Welcome to The Ministry Lab's curated Inclusive Worship resource list. Here are aids for creating more aware, intentional and welcoming worship.
Scroll down to find resources help foster the full inclusion of persons:
Find additional resources and inspiration in:
I See You | Sermon Series Resources
The PC(USA) Store has compiled a list of resources for Preaching & Teaching Women's Stories and Books for LGBTQIA+ Inclusion.
The Gospel for Changemakers by Rev. Tyler Sit
Rev. Dr. Barbara Holmes reflects on Contemplating Anger in Oneing, the blog of the Center for Action and Contemplation. She also offers a fantastic video promotion of her book by the same name in Race and the Cosmos.
The Ministry Lab is excited to share access to Rev. Jia Starr Brown's transformative series, Journey to Freedom: Embracing God's Cultural Mosaic of People. Along with diversity trainings, Bible studies, and book groups, the 2020 them, Intersectionality, was brought to life by six guest preachers reflecting on John 4:4-26 (The Woman at the Well) and poetry and music from Minnesota-based artists.
Find numerous prayer and worship elements inclusive of Indigenous voices and stories and including a full liturgy and sermon, in our WaterThreads Toolkit.
Writing and discussion prompts and suggestions for personal and community rituals provide readers the tools needed to connect with their own ancestors and find grounding for racial reconciliation and liberation in their own communities. These reflections always connect to the work of dismantling white supremacy as a spiritual practice.
Holy Blackness: The Matrix of Creation
Church Anew shared this sermon from Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney to nourish your soul and your biblical imagination. The sermon was originally preached at All Saints Church in Pasadena, CA on December 1, 2019 and follows the readings from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year A.
Photo by Julia Rekamie on Unsplash
THIS set of slides on pronouncing a name from a culture that is not your own is very useful and practical - and helpful when you want to be hospitable and welcoming whether in your building or your neighborhood.
The Promise & the Practice offers a collection of worship materials by UU religious professionals of color.
This video from the ELCA's 2021 Children, Youth, and Family Ministry Network's Extravaganza is the Story of Confession from Vance Blackfox from the Opening Worship. A powerful confession for us all, based on the story of Joseph in the Pit.
Cole Arthur Riley is the Black Liturgist. Find her poems, liturgies, prayers and other writings on her website and follow her on instagram.
Engage the whole congregation in learning the 'whys' of a Land Acknowledgement - and let the Littles lead. Written by Minnesota author Ashley Fairbanks (Anishinaabe, White Earth), This Land introduces the idea of appreciating one's place on the land by appreciating the land's history, inviting readers to wonder - and discover - who lived on the land where they live, before they lived here. It's beautiful and profound and encourages wonder and exploration to learn the truths of colonizer and settler history, current realities of land ownership, and the current lived realities of Indigenous communities, as it invites us all to appreciate the lands we inhabit.
Introduce the book and gain essential background and insight from Sam Stroozas' MPR interview with Ashley Fairbanks. Listen or read the transcript here.
As we are embraced by God's reconciling love in worship, we are equipped to carry that reconciling love into our relationships beyond the worship space. Worship equips us for the work of conciliation, but the liturgy itself needs to be decolonized if it is to truly honor Christian commitments to God and neighbor. This book explores the reformed liturgy in its pattern of Gathering, Word, Table, and Sending, searching it both for colonial vestiges, and spaces of new possibility. Unsettling Worship invites the reader into a conversation about reformed worship in a setting of ongoing colonization. Worship should both unsettle us, and equip us for the essential work of making things right with Indigenous neighbors.
Doing the Deeply Spiritual Work of Land Acknowledgment
Tracy Kugler, a member of St. Paul's UCC in St. Paul, MN
~includes a strong list of resources for congregational or personal learning
A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment was compiled in conversation with a group of Minnesota Indigenous leaders.
Expansive Language Liturgy: Sighs Too Deep for Words
Pastor Tamika Jancewicz, Pastor Emilie Casey, and Anne Krentz Organ shaped this liturgy entitled Sighs Too Deep for Words (Romans 8:26). This resource gives special attention to women’s experiences in scripture and in everyday life, and it invites embodied prayer. This is a liturgy rooted in scriptural accounts of the breaths, sighs, groans, and shouts of God, humanity, and all creation. The writers have aimed to craft language and music that is not only theologically rigorous and aesthetically beautiful, but also clear, adaptable, and singable. May we pray and sing without knowing exactly what to say, for it is when “we do not know how to pray as we ought” that the “Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”
Cathy’s Music is music where faith and fun meet. Your children will sing about the promises of God and the stories of God’s people and have fun at the same time.
Kid-friendly Christian songs that make a director’s job easy!
A collated Interfaith Prayer for Peace; adding pieces from other world religions or individuals - especially those targeted by hate groups - might add to its power.
The ELCA created Prayers, Litanies, and Laments for the Commemoration of the Emanuel Nine, which are appropriate for worship throughout the Season of Pentecost, include suggestions for use online. See also the ELCA’s weekly liturgical prompts, Worship in the Home.
Frank Schaeffer, son of Francis Schaeffer, who created and shaped the evangelical political movement of the '80s, which brought us to today, shared this compelling video: part confession, part admonition. Important insight for creating helpful study and/or sermons.
Spirited Speakeasy - Pastor Jess, Author
A POSTURE OF REVERENCE: WORDS AROUND PEOPLE’S BODIES MATTER, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WITH DISABILITIES
Ways to deal with common sensory issues (Disclaimer: This one uses the term ‘problem’ in inappropriate and unhelpful ways. However, the suggestions for mitigating sensory perception issues to develop more enjoyable social interactions are worthwhile, especially for families with multiple children and/or when working with groups of children.)
Wayzata Community Church's Special Needs Ministry and Parables worship service invites families into a safe and inclusive faith community.
SPECIAL NEEDS, SPECIAL GIFTS
10:15 a.m. Sundays in the Chapel
To watch past Parables services, click here.
Accessibility in Hybrid Worship and Meetings: Applying Universal Design to Benefit All
Find additional accessibility resources here.
An Interfaith Welcome to People with Disabilities
From The American Association of People with Disabilities & The Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition
The Accessible Altar is a monthly podcast exploring the intersections of faith and disability. Robyn and Stephanie met in seminary and share a frustration with how the Christianity has allowed ableist ideas to shape how we think and preach about the bible, lead services, and practice theology. The website includes this list of additional resources.
An Interactive Journal on Christian Social Justice
Find wisdom and inspiration in the practices of Beloved Everybody, an Ability-Inclusive Church that Embodies the Beloved Community.
Prayer, Worship, and Other Church Resources
Please see our Pride Celebrations and Marriage/Blessing Partnership lib guides.
Parity helps congregations and faith organizations, clergy, seminarians, denominations and seminaries become more LGBTQ+ sensitive and celebratory.
Find liturgical elements, full liturgies, tips for diversity inclusion, family and loved ones support, and more.
In RevGalBlogPals, The Pastoral Is Political blog, Rev. Emily Heitzman clarifies the importance of creating Affirming Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Youth.
“A Feminist Apostles’ Creed” by Sarah Moon in “Liberating Liturgies: A Creed and a Call” at Patheos website (Sept. 17, 2014)
Matthew Fox offers a lovely collection of Poems to the Mother.
This Is the Day: Liturgy for Love and Justice. Formation for Faith and Renewal offers Inspired: A 7-Week Womanist Worship Series.
A new lectionary that centers women
“If the gospel isn’t good news to the women in the passage, is it still good news?”
Grace Ji-Sun Kim interviews Wil Gafney
February 15, 2022
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
For Mental Health Sunday, The UCC Mental Health Network partnered with The United Church of Canada to offer a new resource: Radical Belonging: Mental Health Sunday Liturgies and Resources for All.
This liturgy includes challenges to the systemic sins that create “otherness” and ableism, shareable stories of people living with mental illness and disabilities, and words of grace and celebration for the opportunities we have as the Body of Christ to love, care for and accept one another.
Find numerous prayer and worship elements inclusive of Indigenous voices and stories and including a full liturgy and sermon, in our WaterThreads Toolkit.
