Arts
Burdens Down
Sometimes tragedies trickle and sometimes they flow like a firehose. From late August through Early October 2017, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, earthquakes in Mexico, and a mass shooting in Las Vegas filled our public consciousness and burdened us. In both my church and personal life I experienced these tragic events having a cumulative and withering effect. The prayer below was written to be used in congregational worship to help people “lay their burdens down.” In conjunction with the prayer, you may...
read moreInspired by Easter 2017
Below is a poem by Vermont poet Ama Hannan. It was inspired by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and written on the evening of Easter 2017. In worship, it could be used as a call to worship, as a centering prayer, as a projected meditation, and in many other ways. Create! The Son/the Sun/ He is Risen above the Lover the Mother the Maker of all! The creative spark/ the firebrand of Justice/ the flying Dove of Peace/ the Lamb of God/ the Ewe of Grace/ the Shepherd and the Sheep …our Self and our Holy Spirit Spirit of the Living Waters,...
read moreWilderness in a Bag
I am always looking for ways to “extend the sanctuary”…always looking for ways to extend worship for individuals and families into Sunday afternoon and the rest of the week. Fortunately, Lent is such a rich season and provides many symbols and opportunities to do just this! On the first Sunday in Lent 2017 I planned the following for our Children’s message: I took some all purpose sand (about $2.50 for 50# lb bag) and: 1) I poured one whole 50 bag onto a tarp at the front of the church to make a small wilderness area;...
read moreLight the Candle!!!
Below is an Advent wreath liturgy written for a Christmas Eve family/early service using Isaiah 9:2-7. It gives children and adults alike a chance to shout in church and celebrate the birth of the Christ-child. Fun, simple and meaningful. One: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. RESPONSE: [SHOUT] Light the candle!! One: [LIGHT PURPLE CANDLE #1] A light has shined on those living in deep darkness. RESPONSE: Light the candle!! One: [LIGHT PURPLE CANDLE #2] You have made the nation great; you have increased its joy....
read moreNativity: Look Again
Most of us have 1 or 5 or 10 of them. You know crèches…nativity sets…little wooden houses with painted shepherds, magi, doting parents, and the baby Jesus in a manger. They are an ancient and effective tool that the church uses to tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. We also see them so often during Advent and Christmas that well…maybe…we don’t see really see them at all. Here are some ways you might use nativity sets in the worshiping life of your church to reclaim them as a tool for telling the...
read moreAlphabet of Ideas
In the wake of the 2016 US presidential election, Rev. Martha Peck wrote a newsletter article for her church and an accompanying “Alphabet of Ideas for Anxious Times.” This list could be used: by a mission committee, seeking to expand its reach by a prayer group as a prompt for intercessory prayer. as an art activity—inviting people to illustrate the actions with stick figures or other drawings by individuals/families during the season of Advent The presidential election of 2016 revealed a deep divide between Americans,...
read moreFlowing River of Life
For our church’s annual Stewardship campaign, we chose a theme of “Flowing from the Throne of God,” from Revelation 22:1-5: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the...
read moreChristmas Eve: Drama of the Light (for 4 Voices)
Below is a dramatic reading for 4 voices that was written for Christmas Eve, 2014. We used it as a call to worship but you could use it anywhere in the service. If your setting allows it, you may consider scattering the four readers around the sanctuary. You can also have them grouped, perhaps in the back of the sanctuary. Whatever you decide, make sure the readers speak loudly or have microphones so that all can hear! Narrator: In Bethlehem that night there were many lights. The moon was out. The stars were twinkling. And...
read moreLight of the World
A Christmas Eve tradition that some in our congregation have observed involves bringing lanterns to worship. During the singing of “Silent Night,” they light their lanterns and then bring the “light of the world” with them as they leave the sanctuary and travel home. Over the years this tradition was carried on by fewer and fewer. SAD. Valuing the tradition and desiring to carry it on, we revitalized it by doing the following: We advertised and announced this tradition (bulletins, newsletters, email updates, worship...
read more“Xmas Eve on Fire”
Imagine this: Christmas Eve Snow blanketing the ground Early/family service begins at 5:00 p.m. and the time is now 4:30 p.m. Portable firepit on the front lawn of the church with logs blazing Hot chocolate in vacuum pots on a table nearby Small Christmas tree with a box full of ornaments Families, individuals, couples, whoever, arriving, grabbing a cup of cocoa, hanging an ornament, warming themselves by the fire, giggling with Christmas excitement At 5:05 p.m. booklets with Christmas carols are handed out and people sing their favorites At...
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