Sunday Toolkit — 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 6th September 2026

1. Encouragement

If you’re leading worship this Sunday, this one’s for you before anything else: thank you. Saying yes to stand at the front and help a room find its way into worship together is a genuine act of trust — in yourself, and in the people who’ll meet you where you are. This week’s readings feel fitting: Miriam picks up a tambourine with no rehearsal and leads the singing, and Paul names two women, Euodia and Syntyche, out loud in a letter meant to be read to their whole church. Both are about being seen while doing something that matters. So is leading worship.

You don’t need every transition smooth or every word to land exactly as rehearsed — the room needs someone present, a little exposed, genuinely there with them, not polish. If something goes sideways, that’s not a failure of your leading; it might be closer to what real worship looks like than anything scripted ever is. Whatever nerves turn up between now and Sunday, let them be a sign you’re taking this seriously, not a sign you’re not ready. You are. Go well.

2. This Week’s Reading

Old Testament — Exodus 15:1-11, 20-21 — Miriam and the Song of the Sea
Having just crossed the sea to safety while Pharaoh’s army did not, Moses and the Israelites sing a long song of praise and triumph. Then Miriam — named here as “the prophet” — takes up a tambourine, and all the women follow her out with tambourines and dancing, as she leads them in the refrain.
Read the full passage on Bible Gateway (NRSVUE)

“Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously.’” (Exodus 15:20-21, abridged)

New Testament — Philippians 4:1-9 — Euodia and Syntyche
Paul pleads with two named women in the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, to find common ground with each other, and asks the wider community to help them do it. From there he moves into some of his most quoted lines — about rejoicing always, and about the peace that guards the heart.
Read the full passage on Bible Gateway (NRSVUE)

“I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel.” (Philippians 4:2-3, abridged)

3. What Richard’s Explored Before

In his own preaching: This is new territory for Richard too. Nothing in his sermon log touches Exodus 15 or Miriam by name, and Philippians 4 and the Euodia/Syntyche story haven’t come up before either. There’s nothing to accidentally repeat here — but also nothing old to lean on, so this week’s prep is starting fresh.

In past liturgies: This week is a rare case where the mapping is confirmed rather than guessed — the Spill the Beans archive holds a file built for these exact two readings (“Exodus 15-1-11,20-21 & Philippians 4-1-9.pdf”), and it’s filed under the label “Pentecost 14.” Using that same label, Words for Worship has entries from several past years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023) and L3 has one from 2025 — but those sheets don’t record which exact scripture pairing was used each year, and some will have followed the standard denominational lectionary rather than the Women’s Lectionary. So treat those as general material for the season, while the Spill the Beans file is the one confirmed direct hit.

Where the congregation’s worship is currently sitting: The last two Sundays have both been about women acting fast under threat — Shiphrah and Puah defying Pharaoh’s order on 23rd August, then Zipporah’s sudden, fierce protection of her family on 30th August. This week is the turn on the other side of danger: Miriam’s song is what happens once the crossing is behind them and the water has closed over the army chasing them — relief, celebration, and dancing instead of resistance. Paired with Euodia and Syntyche, the week also opens a new thread: what it takes to stay in relationship with each other once the immediate danger has passed.

4. Resources

A direct hit this week — Spill the Beans has a resource built for exactly these two readings, filed as “Exodus 15-1-11,20-21 & Philippians 4-1-9.pdf”, in the Women’s Lectionary/Pentecost folder (from the 3 September 2023 issue, labelled Pentecost 14). Worth pulling straight from the shared folder — it was written for this precise pairing, not just the general season.

Words for Worship and L3 both have entries filed under the same “Pentecost 14” label across a number of past years, but without a recorded scripture reference for each one, so there’s no way to confirm from the log alone whether any of them line up with Miriam and Euodia/Syntyche specifically. Worth a look if you want extra material, but go in without assuming they’ll match this week’s exact texts.

5. Songs

Used before? There’s no traceable record — in the sermon log, in past Monday Prep posts, or in the liturgical resource notes — of a particular song being sung for this reading before. The congregation’s song list is an inventory of what’s available, not a record of what’s actually been sung on which date, so there’s honestly nothing to point to as a “usual” choice here. Treat what follows as fresh suggestions.

From the congregation’s song list, worth considering:

Freedom is Coming (ATOK 355) — a direct match for the heart of the Exodus reading: the joy and momentum of a people who have just been set free.
You Shall Go Out With Joy (also listed as Trees of the Field, TiS 755) — its imagery of going out with joy and being led forth in peace echoes Miriam leading the women out with tambourines and dancing.
Community of Christ — a gentle fit for the Philippians reading, naming the kind of shared life Paul is asking Euodia and Syntyche to find their way back into.

From outside the usual list: Bring Many Names (Brian Wren) isn’t on the congregation’s list, but it’s worth considering — one of its verses names God as “strong mother” and another lifts up prophetic, unexpected images of God, which sits nicely alongside a week where a woman is explicitly named “the prophet.”

6. Weblinks

A short jumping-off list from Richard’s own “Websites I Use,” picked for this week’s themes:

Howard Wallace — strong background on Exodus and the wider Moses narrative, useful for grounding Miriam’s song in its context.
Old Testament Lectionary — UCA — a dedicated Old Testament resource, a good first stop for the Exodus 15 reading specifically.
Working Preacher — reliable, accessible commentary; Philippians 4 comes up in the standard lectionary too, so there should be solid material here.
Bill Loader — covers both Old and New Testament texts and often engages the less commonly preached passages.
Textweek — a broad aggregator worth checking for both readings, especially for a wider spread of views on Philippians 4.

7. Pop Culture

Five songs for the lead-up to Sunday:

Jason Isbell — “Something More Than Free“ — a song about what freedom actually feels like once you’re living in it, not just escaping from what came before; a strong companion to Miriam’s song on the far side of the sea.
Phosphorescent — “Song for Zula“ — a song about outlasting something that tried to cage you and coming out the other side able to love and sing again; close in spirit to the relief and release of this week’s Exodus reading.
Nat Bartsch — “Call and Response“ — a gentle instrumental piece whose very title echoes what Miriam does in Exodus 15: leading a refrain that the other women pick up and sing back.
Sampha — “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano“ — an intimate, searching piece about being truly known by someone or something; a quiet way into what Euodia and Syntyche are being asked to find with each other again.
Slow Pulp — “Falling Apart“ — a song about moving through a rupture rather than around it; useful company for sitting with two people in a congregation who are, for whatever reason, not currently of one mind.

Book: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Volume 51, Wisdom Commentary Series) by Elsa Tamez is a strong, direct match this week — a feminist commentary on this exact letter, taking Euodia and Syntyche seriously as real leaders in the Philippian church rather than a footnote to an argument. Honestly, nothing in the catalogue engages Exodus 15 or Miriam specifically, so this pick leans toward the New Testament reading rather than covering both.

Film: The Color Purple (2023), the musical adaptation directed by Blitz Bazawule, follows Celie’s journey from a life of harm toward voice, sisterhood, and joy — built around the deep bond between women who hold each other through hardship and help each other find their way back to themselves. It closes in genuine, full-throated celebration, which pairs naturally with Miriam’s song, and its central female friendships carry real resonance for a week centred on women finding their way back to each other. Worth knowing going in: it includes depictions of domestic and sexual abuse, handled with care rather than gratuitously, but tonally heavy in places — use your judgement on whether that fits the room this week.

8. Notable Dates

A few things happening in the world and the wider church around this Sunday — handy for a line in the notices, a prayer prompt, or just to know what’s in the air.

The Season of Creation continues (1 September – 4 October) — still a good window for creation-themed prayers or songs if it fits the reading.
5 September — International Day of Charity (UN), set on this date in memory of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who is also remembered on the church calendar for her decades of service to “the poorest of the poor” in Kolkata.
5 September is also marked by the UN in recognition of Indigenous women and girls around the world — worth a mention in the prayers of the people.
8 September — International Literacy Day (UN). A nice hook if you want to say something about the gift of being able to read the Word for yourself.

9. Final Word

One small thing to try this week: somewhere in the service, build in a genuine call-and-response moment — a line the congregation repeats back, a sung refrain, even just a phrase you ask the room to echo. Miriam didn’t just perform this week’s song, she led it, and the whole point was other voices joining in. You don’t need a tambourine (though don’t let anyone stop you if you want one) — just one moment where the room’s voice becomes part of the leading, not only the receiving.

Whatever else Sunday holds — a line that lands differently than you expected, a silence that runs a beat longer than planned, two people in the room who need what Euodia and Syntyche needed — may you lead with Miriam’s kind of courage: ready to go first, trusting that others will pick up the song. Go gently. You’re not carrying this alone.