By Season
Blessing of the Palms 2018
A simple blessing of the palms for Palm Sunday 2018. Blessing of the Palms Blessed Christ who comes in the name of the Lord, may these palms be, not toys, but tools: tools that we hand out to one another on Palm Sunday; tools that we walk over as we enter worship; tools that we fold into crosses and playfully swat our brother or sister with; tools that we bring home with us to dry and to remind; tools that we will burn next Ash Wednesday to mark our foreheads, and our mortality; and tools that we use to enter into this Holy Week, enter into...
read moreEaster 2018
Here are selected resources to assist you with your Easter Sunday planning. Though I have separated the resources for Sunrise and Later Morning Service, you could use any of the resources at either service. EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE Call to Worship One: We are standing on holy ground. We have entered a day of miracle and mystery. We are unsure of what it all means. Many: Don’t be alarmed! One: How can it be? How can the dead live again? How can a cross become and empty tomb? Many: Jesus has risen! One: Today is a day to experience. Today is a...
read morefragile…exposed…mortal
A prayer for Ash Wednesday that could be adapted to use throughout an Ash Wednesday service. Fragile…exposed…mortal…temporary…finite… …ashes and dust…we…you and me. So we put on clothes and then armor… …we put on degrees and wealth… …we put on insurance policies… …we put on achievements and addictions… …and we put on anything that will make us feel… …if only for a minute… …that we are anything but ashes and dust. So God calls to us… …through prophets like Joel… …through a savior like Jesus… …and through this season of Lent… …for...
read more“Wondrous” Lenten Reading
Through the seasons of the church year, we are quick to change colors, paraments, candles, seating arrangements and hymns, but maybe not so quick to change how we read Scripture. In most churches I know, there is “the” Scripture moment in worship when the liturgist/worship assistant/reader walks to the lectern, introduces the reading(s), reads, and then sits down. The readings change seasonally, of course, but HOW we read them remains consistent. Consistency in the HOW of reading is not a bad thing, but diversity in the HOW of...
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