Here's more information about our worship leaders, our worship books, inclusive language, Holy Communion, intercessory prayers, and art and music at UniLu.

Worship Leaders

Our pastors, Rev. Joanne Engquist and Rev. Donald Larsen, usually lead worship services at UniLu. Other ordained members of the congregation, including Rev. Helmut Koester, Rev. Katherine Shaner, Rev. Imogene Stulken, Rev. Arthur von Au, Rev. Angelika Zollfrank, and Rev. Connie Parvey, often help out as well. Our pastors, chaplains from nearby campus ministries, and Lutheran students at local divinity schools preach regularly, and laypeople serve as assisting ministers and cantors.

Lay deacons welcome worshippers before the service, read lessons, pray the intercessions, collect the offering, assist in serving Holy Communion, and host the coffee hour following the service. Students, Sunday School children, and others may also contribute to the service by reading lessons or prayers.

If you are interested in serving as a deacon, cantor, or assisting minister, please speak with one of our pastors.

Worship Books

We use hymns from the Lutheran hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship, from the Taizé and Iona communities, and from many other sources.

Most of the liturgies we use are printed in small booklets that can be found at each end of the pew. Our pastors produce these booklets for different services and seasons throughout the liturgical year. These orders of service combine elements from familiar Lutheran settings with readings, prayers, and songs from other Lutheran and Christian sources. We hope that you will find UniLu's creative approach to liturgy to be easy to follow and spiritually beneficial.

Inclusive Language

As a congregation we have chosen to make occasional changes in the language of the printed texts used in worship services—e.g., substituting "people" for "men"—in order to express our oneness in Christ, to use more inclusive terms about our community, and to expand our images of God. These changes are incorporated in the order-of-service booklets at the ends of each pew, as well as in the lessons and Gospel texts read during the service.

Holy Communion

All Christians are welcome at our Eucharist table to share in Christ's communion and real presence. During communion, an ordained pastor celebrates the Eucharist and consecrates the elements. Lay deacons and the assisting minister assist in the distribution of the elements.

We symbolize our unity in Christ by using a whole loaf of bread and a common cup. You may also commune by intinction—dipping the bread into the wine in the common cup—or by using an individual glass. Glasses are available at the front of the center aisle; wine is poured into glasses on the left (as you face the altar) side and grape juice is poured on the right side.

Anyone preferring not to receive communion is welcome to remain seated in the pew and join in the singing of hymns.

Intercessory Prayers

The Service of Holy Communion includes a time for intercessory prayer. After the intercessor offers prayers of general concern, you are encouraged to share your own petitions of concern or thanksgiving aloud so that the entire congregation may pray with you.

Please also alert a pastor or the parish administrator when a family member, congregation member, or friend of UniLu is ill, has died, or is celebrating a wedding or birth, so that his or her name may be included in the list of prayer concerns printed each week in the bulletin. These names are invoked during the intercessory prayers during each service.

Art and Music

The arts play a vital role in the worship life at University Lutheran. Instrumentalists play frequently at the 9:00 A.M. service, and our choir sings at the 11:00 A.M. service. Both our Noack organ and the grand piano are used for preludes and postludes. If you are interested in sharing your musical gifts during worship, please contact our Parish Music Director, John Paulson.

As you sit or walk through the UniLu sanctuary, you will notice liturgical hangings and sculptures. They are offerings of the creative human spirit responding to our creating God. Many of these works of art have been designed or created by members of the congregation. Others have been commissioned by the church or donated by friends and members of UniLu. The hangings at the front of the chancel are changed with each season of the liturgical year.