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 and 3rd Saturdays 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 leading a conversational, biblically based, relevant discussion 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 offer your perspective, 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 or hanging out for a few minutes afterward.

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!

At upRising, we celebrate an open communion. You do not have to be a member of our church or any church to come to the table. You do not have to claim any particular beliefs about what communion is or what it means.

We invite people to come to communion alone, with friends, partners, family—anyone you wish. You will receive grape juice (We do not offer wine.) and bread, and then you will be offered a personal blessing from one of our servers.

The “communal” and “intimate” nature of our communion meals is intentional. In the 1960s and 70s, during the early years of MCC, the LGBTQ community was often feared and condemned by others, even and especially in the Church. In our communion celebrations, we “gathered each other in,” stood close to one another, and held our arms around each other. This practice continues to encourage and sustain us in a world that has begun to change, but hasn’t changed nearly enough.

The sacrament of Holy Communion comes from the historical Jesus’ practice of celebrating the Jewish Feast of Passover – a celebration of the freedom of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt. Jesus often shared meals with people, not only during Passover, but every time he found an opportunity. He welcomed everyone to these feasts: street people, prostitutes, tradespeople, socially acceptable and unacceptable people, religious leaders, rich people, everyone.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the early Church began to hold simple worship gatherings. By the end of the first century, the worship service included prayers, a sermon, and the receiving of an offering. Afterward there would be an agape feast which began with a prayer of thanksgiving for the Feast of the Dominion of God and ended with the sharing of the story of Jesus’ last supper, the distribution of the elements of communion, and possibly the prayer that Matthew says Jesus taught us.

Our modern communion liturgy is based in the tradition of the Protestant churches, and in its current form dates back to the 1600s. Parts of the liturgy are based in much older traditions and come to us from the first few centuries of the church’s existence.

In Metropolitan Community Churches, we celebrate communion much as it was celebrated by our founder, Rev. Troy Perry at the first MCC service in 1968. The Presider, the person leading the liturgy from the communion table, shares a brief story, poem, or other reading and follows that with an invitation to everyone to share in the communion meal. Then the Presider shares the communion liturgy, which is based in Paul’s description of the Last Supper found in 1 Corinthians 11.

Sometimes we share a confession as part of communion. In the confession, we acknowledge our failings and frailties. We do not do this because of shame or guilt, but because we wish to learn and grow and become more like the one we claim to follow, Jesus Christ. The confession is always followed by an assurance of God’s forgiveness.

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.

We believe that the sum of our gifts and talents create the unique community that is upRising. Our church thrives because of the gifts and talents shared by the people. According to scripture, God loves a cheerful giver. It is our privilege to give to a worthy cause. And we believe that the services and outreach of upRising are certainly a worthy cause, working to create safe spaces for worship, bring justice to all people, and show the world the love of Christ. It takes all of us working together to make upRising a safe and vibrant community, and to make everything we do possible. It is because of your generosity that we are able to produce quality services, create effective outreach opportunities, donate to community efforts, and support our staff and congregants. Thank you!

There are many ways to serve the community with your talents, which you can find on our Connect page. There are also several ways to make monetary donations, which can be found on our Give page.

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.

listen to archived sermons here

watch live video sermons here