Special Sundays/Services
Pentecost 2019
A simple prayer for Pentecost that could be used as a greetings, call to worship, etc. The version below leads into the Lord’s Prayer. Skin to feel the breath of God; ears to hear the blowing Wind of God; eyes to see the flames of God; noses to smell the aroma of God; tongues to taste the goodness of God; hands to respond to the love of God; time to pray like this: Our (Mother) Father (Creator) who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day...
read morePrayer for Memorial Day 2019
Here is a prayer written for a congregational worship service on the Sunday before Memorial Day. It was inspired by Mark 10:35-45 A Memorial Day Prayer – 2019 (Inspired by Mark 10:35-45) God in Christ, your Gospel lays out before us a vision of service: desiring a place of privilege, you call us to humility; wanting glory, you show us that true glory comes when we act with justice and with love; coveting greatness, you teach us that greatness comes when we lay down our lives for others as you did for us. On this Sunday before Memorial...
read moreNo 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 moreAn Ash Wednesday Reading for 2 Voices
Here is an Ash Wednesday reading based on Psalm, 51, verses 1-17 that is meant for two readers. The text of the Psalm is interspersed with commentary by an imaginary person reading and reflecting on the text. The commentary itself may be useful, but it’s also there to give permission to worshipers to engage in their own honest dialogue with this ancient text. Of course, the commentary can be changed as you see fit for use in your particular setting. (Note: the Psalm text is from the New Revised Standard Version but most translations...
read moreGun Violence Vigil
Here is a simple liturgy for a Gun Violence vigil held at Charlotte Congregational Church, Charlotte, VT in December, 2018. The liturgy below may be used in a group, or simply printed on sheets for attendees to use on their own. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.“Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. – Jeremiah 8:11 ~ Welcome. The Judeo-Christian prophetic tradition teaches us that for real change to occur we need both lament and hope through God. Lament is the act of acknowledging what...
read moreSunday that Rocks
Here is an order of worship for a that weaves rock imagery and rock-themed Scripture verses throughout the service. It was created for worship on 9/16/2018 (17th Sunday after Pentecost) Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation. – Psalm 95 WE GATHER AS GOD’S PEOPLE Prelude Welcome & Announcements Introit: “Jesus is the Rock” (video): find it here (Jesus is the Rock (Bop shoo bop shoo bop woooo!) HD with lyrics Posted by Andrew Leer, Published on Jul 21, 2013) Call to Worship...
read moreWe Told Them Another Parable
For World Communion Sunday, 2018, Kevin Goldenbogen at his home congregation preached about the Parable of the Yeast from Matthew 13:33: “He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” (New Revised Standard Version). The brevity and density of this one sentence parable lends itself to repetition and so before the sermon, and because it was World Communion Sunday, they invited 7 readers to read the story in a different...
read moreChrist’s Threads: A Litany for WCS
Here is a litany written for World Communion Sunday, 2018. It could easily be adapted for your setting and/or for another occasion. Leader: According to John’s Gospel, when Jesus was facing death, he took time to imagine unity and to pray using these words: Response: That they may all be one. Leader: Jesus’ vision was not for unity between some, but between all, and with God. Response: That they may all be one. Leader: It’s true: the unity Jesus imagined and sacrificed to make real, has not been fully...
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