By Liturgical Element
Praying in Response to Violence
On Sunday, 6/12, 49 people were shot to death, and many more were injured in an Orlando nightlcub. It was a horrifying tragedy on its own, but I think it was also the 133rd mass shooting (more than 3 shot) in the US in 2016. We have a major problem in this country with violence in general and gun violence in particular. Sadly, it is a problem that will not go away soon. The church has always prayed in response to violence. Often that praying has taken place during public gatherings like worship services, vigils, bible studies, etc. More...
read morePainted Worship
We are fortunate to have an artist in our congregation named Mary Hill who is generous with her time (see her website here). As Advent 2014 approached, we were looking for: 1) new banners to line our walls, and 2) a way to engage the congregation through visual art in worship. After conversations with our worship team and with Mary, we did the following: We chose one Sunday during Advent to have Mary paint a banner during our morning worship service. (She had prepped the banner ahead of time and sketched out her design. She then...
read moreVTCUCC AM 2016
In April 2016, and for the 221st time, the Vermont Conference, United Church of Christ met for its Annual Meeting. The meeting was held from Friday morning, 4/29 through Saturday afternoon, 4/30 at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, VT. Our theme was, “Be The Church” which was borrowed from the national setting of the UCC. Below you will find the orders of worship for three services that took place during plenary sessions. Our musicians for these services were Peter and Mary Alice Amidon and our preacher/keynote was Bishop...
read moreTable of Yes
Below are some prayers for a liturgy for Holy Communion. It was used for our annual Sunday School Sunday (2016) but the “table of yes” theme could be adapted for many occasions. Note: some of the phrases below are adapted from the UCC Book of Worship Invitation to the Table of Yes: Dear ones, this isn’t my table. It’s not your table. It’s not our table. But it’s Christ’s table. And because it’s Christ’s table, it’s the “table of yes”, and all of us are welcome here. At this table, you don’t have to look a...
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