By Season
No Assumptions on Mother’s Day
Here is a short prayer written for use in worship on Mother’s Day/Festival of the Christian Home 2019. It attempts to acknowledge the complexities of Mother’s Day and to help those praying to give it all to God. It could be used as a pastoral prayer, adapted for us as a litany, etc. God, on this day in our culture we set aside as “Mother’s Day,” we make no assumptions about the experiences or emotions of the people in this room: – some of us here love Mother’s day and celebrate it with great joy; – some feel acute...
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...
read moreBlessing of the Palms 2019
A simple blessing of the palms for Palm Sunday 2019. Blessing of the Palms Christ, a very long time ago you mounted a colt, road over coats, and entered Jerusalem, as fickle crowds waved palm branches, and shouted, “Hosanna” and “blessed is he.” This morning we reenact the story: we reenact to deepen; we reenact to understand; we reenact to connect; we reenact to lament; and we reenact for reasons all our own. Christ, bless our reenactment, and bless our palms that they might be for us: a doorway into Holy Week; a portal...
read moreFinger Labyrinth
Here is a procedure outline for using a finger labyrinth in a service of worship. It could be adapted to fit into a variety of places during a special service or on a Sunday morning. Length is approximately 2-3 minutes. I usually print the labyrinth graphic on the front cover of the service bulletin for easy access but it could also be printed as an insert. Scripture reading can be changed according to service theme and season of the year. Introduction: (Say something like this) – “I invite us all now into a time of...
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