One of my favorite aspects of worship planning is selecting music for the sacrament of communion. The music needs to set a mood and encourage contemplation, but it should not call too much attention to itself. An added difficulty is that the time required for passing out the elements varies somewhat, so pieces usually need to be either extended or finished up early. Many organists solve this timing problem by improvising during communion services, creating effective and often elaborate pieces on the spur of the moment.

My colleague at a nearby church, Rev. Vicki Carpenter of First Congregational Church, UCC in Amherst, MA, started a practice with her congregation in the last election cycle which I think people of any religious tradition should adopt: pray for the country and whoever is elected to lead it, both before and after the election, because no matter who wins and who loses, we have a lot of work ahead. This election cycle we may have more work ahead than ever.

PVIRAG is an acronym for the Pioneer Valley Interfaith Refugee Action Group which came together in January of this year with a three-fold mission: Political Advocacy: To exert political pressure […]