Worship in July: Seeking, Creating, and Experiencing Joy

Worship in July 2025: Seeking, Creating, and Experiencing Joy.

The great and holy days of Easter and Pentecost are behind us. The Christmas season is months away. We find ourselves settling into “ordinary time,” a stretch of the church calendar measured in the number of Sundays that have passed since the last major celebration. 

Meanwhile, every day brings with it headlines and breaking news alerts filled with death, despair, and destruction. 

Where can we find joy in this time of year, in God’s Word, in our wounded and weary world? How do we create space for joy while also honoring our anxiety, pain, and grief? What are the different ways in which joy can be experienced?

These are the questions I had in mind while planning worship for the month of July. 

Each week, we’ll reflect on how joy shows up in scripture and, I hope, experience some of that joy together as we gather in song, read sacred stories, and share a meal at the Lord’s Table. We’ll consider how joy relates to themes like connection, resistance, rest, and remembrance.

I am excited to explore what it means to seek, create, and experience joy as a community of faith!