For APril 4, 2010 -- Easter Sunday

CALL TO WORSHIP
Mere days after their world was torn apart,
two women go to visit and tend the grave of one they love.
And when they get there they find that the grave is open and empty.
What new horror is this?
Not horror but gift. Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen indeed! Hallelujah
We come together to worship.
We come to share praise and joy!

OPENING PRAYER

This is the day that God has made!

We will rejoice and be glad!

God of new life and new hope, today you do a new thing!

With the dawning of the new day you have brought a new creation into being!

As we celebrate the resurrection today,

empty the tombs and dead spaces in our lives,
renew our hope for the future,
remind us that the coming Reign of Love, Peace and Justice may be slowed but can never be stopped.
As we walk to the tomb with the disciples,

open our eyes to the power of resurrection.

As we see the wonder of new life,

empower us to live as a resurrection people. We pray in the name of the Risen Christ. Amen

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
This is the day that God has made!
We will rejoice and be glad!
We have heard the wonderful news!
Christ is Risen!
We go to live resurrection hope!
Bringing words of life in place of fears of death,

sharing the promise that God’s Reign wins out, that God has the final word.
In the name of the God who makes us,
in the name of the Christ who makes us free,
in the name of the Spirit who makes us one.
We go in God’s love and promise always.
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!

For March 28, 2010 -- Palm Sunday

CALL TO WORSHIP
If you listen carefully you can almost hear it,
Drifting through the air, singing and dancing.
It gets closer and closer, louder and louder,
Songs of joy and hope.
The Kingdom is coming! Can you see it?
The Kingdom is coming! Will we join in the parade?

PRAYER OF CONFESSION/ASSURANCE OF PARDON

God, when we open our eyes and ears we can see and hear the signs of the coming Kingdom,

We want to join in the singing and dancing and rejoicing.

It seems that nothing can stop the good times from coming.

But is that really true? Do we really believe it?

Or do we work to find ways to block the Kingdom?

Maybe. God, for those days when we get in the way of the parade, for the ways we try to interrupt the festivities, for our reticence to embrace the possibility of the Kingdom, forgive us.

…time of silent prayer…

God is the leader of the parade. God calls us to the celebration. Even when we have doubts or try to block the Kingdom, God still calls us to sing and dance for joy. We are forgiven.

Blessed be the One whose kingdom comes on a donkey! Amen.

SENDING FORTH
We have marched and sung with the crowds.
We share their hope for better things to come.
The week ahead will throw cold water on that hope.
But we still try to sing our hope. For even if our voices are stilled the very stones will take up the song.
As we go into the world of hope and challenge, remember that in the hope and in the challenge we are not alone. God walks with us as we journey towards the Kingdom.
Thanks be to God! Hosanna and Hallelujah!

For MArch 14, 2010 -- LEnt 4C

PRAYER OF CONFESSION/ASSURANCE OF PARDON

God, there are times when we lose our way on the journey of life.

Days when we simply get confused which way we should go and make a poor choice.

God there are times when we intentionally leave the Way you would have us follow.

Days when we turn our back on the wisdom you offer. Days when we demand our entitlement and use it for our own selfish pleasures and purposes.

God, there are times when find ourselves hiding in a corner somewhere.

Days when we are convinced that we are not worth finding. Days when we wonder why you would look for us.

God, for all the times we get lost, when we take the wrong turn in life…

Forgive us and draw us back to The Way…

…time of silent prayer…

The Psalmist writes “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven”. The Gospel reminds us that God is always happy to find the lost, that God is always welcoming us back home with open arms. We are forgiven and loved.

Thanks be to God! Amen

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
We who are sometimes lost have been found.
And so the party of life continues.
We go out as people whom God has welcomed with open arms.
We go out to welcome others with open arms as we share God’s words of love and acceptance and hope.
And where ever our journey takes us, when we are sure of the way and when we have gotten lost, we take strength from knowing that we are NOT alone. We live in God’s world and God is with us.
Thanks be to God. Amen

For March 7, 2010 --- Lent 3C

PRAYER OF CONFESSION/ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Creator God, it is your hope that your people grow and become all that they could be,

But too often we are content to remain stable, not being fruitful.

God of growth, you call us to step forward, enriching the lives of those around us.

But too often we are willing to look after our needs first, and then using our “extras” for the world around us.

God of the Earth, you call us to be good users of life’s soil,

But if we are honest there are many times when we appear to be a waste of soil. For those times when we resist growth, when we are not fruitful, when we are less than we could be, forgive us we pray.

…time of silent prayer…

God is a patient and caring Gardener. God continues to nourish and nurture us, helping us to bear fruit, even when it might seem more logical to start afresh. We are forgiven, we are fed.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
We go out as children of God, Beloved and nourished.
May we bear fruit in response to the care from the Gardener.
We go out to work in the soil of life, the dirty world in which we find ourselves.
May we help to enrich the soil around us so that all may grow to bear fruit in their own turn.
And remember, we are not growing of our own accord or power. We grow because we are held in the arms and care of the Gardener from germination to maturity.
Thanks be to God who gives us growth! Amen.

For February 21, 2010 -- Lent 1C

OPENING PRAYER
God who has called us together,
We come here seeking to find the path of Life, wondering who You would have us be.
As we wrestle with those questions of being there are so many tests and possibilities along the way.
And so we seek guidance and strength.
In this time of worship,
Open our hearts and souls to your Way. Give us the strength and wisdom to pass the tests of life. Amen.


COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
As worship ends, service continues.
We leave this place to continue following the road that lies in front of us.
On that path there are many options, many times we can turn aside.
But we pledge ourselves to stick to the goal, to struggle with the tests, to be who we are meant to be.
And we remember the great promise of faith. We remember that we never face the tests and trial of life alone.
May the Threefold God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, be with us always and all-ways. Amen.