What Can You Expect from a PBUUC Sunday Service?

Sunday morning services are the heart of the life of Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church. Expect a community of loving people coming together for worship. Expect a friendly face ready to welcome you. Expect to enjoy live music from our choir or soloists or instrumentalists. Expect to hear thought-provoking words on the sermon topic. Expect to be asked to join in heartily (as you are willing or able) in singing our hymns or to join us for the sharing of joys and sorrows in our lives. Expect the unexpected!

First, our wide curving deck, like the open arms of a friend, invites all into the Meeting House where the back wall of windows looks out onto the wooded glen surrounding the Paint Branch creek below. Multiple skylights in the vaulted ceiling provide a bright space with warm acoustics: a delight for the eyes and ears.

Our co-ministers, assisted by our lay Worship Associates, provide a firm yet creative service structure for presentation of the wide-ranging and always thought-provoking sermon topics. One week, you may hear our co-minister Jaco ten Hove speak of his own experiences in "Once Upon a Vision Quest." The next service may be on a more corporeal subject such as "I Love My Body" by one of our Worship Associates. On yet another Sunday, our co-minister Barbara Wells ten Hove, may present her reflections on "War and Innocence." These are all topics that have been presented this year at Paint Branch. See PBUUC Sunday Sermons for other services and more available on our website. For a list of future sermon topics, see Upcoming Sunday Services at PBUUC, or grab a newsletter in the lobby or sign up to receive our newsletter monthly or, better yet, ask somebody to help you out.

Music is a very important part of our service. Our Music Director, David Chapman, has assembled a growing group of members and friends into a wonderful choir that sings at least two Sundays a month. The warm blending of voices, combined with the great acoustics of the Meeting House, make for a remarkable musical experience. When the choir is not singing at a service, our Music Director arranges for soloists and small ensembles of musicians to play various pieces during the service. You might hear a flute solo or a clarinet and violin duet or an a cappella piece. Special occasions such as Christmas, the Holiday Concert, and the Spring Concert highlight the year with both traditional and not-what-you-might-expect music. Do expect to hear something that touches you in a special way.

Do you have children with you? Our Religious Exploration program is run during the service and is offered for preschoolers through senior high school students. Check out our Enrichment Hour programs for small groups held after coffee on Sunday mornings. And while you're in the lobby, help yourself to some of our fair trade coffee or tea or other refreshments. Feel free to talk to the minister or service leader. The Worship Associate and the Greeters especially will be looking out for you and making sure you have what you need. We don't want any newcomer to leave Paint Branch without a personal word from some of our members.

Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church welcomes all to attend our services without regard to race, color, social status, sex, disability, sexual orientation, age, or national origin, and without requiring adherence to any particular interpretation of religion or to any particular religious belief or creed. We are particularly proud of being designated a Welcoming Congregation for Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgendered Persons as well.

So, what can you expect from a Sunday service at Paint Branch?

In keeping with Unitarian Universalist principles, you can expect to be valued for your inherent worth and dignity. Expect the service to speak of justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. Expect to be accepted and encouraged toward spiritual growth. Expect to witness a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Expect the right of conscience and the democratic process to be the guiding lights in that search. Expect another step towards our goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. And most of all, expect a respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

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