Environment
Can We Call Evil (& Good & Joy)?
Here are hymn lyrics by Rev. Thomas Cary Kinder set to the hymn tune: Finlandia. Tom wrote this about his work: “The lyrics were inspired by the Amos passage particularly, but Psalm 90 and the Mark passage as well. Most of all it came out of the [10/8/2018] IPCC climate report and the new reality that we have at most 12 years to completely change our society to become the realm of God’s love and justice and well being for all.” You can also find the music and lyrics here formatted to print as a bulletin insert TOM...
read moreBurdens Down
Sometimes tragedies trickle and sometimes they flow like a firehose. From late August through Early October 2017, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, earthquakes in Mexico, and a mass shooting in Las Vegas filled our public consciousness and burdened us. In both my church and personal life I experienced these tragic events having a cumulative and withering effect. The prayer below was written to be used in congregational worship to help people “lay their burdens down.” In conjunction with the prayer, you may...
read moreBe the Church
In 2016, The United Church of Christ has a lively new call to action, listing nine ways we are called to “BE THE CHURCH.” You can get banners and other materials to promote this vision of faith made visible in the world at www.uccresources.com. I explored the theme in a five part worship series, and these are the materials I wrote for the series. I have included the scriptures used, some of which are referenced in the worship materials. Martha Peck #1 – Be the Church: Care for the Poor (John 21:1-19, Acts 9:1-9) (NOTE: For this first...
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