Spiritually Vital and AliveCreating Inspiring and Contemporary Worship

Dr. Michael TinoUUA Director of Young Adult and Campus MinistryGeneral Assembly 2006 – St. Louis, MO

Goals for Participants

• Understand what young adults want from worship experience

• Take a look at our current worship services through young adult eyes

• Learn a model for UU contemporary worship

• Get practical ideas for implementing contemporary worship in your congregations

The Hard Data, Part 1

• Interfaith survey of congregations done in 2000 (2005 data are being analyzed now)

• Over 500 UUA member congregations responded

• Congregations self-identified descriptions that matched them

FACT facts

• 5% of UU congregations reported 60% or more young adult members

• What makes these congregations different?

Congregational Culture

• Largest difference between high-YA and overall:• “Spiritually vital and alive”

• #1 among high-YA congregations:• “Inspirational and uplifting worship

services”

• #1 among shrinking congregations:• “A close-knit family”

Descriptions of Worship

• Descriptions used more often by high-YA congregations than the overall include:• Sense of God’s

presence• Exciting• Predictable• Reverent

Initial Data from FACT 2005• Congregations with 40% or more young

adults (11% of total) were more likely to report “exciting” and “joyful” worship

• Congregations with 20% or more young adults (45% of total) were more likely to report “joyful” and “inspiring” worship

• Congregations with less than 10% young adults (20% of total) were more likely to report “informal” worship

The Hard Data, Part 2• 80% of 1st year students are

interested in spirituality• 76% searching for meaning and

purpose• 48% “seeking,” “conflicted,” or

“doubting”• UU students score highest on:

• measures of social justice involvement

• spiritual searching• respect for different religious

viewpoints

• UU students score lowest on:• religious commitment

The Hard Data, Part 3• Generation Y is diverse,

progressive and pluralistic

• 23% do not identify with any faith group

• Faith expressed in highly personal ways

• 35% describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious”

Anecdotal EvidenceWhat do young adults want from worship?

• Energetic, alive, spiritual• “Makes you feel

something”• Embodied• Multiple

voices/perspectives• Participatory• Welcoming• Not in the morning

Worship In Your CongregationWhat might young adults think of it?• What does a typical

order of service look like?

• How would you describe the music that is performed?

• What is the feeling of the worship service?

• What topics are addressed?

• How are new people welcomed?

• How are young adults welcomed?

The “Sermon Sandwich”Does your worship look like this?

What does “contemporary worship” mean to you?

“Contemporary” does not mean:• stupid• irrational• loud• coming from a

particular theology• irrelevant to people

who are not 18-35

Sandwiches vs. PlattersA multicultural metaphor

Some Existing Models

• Circle Worship• Covenant Groups• Soulful Sundown and

other music-centered services

Circle Worship

• Intimate, participatory worship

• Participants share reflections on a theme

• Similar to most UU youth worship

• Main drawback: severe size limitation

Covenant GroupsNot your typical “worship”

• Covenant groups offer an atmosphere like circle worship

• Small Group Ministry model is adaptable for different sizes of groups

• Resources available from UUA to implement YA groups

Soulful Sundown & Other UU Ideas• Soulful Sundown

• Energetic evening worship format• Music is central to worship format• Resource guide available from UUA Bookstore

• Multimedia aspects add to worship experience• Message is given in short segments• Can be based on poetry, jazz for

contemplative, reflective mood• Rituals such as silent candle-lighting

Tips for Contemporary Worship

• Spice it up—with different perspectives, different voices, fresh music

• Give people the message in manageable bites

• Create a spiritual atmosphere and tone

More Tips

• Get out of the Sunday morning-only mold (think “both-and”)

• Think about adding multimedia components

• Balance intimacy and hospitality• Ritual that is

participatory and welcoming to newcomers

Hospitality is More than Worship• Invite people to fuller

participation in your congregation

• Young adult activities—social, social justice programs

• Small Group Ministry, Covenant Groups, classes, etc.

Outreach

• Web site• Flyers, posters including

catchy logo• Know where young

adults are in your community and how to reach them

• Press releases• Advertising in local

media

Budgets Large and SmallHow much does this all cost?

• Budget size depends largely on how ambitious a program you want

• Sometimes require start-up costs• Costs could include budgets for:

• Hiring musicians• Supplies for worship• Outreach• Food

• These programs will take staff and volunteer time and energy

• Successful programs are not built overnight

Resources from the UUA

• Consultations and trainings• Phone or in-person consultations• Local, district and regional trainings

• Printed Resources• Soulful Sundown guide• Covenant Group manual and curricula

• Grant money • Program and staff grants from $500-$50,000• Billings Fund (up to $2000) for public events

Coming Soon:Contemporary Worship Conference

• Feb 22-24, 2007• First UU Church of

San Diego, CA• Workshop proposals

due Sept 1• Scholarships will be

available• On-line registration

coming soon

Contacting Us

• UUA Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry• www.uuyan.org• 617-948-4273• ya-cm@uua.org

• Michael Tino, director• mtino@uua.org• 919-401-9944

On The Web

• www.uuyan.org• Main web site for Young Adult &

Campus Ministry• On-line resources and tips for

congregations

• www.connectuu.com• UUA Youth & Young Adult database• Register people, local groups, events