Welcoming the Sabbath: A Weekly Liturgy

Each week, we’re invited to embrace the Sabbath, a whole day of resting and rejoicing in God. It’s a practice of freedom for life with God, with others, and with creation. But where do we start? How can we actually take up Sabbath rest together?

We’ve created a new resource, Welcoming the Sabbath, to do just this: to help households embrace the Sabbath. It centres on a simple liturgy—a shared form of prayer—to lay aside our burdens and welcome the Sabbath evening. The liturgy concludes with a shared meal—the start of our rejoicing as we enter God’s gift of rest. Beautiful and practical, this card resource includes six copies of A Liturgy to Welcome the Sabbath, along with a simpler version for use with young children. There are also cards explaining the liturgy, with practical suggestions about how best to use this resource.

Part of Venn’s Keeping Sacred Time devotionals, Welcoming the Sabbath is designed for use throughout the year as part of your household’s regular weekly rhythm. And if you’d like to explore the fuller meaning and practice of Sabbath rest, check out How to Sabbath Well: it’s a beautiful, magazine-style book featuring thought-provoking writing, fascinating interviews, reflections, original art, poetry, and photography. We warmly invite you to join us.