worship at upRising

Worship is at the heart of our community, and our upRising Saturday service is at the heart of our heart! On the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturday of each month we gather in the Worship Center at 7:00 pm for Praise and Worship led by our super-talented praise band. The service is built on music, and we sing a wide variety of popular praise and worship songs heard on the radio and throughout churches all over the world. You’ll find our pastor, sitting on a stool, offering a conversational, biblically based, relevant message that teaches and inspires while never assuming that there is only one way to understand scripture or only one way to respond to today’s complex issues.

Saturday night services tend to be smaller, more intimate, and more casual than Sunday morning services. As we sing and pray together, you’ll have the opportunity to speak from your heart, and acknowledge who God is and who you are as a child of God. Saturday night also provides a great way to get to know other people in the upRising community while enjoying an iced coffee or cappuccino before the service, greeting each other during, or hanging out for a few minutes afterward.

Every time we worship together we offer communion. We find inspiration in the reminders of Jesus’ life and teachings, and hope in the assurance of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. You do not have to be a member of upRising or any church to share the communion meal. You may come to the table by yourself, with friends, or family and receive a piece of bread and cup of grape juice.

Children are always welcome at upRising! For those too young, or otherwise unable, to attend the service, childcare is provided just across the hall from the Worship Center.

We know that many are searching for the music, familiarity, and community that many mainstream churches offer, but need a theology that is progressive, affirming, and inclusive. Our hope is that you will find, in Saturday night services, that you can have both. No matter your faith background, you are welcome at upRising!

Music is such a vital part of how we worship together at upRising! Because we are such a blended crowd, that is reflected in the way we worship through music.

Sunday morning services offer a blend of traditional hymns (and sometimes reimagined), contemporary Christian songs accompanied by piano and drums, a choir, chimes, a beautiful quartet, Broadway numbers, and more! The only expectation is that you participate and enjoy this music in a way that makes sense to you. You’re welcome to sit quietly and reflect on the lyrics, or stand, clap, and sing along.

Saturday night services offer another musical experience with a live band, Praise and Worship experience. Most of what you’ll hear is contemporary Christian music found in Evangelical churches and on the radio. You’ll hear upbeat praise songs that you can sing and clap along to, as well as more contemplative songs that you can reflect upon and worship with. You can sit back and listen to the words quietly, close your eyes, or lift your hands.

At upRising, our hope is that you will find inspiration in the music we offer, and opportunities to worship in a way that makes sense to you and your connection to God.

Someone may have taught you prayers like “Now I lay me down to sleep” when you were a child, but beyond that, it’s possible no one else taught you to pray.

For most of us, what we have learned about prayer comes from hearing others pray. And because we aren’t often invited to listen in on private prayers, many of us learned to pray from prayers we hear in church.

Richard Rohr, spiritual guide and author, tells us plainly, “When the church is no longer teaching the people how to pray, we could almost say it will have lost its reason for existence.”

During our worship services, the person serving as the Intercessor offers both the Community Prayer and a Prayer of Thanksgiving after we have received the offering. During communion and then again after the service, our Deacons are available for personal prayer or anointing. Anyone who would like to is welcome to ask the Deacons for prayer.

We also invite you to write your prayers in our Prayer Book prior to the service if you would like to. The Prayer Book is brought into the sanctuary prior to the service and placed on the Communion Table so that the prayers written there are symbolically included in the Community Prayer. You are also invited to write your prayers on the back of your Connection Card. When you write your prayer concerns on the card, the Deacons and Pastors pray with you and for you throughout the week.

We have a prayer wall at the rear of our sanctuary where you can write your prayers on strips of paper and place them in the wall.

You can also call the office at 512-291-8601 if you are in need of prayer. Your call will be returned within 24 hours.

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