For those who have not been involved in leading worship, the following notes are for your assistance in planning worship around the DVD resource. They are not instructions or procedures to follow. They are guidelines to assist you to get the best use out of our DVDs

The Uniting Church Worship Planning Guide is an excellent starting point for structuring worship. This can be found by CLICKING HERE...... Some suggestions from our experience are shown in the following links.

The Call to worship calls us into God’s sacred space - the space of worshipping God. This is also a declaration of why and whom it is we worship. So the call to worship often has a Trinitarian form, reminding us that we worship the Christian God and at the same time articulates why we worship our

Often we will now sing one or more songs. These songs are a further declaration of the nature of God and typically of praise and adoration. We have been called to worship and as we sing we enter into that worship in praise. It may be possible that the theme of the song/hymn(s) provides an introduction

Now is the time to praise God for who God is – it is not a time of thanksgiving, but a time to marvel at the grace, mercy and generosity of our God. It is also a time to acknowledge and confess the incompleteness of our relationship in the presence of the Holy. We sense the brokenness and incompleteness

Once we have offered our confession there is always an of expression of the divine grace that has been given us through Jesus Christ - the Declaration of Forgiveness. As we receive that forgiveness we experience the divine embrace just as we are. We are freed and made ready to hear the voice of God in

Having gathered as a congregation before God, we now listen for God’s word to us this day, and in gratitude we respond as best we can. The Service of the Word comprises several main elements, including children’s time, scripture, proclamation and discussion. Affirmations of Faith, announcements

An all age message is an important a part of worship. It is the proclamation of the Gospel to and by them. It can take many forms, but the Project Reconnect DVD always includes an all age message that can be enjoyed by old and young alike. This is sometimes used to activate an intergenerational faith

The first way we listen for the voice of God is through the Holy Scriptures. It is the scriptures that have had pre-eminent place in hearing God's voice calling us back to God's dream for creation. In Project Reconnect we use the Revised Common Lectionary, except for September when we use the 3 years

The readings are usually followed by a contemporary expression of God's Word, typically, in the past, by way of a sermon – or sometimes by drama, or music or other creative means. In Project Reconnect, we present what we call a “message”. It is not really a sermon. The message

Proclamation is the work of the whole people of God, not just the “preacher”. The discussion time in Project Reconnect is a vital part of Proclamation. In sharing their understanding and faith stories, the congregation proclaims the Gospel. The discussion is somewhat unique to Project Reconnect

An Affirmation of Faith is a way a congregation can respond. The tradition of the church has been to respond to the Service of the Word by reciting Affirmations of Faith such as Creeds (Nicene, Apostles Creeds) or Statements of Faith. There are many resources that have contemporary Statements of Faith

The announcements and offering are appropriately placed at this point because they too are a response to the call of God on our lives. We have heard God's voice, God's call, and the announcements become a part of our description of how we give expression to our response to that call. We will pray about

We then pray. We sometimes call these prayers our prayers of Intercession. These prayers too are a response. They are a response to hearing and learning of what God wants for creation, for God's world. These prayers are also speaking with God, conversing with God about what we have heard in the message

SENDING FORTH THE PEOPLE OF GOD Hymn As we prepare to go out on God’s mission into the world, we often sing a hymn that reflects something of the challenge to us that has come from hearing the word or call of God in our lives and to our community. This hymn or song is often a rousing stirring

The people are blessed and reminded of their part in God’s mission in the world by recalling a theme or idea from the hearing of the word of God. Everyone is then dismissed from the gathered community to live and be the people of God in the world.