Worship Never Looks the Same

Worship never looks the same at Sardis. Literally. Each week, we tailor our meetinghouse to match specific themes. Sometimes those themes mimic the liturgical calendar: Lent, Advent, World Communion and All Saints Sundays. Other times the themes are more topical: The meaning of Freedom, graduations, and harvest to name a few. These themes are most pronounced in our worship displays. Below is a summary of recent themes. We hope you’ll take time to notice “what you see” the next time you worship with us.

The Meaning of Freedom: July is a month we celebrate the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. But it’s also a month where we mourn the atrocities done to native peoples in the pursuit of freedom for persons of privilege. We remember that much more must still be done to bring equality to ALL Americans. This month, a copy of the Declaration of Independence sits amidst a display of items reflecting the artistry and spirituality of Native Americans, reminding us that not all persons view freedom in the same light. And reminding us of our call as people of God to ensure justice for every neighbor.

A Graduation Celebration: In June, our worship display featured pictures of our high school graduates, as well as items that represented their hobbies and future courses of study. Congregants signed beach balls so that graduates would have a record of who shared in the occasion.

Words of Advent: In December, we made clay words: PEACE, HOPE, JOY, LOVE, and NOEL to represent the themes of the season. Each week, the choir processed in with the letters to help us visualize the arrival of the Christ child.

All Saints Day: Each year, Sardis reads the names of it departed saints. This year, we created a display on the millstone of our labyrinth featuring the architectural plans of the meetinghouse, as well as a current picture of the structure. The names of each saint were written on wooden blocks and read aloud by a different church member. As each name was read, a block was placed on the plans representing that person’s impact on the foundation of our church body.

A New Perspective: In 2017, during the week of the Presidential Inauguration, we thought it would be helpful to remember that our focus is on the Kingdom of God, no matter if we like or dislike the person(s) in office. We turned the sanctuary seats sideways facing a different wall, in the hopes of finding fresh perspective about our world.

Click here to view some of our past worship displays, or visit us on Sundays to see what’s next!