Kathy Smith

How can worship lead us to a deeper unity in Christ in spite of our differences, and how can it be a means of healing and hope?

Q. I’ve heard that baptism and Lent are supposed to go together, but I don’t know why, and I haven’t noticed any such connections made in my church. Should there be?

Q. I don’t want to go into all the details, but our congregation has had a really tough year. Our worship planners are weary and worried about guiding the church through the “joyful” Christmas season. They don’t have a lot of joy and wish they could skip ahead to the New Year so we can start over. Do you have any ideas to encourage them?

Q. Our church has been involving members in worship by having them read Scripture. This has been a blessing in many ways; however, some of them aren’t the best readers, and we wonder if we should stick with a “professional” like the minister. Should we?

Q. Our small church is losing members to bigger churches that are more modern and use more technology than we do. Should we think about putting a screen up to project songs in worship like so many churches do these days?

Q We hear a lot about people “giving things up for Lent.” What implications might this practice have for corporate worship?

A Individuals often go without a certain food or activity as a way to make Jesus’ journey toward the cross more prominent in their life. But perhaps congregations could consider similar practices or emphases communally.