United Methodist Church

Worship and Sacred Actions Throughout the Year in United Methodist Churches

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In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, observance of the Christian year by American Methodists was mainly limited to “great festivals” such as Christmas, Easter, and Whitsunday (Pentecost). A movement toward recovery of the entire Christian year gained momentum in the mid-twentieth century, and in 1984 United Methodists adopted the ecumenical Common Lectionary and calendar.

Methodism began as a movement led by John Wesley (1703–1791), a priest of the Church of England who followed the Christian year as set forth in The Book of Common Prayer. When the Methodists in America set up the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784, Wesley sent them an adaptation of The Book of Common Prayer, entitled Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America. In this work, he simplified the Anglican version of the Christian year to include: Sundays of Advent (four), Nativity of Christ (Christmas), Sundays after Christmas (up to fifteen), Sunday before Easter, Good Friday, Easter Day, Sundays after Easter (five), Ascension Day, Sunday after Ascension Day, Whitsunday (Pentecost), Trinity Sunday, and Sundays after Trinity Sunday (up to twenty-six). Every Sunday was, of course, the Lord’s Day, and all the Fridays in the year (except if one fell on Christmas Day) were “days of fasting or abstinence.”

A Combined Calendar

In 1792 the American Methodists officially abandoned a large section of Wesley’s Sunday Service, including the table of the Christian year, but they did not by any means abandon the entire Christian year. First, they continued strongly to emphasize the weekly Lord’s Day, the most basic observance of the Christian year. Second, the Discipline (official book of church law) from 1784 until the middle of the nineteenth century advised preachers, “Everywhere avail yourself of the great festivals by preaching on the occasion.” However, what these “great festivals” were was not specified. Third, evidence from denominational hymnals and Discipline indicates that in the years following 1792 Methodists were encouraged to observe at least Christmas, New Year, Good Friday, Easter, and Whitsunday.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a form of Christian year observance gradually developed that combined the traditional Christian year with civil holidays and promotional days. In the mid-nineteenth century Methodists, like most American Protestants, began to reemphasize Christmas and Easter. Soon much of December became in effect a Christmas season, and Palm Sunday became a popular prelude to Easter. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a few Methodists were observing—or at least advocating the observance of—the Lenten season (including Ash Wednesday and Holy Week), a forty-day Eastertide, Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday. Civil celebrations such as Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Memorial Day (or the previous Sundays) were prominent in the calendars of Methodist churches. So were camp meetings and revivals, anniversary celebrations, homecomings, and observances such as Rally Day, Children’s Day, and later Mother’s Day.

Recovery of the Entire Christian Year

The recovery of the traditional Christian year accelerated in the middle third of the twentieth century. The official hymnal of 1935 contained a calendar that included the four Sundays in Advent, Christmas and the Sunday following, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, the Sundays in Lent, Thursday before Easter, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Ascension Day and the Sunday after Ascension, Whitsunday, and Trinity Sunday.

The first edition of The Book of Worship (1945) contained a calendar and lectionary for the entire Christian year: the Sundays in Advent, Christmas and the Sundays after Christmas, the New Year, Epiphany and the Sundays after Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, the Sundays in Lent, each day in Holy Week, Easter and the Sundays after Pentecost (beginning with Trinity Sunday), Festival of Christ the King (first Sunday in August), the Sundays in Kingdomtide, All Saints’ Day (November 1), and Thanksgiving.

The 1965 edition of The Book of Worship and the official hymnal of 1966 continued this calendar with minor changes and expanded the lectionary to include Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel readings, a Psalm, and another act of praise for each Sunday. A color was suggested for each day or season since colored chancel paraments and clergy stoles have become popular.

In 1968 the Methodist Church united with the much smaller Evangelical United Brethren Church, which likewise had a growing interest in recovering the Christian year, to form the United Methodist Church. The new denomination joined with other Christian denominations in the development of an ecumenical Christian calendar and lectionary.

In 1982 an ecumenical Common Lectionary, based on a common calendar of the Christian year, was published for trial use, and a Revised Common Lectionary was published in 1992. For each Sunday and other appointed days in the Christian year, there are first and second lessons (from the Old and New Testaments), a Psalm, and a Gospel. The Common Lectionary and the calendar on which it was based were officially adopted by the United Methodist Church in 1984, and the Revised Common Lectionary was included with the following calendar (and suggested colors) in The United Methodist Book of Worship, published in 1992.

ADVENT (purple or blue)
First Sunday to the Fourth Sunday of Advent

CHRISTMAS SEASON (white or gold)
Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day); First Sunday after Christmas Day; New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day; Epiphany of the Lord

SEASON AFTER THE EPIPHANY (ORDINARY TIME)
First Sunday after the Epiphany (Baptism of the Lord) (white); Second Sunday to the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany (green); Last Sunday after the Epiphany (Transfiguration Sunday) (white)

LENT (purple; red as an alternative for Holy Week)
Ash Wednesday; First Sunday to the Fifth Sunday in Lent; Sixth Sunday in Lent (Passion/Palm Sunday); Monday to Wednesday of Holy Week; Holy Thursday*; Good Friday* (no color); Holy Saturday* (no color)

EASTER SEASON (white or gold)
Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Eve, Easter Day, Easter Evenings)*; Second to the Sixth Sunday of Easter; Ascension of the Lord; Seventh Sunday of Easter; Day of Pentecost (red)

SEASON AFTER PENTECOST (ORDINARY TIME, OR KINGDOMTIME)
First Sunday after Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) (white); Second to the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost (green); All Saints (white); Thanksgiving (red or white); Last Sunday after Pentecost (Christ the King/Reign of Christ) (white)

The Arts in the United Methodist Church

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The United Methodist Church is a center for the revival of music and the arts in worship. The new hymnal is characterized by an inclusive use of music from different cultures and periods of history. Methodists have also recovered the lively use of the arts as vehicles for worship.

At the heart of United Methodist worship is music. Music is the language of the congregation, and it is widely understood that the function of music in worship is to help the congregation encounter God. Whether a United Methodist Church is “high church,” “low church,” or somewhere between the two, the philosophy of the function of music rarely deviates. Music is the human expression by which we are joined one to another and by which we claim our understanding of God and our relationship to God. Music is the vehicle, the action, of the work of the people.

A renewed interest and emphasis on the Bible and the sacraments has fostered the study and development of worship practices in the United Methodist Church. In turn, a variety of issues related to music have surfaced. At the top of the list are inclusiveness and appropriateness.

With regard to music, inclusiveness refers to the use of a variety of music in the worship service that relates persons of all ages and theological understandings to God. The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) has been a tremendous resource for the United Methodist Church in providing a range of music and liturgical resources that is both inclusive and challenging. It allows churches to use hymns, chants, gospel music, praise choruses, spirituals, and metrical as well as pointed psalms for worship as deemed appropriate for a congregation. The range of music found in United Methodist churches has never been greater. The same is true for the use of instruments.

While the organ continues to be the primary worship instrument for United Methodist churches, especially in accompanying congregational singing, piano, guitar, handbells, and drums (of all kinds) are the other instruments often heard in worship. The prevalent reason for using a variety of instruments in worship is using the talents found in the congregation and providing a variety of ways to express praise and thanks to God through vital and exciting singing and music-making.

The appropriateness of music and all liturgical elements are directly linked to the needs and experiences of the congregation. “Appropriate” does not necessarily mean “familiar,” but it does take into account whether a given piece of music or liturgical action is relevant to that worshiping community. Appropriateness along with artistic talents found within the congregation is the primary criteria for a variety of arts in worship. Banners and seasonal art (Advent wreaths, crèches, Lenten crosses, and other items) often make up most of the environmental art outside of the architecture itself. Worship and altar guild committees spend much care in providing art that takes into account the color or colors for a specific season as well as the symbols. The congregation seems to take delight in noticing the changing seasons of the Christian year with the textile and symbolic art that is created and displayed. One important piece of textile art for a large church in Nashville is the tapestry banner that was created from pieces of cloth given by the members of the congregation. This banner exemplifies the desire of the worshiping community to be one with each other and one with Christ.

Drama is also mostly a seasonal highlight with processions and dramatic readings happening around Christmas and Easter. Most dramatic readings take place during Holy Week and dramatic enactments take place during the Christmas season. Some churches have discovered that Scripture passages can be dramatic, especially when it is read in dialogue or in chorus.

The most controversial of the arts in worship remains liturgical dance. Here again, the issue is appropriateness. In general, dance groups tend to be accepted more readily than solo dancers. Also, dances that are included in special seasonal celebrations, especially when they involve children and youth, are acceptable to most worshiping congregations.

A new document to be published in 1993 will help churches develop programs and standards for the ongoing support of church music and musicians. The main thrust of this document is the development of musical leadership for the support of the singing congregations.

An affiliate organization, the Fellowship of United Methodists in Worship, Music, and Other Arts continues to be a supportive advocate for music and the arts. They are involved in the development of the document on music and lend support to a variety of programs and resources in worship, music, and the arts sponsored by the United Methodist Church.

Among the newest resources in worship are The United Methodist Hymnal and The United Methodist Book of Worship. Both support the use of music and the arts not only to enhance worship but to make it relevant.

Three periodicals that support church musicians in their work are Church Music Workshop (United Methodist Publishing House), which offers a feature workshop article with a well-known clinician, a music folio, and an audiocassette; Quarternotes: For Leaders of Music with Children, prepared by the General Board of Discipleship and published by The United Methodist Publishing House that provides articles on teaching children’s music, a music booklet for children with over a dozen pieces of music, and an audiocassette; and Jubilate! A Newsletter for United Methodist Musicians, produced by the General Board of Discipleship. This six-page newsletter offers a feature article on some aspect of church music, a resource page, and a page of assorted information on upcoming training events in church music held throughout the United States.

Sunday Worship in United Methodist Churches

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The United Methodist Church has a complex heritage that has predisposed it toward an eclectic style of worship and given it an openness to influences from many Christian traditions and contemporary worship renewal movements. The denomination was formed in 1968 by the union of the Methodist Church with the much smaller Evangelical United Brethren Church, the latter having been formed in 1946 by the union of the Evangelical Church and the United Brethren in Christ.

Formative Influences on Worship

The Methodist Church arose from a movement within the Church of England led by a priest named John Wesley (1703-1791). When this movement took root in America and organized itself as the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784, Wesley sent an adaptation of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer that he entitled Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America. In a letter accompanying this service book he wrote, “I also advise the elders to administer the supper of the Lord on every Lord’s day” (John Wesley’s Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America, with intro. by James F. White [Nashville: United Methodist Publishing House and United Methodist Board of Higher Education, 1984], ii)—this at a time when quarterly Communion was the norm in Anglican parishes. On the other hand, Wesley frequently led informal services characterized by hymn singing and extemporaneous prayer and testimonies. In the letter with his Sunday Service he also wrote that the American Methodists “are now at full liberty, simply to follow the scriptures and the primitive church. And we judge it best that they should stand fast in that liberty, wherewith God has so strangely made them free” (Ibid., iii).

In 1792 the American Methodists, led by Francis Asbury (1745-1816), officially abandoned Wesley’s Sunday Service as the norm for weekly worship, substituting a simple set of directions for a Service of the Word that reflected the Puritan and free-church worship style of the American frontier. The texts in the Sunday Service were, however, retained with adaptations for the Service of the Table, baptism, matrimony, the burial of the dead, and ordinations. The Lord’s Supper became an occasional service, sometimes monthly and sometimes quarterly. This reduction in frequency was due to a severe shortage of ordained elders that caused most services to be conducted by lay preachers, the influence of Puritan worship patterns prevailing in America, and the uncongeniality of the printed text used for the Service of the Table to frontier worship.

At about the same time movements similar to Methodism were arising among German Americans. The Evangelical Church was formed under the leadership of a Lutheran lay preacher named Jacob Albright (1759-1808). The United Brethren in Christ organized under the leadership of a Reformed pastor named William Philip Otterbein (1726-1813) and a Mennonite preacher named Martin Boehm (1725-1812). These denominations adapted their inherited traditions to the Puritan and free-church worship styles of the American frontier.

The specific historical context of the traditions represented by the United Methodist Church is highly significant, for in it one can see the basis of the varied influences on worship in the denomination today. Each tradition arose as a reformation within Protestantism in the eighteenth century rather than as part of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. They give United Methodists roots in all four major branches of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation—Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, and Anabaptist/Mennonite. All were shaped in their formative years by Puritan and free-church traditions that had grown up between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, while at the same time inheriting Wesley’s desire to follow the early church and broader catholic traditions.

In the early nineteenth century the churches that now form the United Methodist Church generally worshiped in a frontier style; but during the century that followed they increasingly worshiped in church buildings, with organs and choirs, and with orders of worship that included acts such as anthems, recitation of the Apostles’ Creed, and responsive readings.

From the 1920s through the middle years of the twentieth century pulpit-centered auditoriums designed for preaching evangelism gave way to altar-centered nave-and-chancel “sanctuaries” designed for the worship of a God who was “high and lifted up”; and services increasingly became free adaptations of Episcopal Morning Prayer and Sermon—a relatively formal service of praise and prayer followed by announcements and offering and concluding with the sermon (framed by hymns).

Ecumenical Renewal

Since the union of 1968 the United Methodist Church has moved dramatically in the direction of the ecumenical worship renewal. Its Commission on Worship (after 1972 the Section on Worship of its General Board of Discipleship) conducted twenty years of study and development that led to the adoption of The United Methodist Hymnal: Book of United Methodist Worship in 1989. The Sunday services in the hymnal follow the ecumenical pattern of Entrance, Word, Table, and Dismissal. The full eucharistic pattern of Word and Table is treated as normative, but provision is made for the great majority of congregations that do not celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day. Within this pattern, there is a wide choice of old and new prayer texts and hymns, with encouragements given for extemporaneous and spontaneous praise and prayer. The new texts for the Lord’s Supper are far more joyous than the old ones and celebrate all God’s mighty acts in Christ rather than Christ’s death alone. The services of daily prayer, baptism, marriage, death and resurrection likewise follow ecumenical worship patterns and understandings.

Whereas lectionaries were rarely used a generation ago, now the ecumenical Common Lectionary is officially endorsed and is used at least some of the time in the majority of congregations.

Also in the last generation there has been increasing affirmation of the diversity within the denomination. Patterns representing every period of the denomination’s history survive and often flourish. A growing number of congregations celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly, though usually not at the main Sunday service. There is both a strong liturgical movement and a strong charismatic renewal movement. Such practices as spontaneous thanksgivings and intercessions, clapping, hand-raising, the exchange of the peace, chanting, drama, sacred dance, and use of visual arts are found in many congregations. African-American, Asian-American, Native American, and Hispanic worship traditions are encouraged. Sensitivity to women’s concerns is growing under the leadership of an increasing number of female pastors. All this is affirmed and facilitated by the new hymnal and also by a supplemental book of worship for planners and leaders of worship published in 1992.

As the denomination looks to the future, there is widespread openness to the leading of the Spirit. An increasingly large proportion of pastors have studied and been trained in worship in seminary. Additional resources and training opportunities are offered each year. Joy increasingly pervades worship services, reflecting a firm trust in the living God through the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.