of bringing the community together. Here we’ve collected hymns and songs that work well with our “I’ve been meaning to ask...” worship series on curiosity, courage, and connection. Each week contains songs that speak to the weekly sub-theme and the scriptures we’ve selected. We hope these lists help you as you’re planning meaningful worship services.
Read MoreHere we’ve collected hymns and songs that work well with our new Again & Again Lent theme and weekly sub-themes based on the Year B texts of the Revised Common Lectionary. We have suggested many short and simple refrains (such as those from the Taizé community) which can help us embody the practice of repetition, repeating the same few lines again & again until they lodge in our souls like muscle memory. Some suggestions could also be used week after week to build patterns into your Lenten worship.
Read MoreWe’ve seen many ministers preparing for Advent by assembling “Advent in a Box” take-home kits with everything families need to celebrate Advent and Christmas from home this season. We love this idea and encourage you to imagine what might go in your intergenerational Advent packages. Here are some ideas based on our Advent and Christmas resources.
Read MoreChildren are a special part of the Christmas season, and while we might be waiting and celebrating at home this year, our children will still embody the hope we have for a world grounded in peace, joy, and love. Here you’ll find some simple children’s lessons to accompany our “Those Who Dream” theme for Advent through Epiphany.
Read MoreThis Advent marks our fifth year working from the Revised Common lectionary, which means we have a large inventory of creative resources for Advent & Christmas. To save you time (and the hassle of searching your way through older resources in our shop), we thought we’d organize all we have to offer. Get your scrolling & clicking finger ready, because there’s a lot in here!
Read MoreMusic touches our souls in a unique way, especially around the holidays. And in this strange, isolating season, we’ll be turning to music more than usual, even if we can’t go caroling together or stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the pews on Christmas Eve as we sing “Silent Night.” Here we’ve collected hymns and songs that work well with our Those Who Dream Advent—Epiphany resources based on the Year B texts of the Revised Common Lectionary. We hope these lists inspire you to dream as you’re planning meaningful worship services in this season.
Read MoreMany of you are weary and wary of talking about money. Often, stewardship is treated as a “necessary evil.” You do the same thing year after year and need some new energy. Well, we are excited to share our very first stewardship bundle with you! A Sanctified Art has teamed up with the Vandersall Collective to bring you fresh, engaging, and relevant stewardship resources with theological depth.
Read MoreThere are plenty of hymns for Lent and Advent, but what about for stewardship season? We have you covered! Here are some suggestions for hymns, praise songs, and special music that fit with the scriptures in our new stewardship series, Our Money Story. We hope you’ll use these as a starting point to plan meaningful worship services during your stewardship series.
Want to learn more about the scriptures we’ve included in our stewardship series? Download our free theme infographic!
Read MoreLast spring, we created a customizable worship series called, "Unraveled: Seeking God When Our Plans Fall Apart" about the ways God meets us in the unraveling of our lives to weave us into something new. We knew at the time that it was important, because sometimes our plans unravel into loose threads, and when that happens, we need to know God is near. We never expected a global pandemic.
Now as our churches, our cities, and our world are grappling with a new reality, the Unraveled series is even more relevant than we could have imagined.
Read MoreOne of the most difficult things for me about moving to online worship platforms right now is losing the experience of singing together. Nothing can replicate the experience of singing together in one room. However, this is the kind of time where we need to sing—we need to sing our sorrows, we need to sing our hopes, and we need to sing the songs that comfort us and keep us grounded when everything is shifting around us.
Here are some of my observations about ways to lead and engage with congregational song.
Read MoreA week ago a lot of us thought we would only need to hunker down for a few weeks with the promise of singing our loud, collective “Hosanna!” in our sanctuaries come Palm Sunday. But that reality is gone now. Just this week, our mayor announced a shelter-in-place order through April 13, the day after Easter. How do we imagine the largest church services of the year in a time of social distancing? It’s not easy. It’s certainly disappointing. But we’re here to help. Here are some more ideas about being the church during the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular attention to Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter. We will continue to add to this list as we learn and adapt.
Read MoreThe people we encounter during Holy Week are familiar to me. I’ve spoken their lines and embodied their shame, I’ve shouted their “Crucify him!” and heard it echo through the balcony. But Sarah brought new life and new perspectives into this story I know and love so well. When I read through the Wilderness Journey Palms to Passion worship service for the first time, it felt as though I was reading another book in the same series as an old favorite. Some of the characters I knew well. Some I had never heard until Sarah gave them voice. When Lisle suggested I work on a Holy Week art piece, I began with the people…
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