Read an Excerpt

The United Methodist Book of Worship

The United Methodist Publishing House

THE BASIC PATTERN OF WORSHIP

INTRODUCTION

The Basic Pattern of Worship is rooted in Scripture and in our United Methodist heritage and experience. It expresses the biblical, historical, and theological integrity of Christian worship and is the basis of all the General Services of the Church. This Basic Pattern serves to guide those who plan worship and to help congregations understand the basic structure and content of our worship. Though it is not an order of worship, a variety of orders of worship may be based upon it. It reveals that behind the diversity of United Methodist worship there is a basic unity.

Our worship in both its diversity and its unity is an encounter with the living God through the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. When the people of God gather, the Spirit is free to move them to worship in diverse ways, according to their needs. We rejoice that congregations of large and small membership, in different regions, in different communities, of different racial and ethnic composition, and with distinctive local traditions can each worship in a style that enables the people to feel at home.

The Spirit is also the source of unity and truth. The teachings of Scripture give our worship a basic pattern that has proved itself over the centuries, that gives The United Methodist Church its sense of identity and links us to the universal Church. This pattern goes back to worship as Jesus and his earliest disciples knew it — services in the synagogue and Jewish family worship around the meal table. It has been fleshed out by the experience and traditions of Christian congregations for two thousand years.

The Entrance and the Proclamation and Response — often called the Service of the Word or the Preaching Service — are a Christian adaptation of the ancient synagogue service.

The Thanksgiving and Communion, commonly called the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, is a Christian adaptation of Jewish worship at family meal tables — as Jesus and his disciples ate together during his preaching and teaching ministry, as Jesus transformed it when he instituted the Lord's Supper on the night before his death, and as his disciples experienced it in the breaking of bread with their risen Lord (Luke 24:30-35; John 21:13).

After the Day of Pentecost, when the earliest Christians went out preaching and teaching, they continued to take part in synagogue worship wherever they went (Acts 9:2ff., 20; 13:5, 13ff., 44ff.; 14:1; 17:1ff., 10ff., 17ff.; 18:4, 19, 26; 19:8; 22:19; 24:12; 26:11) and to break bread as a holy meal in their own gatherings (Acts 2:42, 46).

As their preaching and teaching about Jesus led to a break between church and synagogue, the Christians held an adapted synagogue service and broke bread when they gathered on the first day of the week. Such a combined service of Word and Table is described in Acts 20:7ff. This was apparently an accepted pattern by the time Luke wrote the Emmaus account in Luke 24:13-35, which pictures the joining together of a transformed synagogue service and a transformed holy meal and indicates to readers that they can know the risen Christ in the experience of Word and Table.

The Emmaus account can be used today in preaching and teaching the Basic Pattern of Worship. As on the first day of the week the two disciples were joined by the risen Christ, so in the power of the Holy Spirit the risen and ascended Christ joins us when we gather. As the disciples poured out to him their sorrow and in so doing opened their hearts to what Jesus would say to them, so we pour out to him whatever is on our hearts and thereby open ourselves to the Word. As Jesus "opened the Scriptures" to them and caused their hearts to burn, so we hear the Scriptures opened to us and out of the burning of our hearts praise God. As they were faced with a decision and responded by inviting Jesus to stay with them, we can do likewise. As they joined the risen Christ around the table, so can we. As Jesus took, blessed, broke, and gave the bread just as the disciples had seen him do three days previously, so in the name of the risen Christ we do these four actions with the bread and cup. As he was "made known to them in the breaking of the bread," so the risen and ascended Christ can be known to us in Holy Communion. As he disappeared and sent the disciples into the world with faith and joy, so he sends us forth into the world. And as those disciples found Christ when they arrived at Jerusalem later that evening, so we can find Christ with us wherever we go.

Since New Testament times, this Basic Pattern has had a long history of development. At times this pattern has been obscured and corrupted, and at times it has been recovered and renewed. The Wesleyan revival continued this emphasis on Word and Table, taking the gospel into the world by preaching and singing and by celebrating of the holy meal. Today The United Methodist Church is reclaiming our biblical and historic heritage, as we seek in this Basic Pattern to worship God "in spirit and in truth."

THE BASIC PATTERN OF WORSHIP

ENTRANCE

The people come together in the Lord's name. There may be greetings, music and song, prayer and praise.

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

The Scriptures are opened to the people through the reading of lessons, preaching, witnessing, music, or other arts and media. Interspersed may be psalms, anthems, and hymns. Responses to God's Word include acts of commitment and faith with offerings of concerns, prayers, gifts, and service for the world and for one another.

THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION

In services with Communion, the actions of Jesus in the Upper Room are reenacted:

taking the bread and cup,
giving thanks over the bread and cup,
breaking the bread, and
giving the bread and cup.

In services without Communion, thanks are given for God's mighty acts in Jesus Christ.

SENDING FORTH

The people are sent into ministry with the Lord's blessing.

AN ORDER OF SUNDAY WORSHIPUSING THE BASIC PATTERN

While the freedom and diversity of United Methodist worship are greater than can be represented by any single order of worship, United Methodists also affirm a heritage of order and the importance of the specific guidance and modeling that an order of worship provides.

This order expands upon An Order of Sunday Worship Using the Basic Pattern on pages 3-5 of The United Methodist Hymnal in showing some of the variety that is possible within the Basic Pattern of Worship. It assumes that worship leaders and congregation are to be in constant prayer. Worship is a sacred time when the people are led by the Holy Spirit to pray (Romans 8:22-26) and to worship God (1 Corinthians 14:25). Like the Basic Pattern, it is a guide to help those who plan worship see the structure and flow of our services. It is not intended that the congregation follow pages 3-5 in the hymnal while at worship. The congregation may be guided through the service by a bulletin or by announcement, whether or not Holy Communion is celebrated. This order is also the basis of the Services of Word and Table and other services in this book. It rests on the same biblical foundations as the Basic Pattern and incorporates the experience and traditions of Christians through the centuries, with particular care to include what is distinctive in our United Methodist heritage. Acts of worship that reflect racial, ethnic, regional, and local customs and heritages may be used appropriately throughout this order.

As Jesus invited children to come to him, so United Methodist worship should welcome children and youth as an integral part of the community as participants in, and leaders of, worship. Congregational worship services should include stories, songs and other music, and actions that are appropriate to children and youth of various ages and abilities.

ENTRANCE

GATHERING

The people come together in the Lord's name.

A church bell or bells or amplified music may call persons to worship.

The worship service begins when the people begin to gather for worship. What takes place during the Gathering includes both what the people do as they are entering the place of worship and what happens after they are seated. This should express their coming together in the name of the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. This time is both an outward and visible gathering of the people and an inward and spiritual gathering — a focusing of awareness that they are a people gathered in the presence of the God known to us through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Even when a worship service immediately follows another activity such as Sunday school in the same room, and some who have been at the earlier activity simply remain seated for the worship that follows, the Gathering is a crucial part of the worship service.

While they are gathering, one or more of the following may take place:

1. Informal greetings, conversation, and fellowship should have some appropriate place during the Gathering. This renewing of community is a part of our entrance into congregational worship and should not be discouraged.

2. Announcements and welcoming of visitors may come either during the Gathering or at some other time early in the service, such as at the end of the Entrance. Welcoming may include a ritual of friendship using attendance registration pads or cards and inviting persons to introduce themselves to those sitting around them.

3. Rehearsal of unfamiliar hymns and other congregational music and acts of worship may be included.

4. Informal prayer, singing, and testimony may take place as the people are gathering, or with a group such as the worship leaders and choir gathered in a separate room.

5. Quiet meditation and private prayer may be encouraged while organ or other instrumental or vocal music is being offered or in a separate prayer room or chapel.

6. Organ or other instrumental or vocal music is part of the worship service, an offering by the musician(s) to God on behalf of the entire congregation, and not a mere prelude to the worship service.

The six acts suggested above for the Gathering may be combined in various ways: (1) may be encouraged before (5) and (6) begin, or before persons have entered the place of worship; (2), (3), or (4) may also precede (5) and (6); (4) may take place during (5) and (6) but in another room. None of these combinations in itself is more valid than another, but one may be far more appropriate than another, depending on the particular congregation and circumstances.

Other acts may also be appropriate during the Gathering. If candles are used, they may be lighted by acolytes. If there is to be no processional hymn, the worship leaders and choir(s) may enter and take their places.

GREETING AND HYMN

Facing the people, the leader greets them in the Lord's name. The Greeting should be explicitly Christian, declaring that the Lord is present and empowers our worship. See the collection of Greetings and Opening Prayers; others are included with each season of The Christian Year.

The Greeting may be a scripture sentence, such as:

This is the day which the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
(PSALM 118:24)

Or it may be a responsive act between leader and people, such as:

Leader: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

People: And also with you.

Leader: The risen Christ is with us.

People: Praise the Lord!

The choir may also sing a Christian greeting to the congregation, sometimes called the Introit, but this should not be a substitute for the greeting by the leader. See the listing of Service Music for Greeting/Call to Worship in UMH 951 and also Music as Acts of Worship.

The hymn may precede or follow the Greeting. The people, having been greeted in the Lord's name, may return the greeting to God with a hymn of praise. On the other hand, where the architecture of the worship space or the nature of the occasion calls for a ceremonial entrance of choir and worship leaders, a processional hymn or entrance song should come before the Greeting, allowing the Greeting to be spoken with the leader facing the people. The rhythm of a processional hymn should be appropriate for walking and long enough for the completion of the procession. See the listing of Processionals in UMH 949-50.

This hymn is most appropriately corporate praise to God, centering on attributes and deeds of God that call forth gratitude and praise. In addition, it may express the people's greetings to one another in the Lord's name and exhortations to praise. It should normally be familiar, upbeat, and affirming. See the listings under Opening Hymns in UMH 948.

This and other hymns and songs in the service may be related to the joy of the Lord's Day, or to the day or season in the Christian year. See the listings under Christian Year in UMH 937-38.

A doxology, stanza, chorus, acclamation, or canticle may also be sung at this point, possibly repeated every Sunday, at least for a season, so that the people know it by heart. Some congregations have their own theme song, which may be sung every Sunday here or later in the service. A hymn that is a call to praise may be sung. Any of these may immediately precede an opening hymn of praise.

Doxologies (Stanzas of Praise to the Trinity) in UMH

62 All Creatures of Our God and King (last stanza)

682 All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night (last stanza, sung as canon)

91 Canticle of Praise to God (last stanza)

651 Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire (last stanza sung by choir, concluding doxology by congregation)

61 Come, Thou Almighty King (last stanza)

680 Father, We Praise Thee (last stanza)

79 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (last stanza)

102 Now Thank We All Our God (last stanza)

727 O What Their Joy and Glory Must Be (last stanza sung by choir)

184 Of the Father's Love Begotten (last stanza)

94 Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow

95 Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow

160 Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart (last stanza)

161 Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart (last stanza; "Hosanna" sung by choir)

65 ¡Santo! ¡Santo! ¡Santo! (last stanza)

296 Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle (last stanza)

See also:

Amen, Praise the Father (BOW 178)

Doxology (BOW 182)

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow (BOW 180 and BOW 185)

Opening Stanzas and Choruses in UMH

596 Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word (st. 1)

625 Come, Let Us Eat (st. 3)

617 I Come with Joy (st. 1)

659 Jesus Our Friend and Brother

661 Jesus, We Want to Meet (st. 1)

234 O Come, All Ye Faithful (refrain)

317 O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing (st. 1)

184 Of the Father's Love Begotten (st. 2)

207 Prepare the Way of the Lord

328 Surely the Presence of the Lord

657 This Is the Day

658 This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made

See also:

May the Warm Winds of Heaven (BOW 198 and BOW 200)

Acclamations in UMH

630 "Alleluia!" refrain from Become to Us the Living Bread

158 "Alleluia! Amen!" from Come, Christians, Join to Sing

711 "Alleluia!" refrain from For All the Saints

79 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (st. 1)

90 "Alleluia!" refrain from Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones

91 Canticle of Praise to God

See also:

Heleluyan (BOW 176)

Hymns in UMH as Calls to Praise

91 Canticle of Praise to God

699 Come, and Let Us Sweetly Join

732 Come, We That Love the Lord

632 Draw Us in the Spirit's Tether (may be sung by choir)

662 Stand Up and Bless the Lord

See also:

Come! Come! Everybody Worship (BOW 199)

Introit: Sing to the Lord a New Song (BOW 181)

It is appropriate to stand during the singing of this hymn and remain standing for the Greeting if that follows the hymn.

OPENING PRAYERS AND PRAISE

Opening prayers, together with opening hymns, establish that our worship is communion with God as well as with one another. They include recognition of who we are before God by centering on the nature and gifts of God.

Here and elsewhere in the service, the posture for prayer may vary according to local custom and circumstance. The biblical tradition of standing to pray is always appropriate, especially when the people stand for praise immediately before or after the prayer. Kneeling for prayer is also appropriate, especially in confession. Praying seated and bowed is acceptable, especially if the alternative is for persons to be kept standing or kneeling for an uncomfortable length of time.

Here or elsewhere in the service, when an individual leads in prayer the Amen should be spoken or sung by the whole congregation. Sung Amens are found in UMH 897-904.

The Opening Prayer(s) may take any of several forms:

1. A prayer of the day may be a printed prayer such as one of the classic collects, or it may be an extemporaneous prayer. It may be prayed in unison or led by one person. It may be preceded or followed by silence. It may be a prayer suited to any occasion or any Lord's Day; or it may address God in the light of the theme of the day or season of the Christian year. See the collection of Opening Prayers. A number of such prayers — some for general use and some for particular days, seasons, or occasions — are also scattered among the hymns in UMH. See also the hymns listed under Opening Prayer in UMH 951.

---

Excerpted from The United Methodist Book of Worship by The United Methodist Publishin House. Copyright © 1992 The United Methodist Publishing House. Excerpted by permission of The United Methodist Publishing House.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---