Pentecost
Re:Call
Here is a Call to Worship, written for Reformation Sunday, 2016. One: When we feel withered and parched, and our faith lies fallow in the fields, MANY: Reseed us, Replant us, Replenish us, O God. One: When we’re up to our eyeballs in debt, or stuck in the depths of despair, MANY: Resurrect us, Renew us, Restore us, O God. One: When our desire to accumulate goods outweighs our desire to share with our neighbors, MANY: Reduce us, Reuse us, Recycle us, Repurpose us, O God. One: When we wish to see Jesus, but we can’t get a good view, MANY:...
read moreWait for Us: A Prayer for World Communion Sunday
One thread running throughout Scripture is of God’s waiting for we human beings to come around, come back, and come together. Below is a prayer to be used as part of a Communion Liturgy for World Communion Sunday that asks God to “wait for us.” It was written for use at the United Church of Underhill, VT on 10/2/2016. Christ, as we gather around this table, which is bigger than our eyes can see, and better than our minds can imagine, we pray that you will wait for us: wait for us to want less; wait for us to live in...
read moreUsefulness & Freedom
Below is a sermon by Rev. Martha Peck which is based upon Paul’s letter to Philemon and delivered on the Sunday before Labor Day (9/4/2016). What does it mean to be free? What does it mean to be useful? This sermon is followed also by related prayers: 1) prayer of invocation, 2) prayer of confession, and 3) assurance of pardon. They called him Onesimus, which means “useful.” And for most of his life he only had the value assigned to a slave. He was a strong back, silent compliance. He could not own property, nor choose where he...
read moreThrough the Church Year
Below is a detailed liturgy for a single Sunday morning service that walks a congregation through the entire Church calendar from Advent through Reign of Christ. Through Word, explanation, and song, this service is a worshipful way to educate and to help a multi-generational congregation to participate in the rhythms and patterns of the liturgical year. It was originally used in 2006 for a United Church of Christ congregation in Massachusetts. (Note: *= Stand as you are able) Order of Worship Prelude & Meditation Time Greetings,...
read moreShared Outdoor Summer Worship
Our church has a tradition of gathering with some of the other churches in our community for a shared (ecumenical) outdoor worship service. For our worship space we set up a tent (a few of our churches own them or they can be rented) or worship in the gazebo in our town park. byIt is a lot of fun and is well attended. It also requires a good deal of coordination and planning. So, below you will find an outline of our planning process followed by the liturgy we used in July of 2016. Planning Process After Easter each year, I send out an...
read moreBass Drop
First things first. WHAT’S A BASS DROP? Well, it’s an EDM (electronic dance music term) used to describe a moment in a song when the bass line rhythm suddenly “drops” or changes. They are sonic intrusions into the natural flow of a song. Bass drops, besides being intrusions, also add structure to a song, mark transitions, build anticipation and excitement, reinforce musical themes, and often evoke an emotional/visceral response that lead to people saying things like: “ah, man, that bass drop is sick.”...
read more[.mp3] to Worship
![[.mp3] to Worship](https://i0.wp.com/worshipwell.church/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/call-to-worship-banner-pic.jpg?resize=184%2C184&ssl=1)
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone It is common in many church services to begin with a CALL TO WORSHIP. It’s an ancient thing to do and we Christians do it for a variety of reasons: 1) historical (we learned it from our Jewish brothers and sisters – shema); 2) theological (it reminds us that it is God who calls us to worship); 3) scriptural (calls to worship are often adapted from psalms and other scripture passages); and 4) practical (a call to worship signals the start of a service and focuses a...
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