In this age of liturgical renewal on the one hand, and support for entertainment evangelism and church growth "gimmicks" on the other, being labeled "liturgical" can be either an honor or an accusation. However, few people really understand what it means to be liturgical, in the best sense of the word.

When the Sunday morning worship service includes young children who need to know that God loves them, congregations may find it challenging. Young children can benefit greatly from participation in Sunday morning worship. On the other hand, children who become bored or noisy make it difficult for others in the congregation to focus on their own worship. There is no simple answer; but to help make worship more meaningful for young children in your congregation, try these simple, practical suggestions.

CHRISTUS REX LUTHERAN CAMPUS CENTER at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks centers its life together around a ministry of Word and Sacrament. The community gathers for worship each Sunday morning and evening when school is in session. Holy Communion always is celebrated at these Sunday services. We welcome all God's people to celebrate with us the Word proclaimed and Sacraments shared as we live out our baptism within the community of UND.

Even though a pastor and a musician are capable of planning worship, it is more fun to include others in the work. The worship that ensues might be richer, but more importantly the people will have a greater ownership of this their "work." Pastors and musicians have an important role - they are the ones most likely to have training in the area of worship - but others bring important gifts as well, including the experience of sitting in the pews.

Note: There is a modest fee for use. The following drama takes place on the Sunday of the Passion. Its purpose is to allow each worshiper suddenly to discover (pitifully, intensely, truly to discover) his own rootedness in the drama which is Christ's, so that the Passion Story may no longer be mere story for observance, analysis, learning or history; so that it embrace the worshiper, name him, and become his own story indeed: the shape of his being.

Prayer Around the Cross provided the setting for our mid-week Lenten observance this year. It offered an opportunity for the people of our parish to experience a new way of prayer (new to us that is, but well-known in other parts of the Church).

The origin of Shrove Tuesday comes from the idea of - the night before Lent begins - consuming everything in the household from which one planned to abstain during Lent. We serve pancakes to connect us to the customs of a time when flour, eggs, milk, butter and other food items were all on the Lenten abstinence list. These days we celebrate the evening before Ash Wednesday more as a foretaste of the feast to come at Easter.

The following prayers are for small town communities and rural life. They are written by members of our synods Rural Faith and Life Task Force and the Hunger and Justice Committee. Our goal is to keep the concerns and reality of rural and small town life before us.

Here's something that might be useful in making your congregation's preparation for Lent more meaningful. The Service of Diminishing Lights can be used at the beginning or end of a worship service to put an emphasis on the weeks that rapidly move from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday morning.

A Song and Service for Lighting the Candles in the Advent Wreath, By Donald F. Marsh. Guidelines: This song and service may be used on successive Sundays in Advent for lighting the candles in the Advent wreath. The themes used here for the four Sundays in Advent are LOVE, HOPE, PEACE and JOY.