Arts
On Our Knees
The prayer-poem below was written in the same week that a leaked opinion draft authored by Supreme Court Justice Alito revealed that Roe v. Wade was likely to be overturned in June 2022. It was delivered at Charlotte Congregational Church, United Church of Christ on Mother’s Day, 5/8/22. Dear God, One needn’t be a mother just a woman or a girl to feel the slap, the lash across the back that drives us to our knees. “Down,” it demands, “fool that you are, weak, stupid untrustworthy and lustful.” The secret is that down here...
read moreThe Passion of Jesus Christ According to Matthew: for 5+ Readers & 1 Cantor
A script written for for Palm/Passion Sunday 2020 to be enacted via video worship. Cast can be scaled up or down as needed. Cast 2 Narrators Judas 2 Disciples Jesus Peter Pilate High Priest Servant girls Cantor Crowd: All Cross Draper Props Cross Black shroud All cast members dressed in black The Passion of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:14-27:66) [Cast is seated on chancel, and on lower level High Priest, Disciple 1 and Narrator 2 stage left. Narrator 1 and Jesus stage right. Cantor and Disciple 2 below, distanced.] Narrator 1: Then one of...
read moreMark Passion 2020
For Holy Week 2020, Rev. Bert Marshall offers a video for you to use in your services, whether they are taking place online or in a sanctuary Bert has memorized the entire Gospel of Mark and this is his telling of the Passion story with guitar and drums. He offers this description: “It’s a bit different from my usual version; i.e. because I filmed it in my study at home there wasn’t room to move around so I did the whole thing sitting down. It’s also the debut of a new guitar background for the opening segment....
read moreSimple Afternoon Taizé Service
Description & Overview Our main sanctuary was painted recently and our fellowship hall became our Sunday morning worship space for a few weeks. Since our regular attendance is bigger than our fellowship hall can hold, we decided to offer our regular Sunday morning service and an afternoon (4pm) Taizé style service to give our congregation some worship options. Below is a simple liturgy for our afternoon service with Taizé chants, silence, Scripture readings and Holy Communion. After the service we pushed chairs into a circle and shared...
read moreX-mas Eve Reading: Darkness/Light
Here is a dramatic reading for a Christmas Eve service of worship inspired by John 1. A cantor and three readers (Darkness 1, Darkness 2 & Light) are needed. Hymn tune for cantor part is the traditional, “Coventry Carol” The reading is in two parts: 1) Darkness, 2) Light. The first part could be used as a Call to Worship or a “cold opening” before a prelude. The 2nd part is meant to be read towards the end of the service (e.g. perhaps as the last of the lessons and carols). Darkness/Light: Darkness...
read moreChristmas Pageant 2019
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT Below is an imaginative retelling of the Christmas story designed to be performed by a Sunday School as a Sunday morning service in Advent. It can be adapted for a wide variety of cast sizes and sanctuary set-ups. Specific solo and choral pieces are not cited below but there are many out there to choose from. Cast Angel # 1 Angelica: Angel # 2 Ariel: Angel # 3 Dina: Mary: Gabriel: Shepherd Sten: Shepherd Corin: Shepherd Sirus: Joseph: Inman the Innkeeper: Queen Regina: Queen Isabella: Queen Sophia: King Herod: Shepherds...
read more“What Do You See?”
What Do You See? A Sermon by Rev. Amy Pitton, delivered at Bethany Church, UCC Montpelier, VT on Sunday, August 25, 2019 Based on: Luke 13:10-17 Read: “Words of a Modern Day Prophet,” by Mary Oliver “There are things you can’t reach. But You can reach out to them, and all day long The wind, the bird flying away. The idea of god. And it can keep you busy as anything else, and happier. I look; morning to night I am never done with looking Looking I mean not just standing around, but standing around As though with your arms...
read moreRe-Gathering
During the summer months in our church, like so many others churches, our people attend worship less frequently. Vacations, visitors, calls from the mountains to go hiking, nice weather, or one of 1000 other things keep people out of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings. In early September though, as the school year begins and our program year starts anew, more people attend worship more often. To visibly mark this change of seasons and the regathering of our community, we have developed a ritual using our leftover dried palms from the previous...
read moreUnfolding
Here is a prayer-poem that was written as a Call to Worship for a morning worship service. It could be adapted for use in almost any worship setting. good morning earth and cooing doves and the many risings of this day I surrender to your unfolding anticipating? yes expecting? yes longing? yes hoping, yes that I can welcome what unfolds and be unfolded too © Rev. Kevin Goldenbogen, 2019 Kevin Goldenbogen is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ...
read moreStations of the Cross 2019
Below is a link to a booklet we used at Charlotte Congregational Church on Good Friday 2019 for an outdoor walking meditation. Our congregation made 14 crosses and then tied them to trees in the woods behind our church building. At 4PM we began walking from station to station, using this booklet to guide our reflections. The “Connection” for each station was written by Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge and the “Prayer” for each station was adapted by Rev. Will Burhans from “The Stations of the Cross” written by Passionist Missionaries of Union...
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