David and the Parade -- a Story for Palm Sunday

David was tired.
He had been walking all day, and for several days before that, rushing to get to Jerusalem in time. Passover was in just a few days and David needed time to get ready for the feast. Now he could almost see the city walls. Just a few more minutes and he would be there!

As he struggled up the path out of Bethany and started climbing the Mount of Olives David thought about the upcoming festival. He was meeting his family in the City, family he hadn’t seen for a long time. Not since he had headed north to Tiberias in Galilee seeking to find work. It was good to be back. Cresting the top he looked ahead and had his first glimpse of Jerusalem. His heart soared. Soon he could visit the Temple! He jingled the purse with the coins he would use to buy a suitable lamb for his family to eat at the Passover celebration.

Coming down the path David came through Bethphage. He was almost there!

Suddenly David realized that something special seemed to be happening. The road was crowded but that was normal. Everyone was hurrying to Jerusalem for Passover. No it was more than that. From behind him he heard people singing and shouting. “Hosanna!” they were saying. “Blessed is the one who comes in God’s name!.

David stepped over to the edge of the road and stopped to catch his breath. He looked back toward Bethphage to see what the noise was all about.
He couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing!

There was a man riding a donkey. As he approached people were tearing branches off the trees and laying them on the road. Others were taking their cloaks off and putting them on the road. It was almost like they were making a carpet for the donkey to walk on. As the donkey passed people were cheering and shouting, singing and dancing. Why would they be doing that? What made this man so special?

Then the man looked at David. Well maybe he was just looking in David’s direction but David felt like the man was looking right at him. And David’s heart started to beat faster. “Who is that?” he asked a woman near him.

“Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee”, came the answer before the woman joined in the singing and dancing and cheering.

David had heard of this Jesus. Stories about him were being told all over Tiberias. But David had never seen him in person. Some people said Jesus was going to make everything right with the world. Some even said he was the promised Messiah. Curious David stepped closer to the road, peering intently at the man on the donkey.

The man looked at David again. This time David was sure. Their eyes met and locked together, just for a moment. But in that moment David remembered.

He had just been a boy. It was so long ago. They had been out in the hills around Bethlehem, watching over the sheep. There had been an angel. There was a new baby born. They had all run to see the baby.

David remembered how he had felt that night. He remember the song the baby’s mother had sung. He remembered how happy and hopeful he had felt looking into the baby’s face. Could this man be that baby all grown up?

David looked closer. He looked at Jesus’ eyes. They were the same eyes he has seen all those years ago. There was more worry there now. There was a different glow in them. But the hope, the brightness was still there. This WAS the baby he had seen so long ago. This WAS the baby the angel had called the Messiah. Suddenly David could hear the angel song again. He could hear the lullaby about God making everything right, about the hungry being fed, about people in power being pushed out of their fancy chairs and poor people lifted up, about God remembering God’s promises. David’s heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.

Overcome with joy and hope David joined it the singing and dancing. His tiredness disappeared and he danced his way into the city following the donkey, following Jesus, the prophet from Galilee, the baby he had seen so long ago.

Christ Candle for Good Friday

 

LIGHTING THE CHRIST CANDLE
The road grows dark, storm clouds are on the horizon
We light a candle to guide us through the coming storm
As the flame flickers in our midst,
we come to remember the story, we come to weather the storm together.

EXTINGUISHING THE CHRIST CANDLE
The storm has broken, the deed is done.
The cross stands defiant, the light has gone out.
But we wait with hope, we watch the horizon,
Beyond the storm another dawn awaits

Prayer for Grace for March 15 -- Daring Justice

 

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God you challenge us to be bold and daring as we live into your Kingdom,
asking us to take risks, calling us to flip over the tables of injustice.
While we hear the call, while we see the need for things to change,
we are often uneasy when it comes to making too much noise,
we don’t want to make a scene,
we would rather not risk painting a target on our backs.
Fill us, we pray, with a passion for justice
give us, we pray, a consuming zeal for your Reign.
And when the risk seems too much,
help us to know when it is best to act and when to wait,
give us the courage to take the risk when it is our time to act.
The God we meet in Scripture, who speaks through the prophets, who walked on earth in Jesus continues to meet us in our every day life. God continues to lead us to a new world where justice flows like water and peace like an ever-flowing stream. Through Grace we are made new as we grow in courage and boldness, we are changed to be daring risk-takers.
May we continue to grow in faith, in hope, and in love. Amen.

Prayer for Grace for March 1 -- Bold Discipleship

 

God you challenge us to speak boldly, to share news of hope and promise.
And sometimes we do.
Other times speaking out feels unsafe, like we might rock the boat too much.
As we seek to be people of the Gospel, the Good New, the Evangelistic hope,
give us the courage to speak out, embolden us to share our understanding of your hope for the world.
...time of silence...
God knows our hopes and fears. God meet us where our anxieties still our tongues and quiet our voices. With Grace God calms our hearts and moves us to be Public, Intentional, and Explicit as we live as Bold Disciples in the world.
Thanks be to God, the source of our courage. Amen.

Prayer For Grace for February 22 -- Deep Spirituality

 

God, we admit that often we are tired
The world grinds us down, drains our energy, steals our hope.
We are promised that sinking into your presence will give us the courage, energy, and hope we need to face the world.
But we get busy, we convince ourselves that there is no time, we will take a quiet moment when things calm down.
And our exhaustion, our despair, our cynicism grows deeper.
Give us, we pray, the wisdom to trust,
Give us, we pray the discipline to pause, to step out of our busyness,
to be still and know you, our God.
God always invites us into relationship. God always invites us to pause and sink into God’s presence.
We may forget, we may say we don’t have time, but God is always there when we make a different choice.
We are always held in God’s loving embrace.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Deep, Bold and Daring for LEnt 2026

 

CALL TO WORSHIP
We have come to the Season of Lent
A time for reflection, a time to consider who we are called to be.
As we journey to the heart of our faith story,
We listen for God’s voice calling us forward
God has called us to share ____________
Together we respond to God’s call
Let us worship together, sharing Christ’s peace with friend and neighbour.

OPENING PRAYER
Source of Life, God of life and death and life beyond death,
you have called us to this place and time, you invite us to walk the Lenten road.
Along the road to cross and tomb, death and life, you challenge us to be Deep, Bold, and Daring.
In this time of song and prayer and listening today open to us the blessings of ­_____________
And then let us carry that wisdom with us as we continue along the way.
We pray in the name of Jesus, who leads us down the road to the cross and what lies beyond.
Amen

COMMISSIONING
We leave this time of prayer and singing and listening.
We go to continue to walk the road to cross and tomb, death and life.
The road challenges us to explore how ­______ feeds our faith.
The road challenges us to open ourselves to God’s presence and wisdom.
As you walk the Lenten road remember that at no point along it are you alone.
God, who invites us on the journey is here every step of the way.
Thanks be to God: Parent, Child and Spirit One. Amen

Maundy Thursday Communion Prayer

Source of light, and life and love, you invite us to the table.

We gather here in the name of Jesus, the Servant King,
who challenges us to love family, friend, neighbour, and enemy,
and who reveals most fully your loving purpose while sharing your hope for what the world could be.

God who has created and is always re-creating,
you spoke and the world came into being,
in you we live and move and have our being.
As part of the world you love, as some of your Beloved children,
we reflect on the many gifts that have filled our lives.
We join our hearts with the rest of your Beloved children around the globe who sing, shout, and dance their thanks.
And we name, aloud or in silence those things for which we are thankful this evening...
For all your goodness God, we sing thanks and praise.

Ever present, ever loving God, you promise to be with us always, to the end of the age,
you are there when our hearts are heavy with pain, sorrow, grief, anxiety or fear,
you are there to carry us when our strength fails,
you share our tears and comfort us in our dis-ease.
Here, tonight, in your presence we hold in prayer all of your Beloved children who struggle
and we name them aloud or in silent prayer...
Comforting God, may all those who are in pain, who are afraid, who weep, all those who struggle
know that they are loved this night.

God of our past, our present, and our future, The One who was and is and is to come,
From the beginning of our story you have found different ways to communicate with your children.
You have sent messengers and teachers, prophets, priests and pastors.
With joy we remember them, the named and the unnamed, the famous and the unknown.
All those who have been part of our cloud of witnesses, reminding us of the Good News,
all those who have challenged us to be who you created us to be.
God of community we give thanks for all we have learned for others in our walk of faith.

God who has been and is and will be active in the world.
As followers of Jesus of Nazareth whom we name as Christ, Messiah, Word-Made-Flesh
we give thanks for his life, teachings, death and resurrection.
We remember what he taught about the Kingdom that is and is yet to come.
We remember who he modelled what living as citizens of the Kingdom of Love should look like
as he ate with the marginalized, healed the broken-ness in life, calling all to love each other
and we commit our selves to follow The Way he showed us.

Here tonight we remember a special part of the story, a special meal just before his death: (Luke 22:14-20)

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

God of Grace, as we continue to eat and drink and remember,
pour your Holy Spirit onto and into us.
Reawaken in us the dream of what the world could be, fan the fires of passion for your Kingdom.
Embolden us to give of ourselves to spread your love and hope where ever we go.
Help us follow The Way of Jesus Christ.
We pray these things in his name and memory as we join with millions of others through the centuries and across the miles to share words he once taught his friends: Our Father...

The Bread we Break is the Bread of Life
The Cup we Share is the Cup of Love.
Gifts from God for the People of God.

PAlm Sunday 2025

PRAYER FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD
Parades are exciting, hope is exciting, we like to cheer and wave
God we are quick to join in on the exciting stuff.
But beyond the parade, in the hard work of changing the world, that is less exciting.
God help us to stay around when the cheers die down and the heat and pressure start to rise.
We follow Jesus into the city, we join the crowds along the roadside.
Give us the courage to stay committed as Jesus challenges the comfortable and familiar ways we know.
Or if the heat and pressure get too much, if our anxiety and fear win out.
Help us find the way back after we have taken time to be afraid, lead us back out of our hiding places, help us live into the love that casts out fear.
God as we walk through this week of triumph, challenge, defeat and disaster,
Open our eyes to see the new dawn that awaits, the promise of light shining over the horizon. Amen.

For March 23, 2025 -- LEnt 3C

CALL TO WORSHIP
When the days drew near for him to be taken up Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51)
Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to he fellow disciples “Let us also go, that we may die with him.(John 11:16)
Throughout this Lenten season we travel with Jesus to Jerusalem, daring to face what lies ahead.
Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters! Incline your ear and come, listen so that you may live
We seek God where They may be found, we call upon Them while They are near
Come to sing, to pray, to celebrate God’s presence! Let us worship together...

OPENING PRAYER
Gardening God, you have planted us in this place and time.
Help us to grow, to be fruitful, feed us with things that sustain and satisfy, help us drink deep of the water of life.
In this time together this morning,
open our ears, our hearts, our souls to receive your life-giving word, dig around us and feed our roots.
Then lead us back out in joy, let us go forth with peace,
as we join in the songs of praise of the world around us.
We pray in Jesus’ name as we remember words he once taught his friends...

For March 16, 2025 --Lent 2C

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, you invite us to follow your Way, you offer us a whole new future.
But sometimes the promise takes so long to come true that we start to doubt
Sometimes we make back-up plans in case the promise somehow fails.
And again you come to us, calling us to be people of hope, to trust in the promise.
Help us to trust, help us to be people of hope.
God of the promise, there are days when we feel alone, surrounded by people who are out to get us,
There are days when we feel like lone voices sharing a different vision in a wilderness of opposing voices
There are days when it is easy to lose heart.
God of grace, when we lose heart, when we doubt the promise, when we fall back to our own plans,
Forgive our weakness, remove our anxiety and despair, renew us to trust and hope.
From the witness of the ancient writers we hear these words of assurance: (Psalm 27 1, 13-14)

The Lord is my light and my salvation;  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?...
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;  be strong, and let your heart take courage;  wait for the Lord!

In that confidence we will be people of trust and hope. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayers at the Foot of the Cross (2024)

God who promises to be with us in life, in death, in life beyond death,
you are with us in our times of triumph: singing and dancing and celebrating,
you are with us in our time of disaster and devastation:
sharing our grief, holding us up, carrying us forward.

This week we join Christians from all over the world in a journey,
we go from triumphant entry and waving palm branches
to a special meal in an upper room
to arrest, trial, conviction, execution.
Disaster has come.
And still you are there, even as Jesus the Christ takes his last breath.

This night as we tell the story we remember the disasters of the world.
Even as we trust in the promise that life and love may yet win,
we remember the seemingly overwhelming power of death and fear,
anger and destruction, to devastate so many lives near and far.

Hear us, Gracious God, as we lift up those whose life may have more disaster than triumph this night:
the people of Gaza, Israel, Palestine –
caught in a seemingly endless cycle of violence, fear, and conflict;
the people of Ukraine – dealing with invasion and war;
he people of Haiti – living in a time of social upheaval;
all those other places in the world where violence is the norm –
even though thy don’t make it onto the headlines anymore;
those in various countries where food is scarce;
those neighbours closer at hand who worry where the rent will come from,
or have to choose between food and utilities;
our 2SLGBTQIA+ neighbours near and far who are attacked, despised, cast out for trying to be true to who You created them to be;
Gracious God we lift up all those who have be pushed to the margins,
all those who feel broken by the world
may all your beloved children feel you meeting them in their time of disaster.

God of Love, the story we have just hear reminds us that love can be hard.
We hear how Jesus, who commands us to love,
challenged the powers of his world who found his understanding of the world to be a threat, knowing that it would likely end in a torturous death on a cross.
We are reminded that the powers of empire and control will strike back against those who are different, those whose vision for life calls for sacrifice and change.
Hear us as we pray for those who are unjustly arrested, persecuted, even killed
simply for trying to change the world...,
simply for trying to live into your vision for a world renewed.

Source of life and love, on this day of disaster, devastation and death,
we pray for the time when triumph, love, and life have the final victory.
We pray for a world that is broken in so many ways,
looking ahead to the promise of being made whole again.
Give us all, we pray, the courage to work through the broken-ness,
to face the devastation head-on,
to challenge those things that work against Your Kingdom,
so that we might be agents of change,
helping to bring wholeness,
carriers of Your love for the world.

We pray in the name of Jesus,
our teacher and guide,
our rock and redeemer,
whose passion for the Kingdom knows no bounds.
Amen.

For March 19, 2023 -- Lent 4A

OPENING PRAYER
Creator, Giver of Life, God who calls us together.
What do you see as you look at this group gathered for worship today?
Do you see our whole beings, our flaws and our features, our triumphs and our disasters?
Do you see us as we are, as we would like to be seen, or something different altogether?
God who names and claims as as your own, God who meets us in our baptism,
Help us see ourselves as you see us, beloved and full of promise.
God who challenges us to love our neighbours, families, friends, and enemies,
Help us to see the world as you see it, beloved and full of promise.
As we worship today, open our eyes to see clearly, we pray in the name of Jesus; our teacher, guide, and role model, who encourages us to pray saying...

COMMISSIONING:
Go as those chosen by God, who sees great things in you.
Go to serve the world in which we live and love
We go to try and see the world as God sees it
We go to look beyond the surface
We go to see our neighbours as God’s chosen and beloved servants
May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet
And may everyone we meet see the face of God in us
Go with God: who calls us, claims us, challenges us, and walks with us always.
Amen

Call to Worship for Lent 2023

The Lenten road stretches out before us, the path is clearly marked.
Walking with Jesus we step out on the path that leads to Jerusalem.
As we travel toward parade, trial, cross, and tomb,
we stop along the way to sing, to pray, to listen for God’s voice.
The road may grow dark, but we do not walk alone.
Let us worship together.

COmmunion Prayer for Maundy Thursday

Source of love, light, and life,
we gather at this table in the name of Jesus, the Servant King,
the one who calls us to love and serve each other,
who reveals most fully your love and hopes for the world.

Creator, you spoke and the world came into being,
in you live, we move, we exist.
Here and now we reflect on the many gifts we have received throughout our lives.
We join our hearts with people around the globe who shout, sing, dance their thanks.
And so we name, aloud or in the silence of our hearts,
those things for which we are thankful this evening....
For all you goodness God, we give you thanks.

Ever-loving God, you promise to never abandon us,
you are there when our hearts are heavy,
you are there to carry us when our strength fails,
you share our tears and comfort us in our dis-ease.
This evening we hold in prayer all who struggle, for whatever reason,
and we name them aloud or in our silent prayers...
Comforter, may all those in pain, in grief, in fear, all those who struggle,
know that they are loved this night.

God of our past, our present, and our future,
The One who is and was and is to come,
Since the beginning you have communicated with your children in many ways.
You have sent messengers and teachers and prophets.
With joy we remember folk like
Sarah and Abraham, Moses and Miriam, Deborah, David, Micah,
Peter, Paul, Mary, Lydia, and so many others.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we all have a great cloud of witnesses.
As part of the community that stretches far into the past and wide in the present
we remember those who are part of our clouds and name them aloud or in silence...
God of community, we give thanks for all we have learned from others in our walk of faith.

God who is always active in the world.
As followers of Jesus of Nazareth, the one we call Christ and Messiah,
we give thanks for the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Word-Made-Flesh.
We remember what he taught about your Reign.
We remember how he modelled what living as citizens of the Kingdom of Love could look like.
Eating with the marginalized, healing the broken-ness in people’s lives.
And we commit ourselves to follow The Way he showed us.

As we gather at this table we remember another table, long ago and far away.
Jesus and his friends gathered at that table to share the feast of liberation, of freedom from bondage.
During that gathering he took bread, blessed it, broke it and passed it to his friends saying:
Take, eat. This is my body, broken by and for the world. Whenever you eat it remember me.
Then later Jesus took a cup of wine, blessed it and passed it to them saying:
Take and drink, This is the cup of the New Covenant. Whenever your drink it remember me.
All these years later we continue to eat and drink and remember, God who meets us here.

As we eat and drink here tonight, pour your Holy Spirit onto us.
Awaken in us a passion for your Kingdom.
Make us willing to give of ourselves to spread your love and hope in the world.
Help us follow The Way of Jesus Christ.
We pray these things in his name and we share together words that unite us with Christians across the miles and through the ages, words Jesus taught his friends long ago:
Our Father...

FOr MArch 6, 2022 -- 1st of Lent

CALL TO WORSHIP
The One who has Created and is Creating invites us here.
As followers of the Word-Made-Flesh we gather for worship.
The One who works in us and others by the Spirit,
moves in and around us as we gather to eat, to pray, to sing, and to listen together.
As a community gathered in both physical and virtual space,
let us worship together

OPENING PRAYER
OK God, the world is a bit of a mess right now,
so we need to hear a word of hope, we need to be reminded who we were created to be.
In this time together, as we break bread together, as we share our prayers, as we sing our faith,
speak to our hearts, embolden us, remind us of what is possible.
We gather of followers of Jesus the Christ, we pray in his name.
Amen

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Creator of all that is, you shaped us for paradise.
You meant for us to live as partners with all that has been created.
And yet, we have often wandered from the primeval garden.
Our focus has been drawn to things that lead to hurtful words, hurtful actions, hurtful thoughts.
You call us to put aside those things that are hurtful to ourselves, to each other,
help us, we pray, to do that, transform us, lead us back to the garden.
...time of silent prayer...
The Sovereign God who created, and who is constantly re-creating, acts in power and in mercy and in grace. In Christ we are given new life, a new self, a new beginning. We are forgiven. We can be transformed. We can live in partnership with all that God has created.
Thanks be to the Creating One. Amen

COMMISSIONING:
Our time of worship draws to a close.
Our time of service continues.
Go from this time of eating and singing and praying to carry the love of Christ into the world.
We go to proclaim the Good News with our words and through our deeds
As you live and serve, remember that God who created and re-creates you, who is made known in the man Jesus of Nazareth, the Risen Christ, who is active in the world as the Holy Spirit is with you.
Wherever we go, we are not alone. Thanks be to God.

 

Prayers at the Foot of the Cross (2021)

 

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam,
Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe,
You have brought us through another year,
a year of challenges and struggles
nd yet you are there in all of it.

Creator of all that is, you share your vision of how the world could be.
Btu the world as it is falls short of that vision.
Every year, on this day we call Good, we pause to name the broken-ness of the world.

On this day we remember a story of execution,
a story of powerful striking out against a different vision for the world,
a story of passion and commitment,
and as we remember the story we wonder how it speaks to our current reality.

Today, God of Grace, we lift up those who have been broken by the world:
the ones who have been sacrificed in the name of bigger profits or lower taxes...
the ones who have been shut out of decision making and power...
the ones who have been targeted because of race, or gender identity, or sexuality...
the ones who live on the margins, or who have been labelled expendable...
the ones who are not treated equally or fairly by the systems of society...
the ones who know that they are not welcomed just as they are...
all those who have been made to feel as if their lives, their welfare, is less important.
God hear our prayer that they would be lifted up.
May this broken world be made whole, may healing flow.

Ever-present God, on this day when we mourn and grieve,
we join our hearts in prayer with all those whose hearts are heavy with grief:
for family members they can not visit in this time of pandemic precautions...
for those who have died of COVID-19...
for those who have been driven to despair and have given up on life...
for those who are lonely and isolated...
for those who share the Psalmist’s cry Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani.
My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me...
may all those who carry today a load of pain, of grief, of anxiety, of fear,
know that they are not alone, that they are held in a love that will never let them go.

God of Passion, the story we tell today reminds us of commitment,
of devotion to your vision for the world,
of Passion for the Kingdom.
Plant in us, we pray, that sort of passion and devotion.
Strengthen us to have to ability to offer of ourselves for a greater cause.
Give us the wisdom to know how best to advance your Kingdom
and help heal the broken-ness of the world

God of the Cross,
God who is with us in life and in death and in life beyond death,
we pray all these things in the name of Jesus, the crucified Messiah,
who challenges us to follow The Way that leads to Your Reign,
even though the path goes to a cross on a hill and a tomb in a garden
and a mystery that brings new hope.
Amen

Prayers of the People for March 21

 God of hope, of life, of resurrection we live and move and love in you.
We open our hearts and souls to you this day,
trusting that you are at work within and around us, writing the law of love on our hearts,
trusting that you are leading us to a place of new, transformed life, life beyond death
We look at the world around us and know that we need that word of hope and promise.
We see the broken-ness all too clearly.
We see the lack of love in our news feeds as we read about the shooting in Atlanta
an incident steeped with racist and sexist overtones.
We look at a year of living with pandemic restrictions
and some days we struggle to find the hope that lies beyond COVID-19.
Bring us hope, remind us that life wins.
Write your law upon our hearts, weave it into the fabric of our being,
transform us with life in abundance.

God who has created and is creating,
we look at the world around us and we are awestruck.
And so we open our hearts in prayers of awe:
for the beauty of the sun at rising or setting...
for the dancing of the Northern Lights...
for the sign of spring, carrying the promise of new growth bursting from frozen ground...
for birdsong, and wind in the trees, the sounds of nature in all its fullness...
For all those things that leave us speechless and awestruck,
God hear our prayers of WOW!

God who was there as we were formed in our mother’s womb,
God who filled our lungs with the breath of life and heard our borning cry,
God who is present in our every breath,
you share our joys and our sorrows.
You weep with us, laugh with us, celebrate with us.
You see and hear our fears and anxieties and worries.
Today we lift up in prayer all those who struggle.
The ones we know and love, the ones we can barely stand, the ones we have never met.
We pray with those who find themselves wrestling with dis-ease of body, mind, or spirit...
We pray with those who are anxiously waiting for their vaccine appointment,
with those forced to self-isolate due to a virus outbreak,
with those who are ill with COVID...
We pray with those who are lonely and isolated...
with those who are grieving...
with those who face financial worries...
May all those who struggle know that they are not alone,
that they are held in a love that will never let them go,
that there is life and hope, transformation and resurrection awaiting us all.
God hear our prayers for help

At the same time, God of life and love and those in abundance,
we pray with all those who sing and dance and celebrate this morning.
The ones who experience the promise of new life in a baby’s cry...
the ones who have seen love shining and active in the world...
the ones who have found new ways to connect with loved ones and rebuild relationships...
the ones who have met blessings expected or surprising in their daily activities...
For all those things that bring joy into our lives, God hear our prayers of thanks.

God of transformation, of resurrection, of new life and new hope,
God who is writing law and love on our hearts,
we share these, and all the prayers of all our lives in the name of Jesus,
our rock and redeemer, our teacher and guide,
the one who teaches us how to live as citizens of the Kingdom
Amen.

For March 21, 2021 -- Lent 5B

CALL TO WORSHIP
May the Peace of Christ be with you!
And also with you!
In a world still turned upside down, where physical distancing is still the rule and norm,
we still gather for worship, sharing this virtual space in real time, linked by bits and bytes, cables and modems.
As people who seek to follow The Way of Jesus Christ,
we gather to listen, to be renewed, to have the new covenant engraved deeper in our hearts.
Looking forward to the time of casting seed into the ground, where it will be transformed into flowers and food,
we continue to follow that path that leads to the cross, to the tomb, to a transformed life that lies beyond them both.
Come, let us worship together.

OPENING PRAYER
Gardener of life, you call us to this time together.
Here you plant seeds of hope in our hearts, here you lead us into transformation.
As we pray, and sing, and listen, and ponder this morning,
stir the soil of our lives, water the seeds in our hearts, reveal new life in our midst.
We gather as ones who follow Jesus, we pray in his name, and we share words he once taught his friends...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Rule-maker, you offer us guidelines for how we should live.
And while we sometimes rebel, against the rules, sometimes we see them as gift and challenge.
Covenant-maker, you call us to live in mutual support with each other and with you.
We try to live up to our part in the covenant, even though sometimes we know we miss the target.
Life-giver, you offer us transformation, renewal, and abundant life.
Help us to feel your Grace and embrace the transformation and new life we find in living as people of the covenant you have written on our hearts.
...time of silent prayer...
God has written the law of love on our hearts, woven it into the fabric of our very being. God challenges us to live as people of the covenant. And when we miss the target God says again “I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more”. We are forgiven, we are invited to new life, we are beloved children of God.
Thanks be to God! Amen.

COMMISSIONING
Our time of worship draws to a close. Our time of service continues.
Beyond our computer screens, outside our windows, there is a world that needs our presence.
Go now, carrying the law of love in your hearts, go out and water the seeds of hope that lie waiting to germinate and grow.
We go as gardeners, we go as seeds ourselves, we go to live transformed lives.
And go knowing that God: Parent, Child, and Spirit; the Great Gardener of Creation, goes with you to bring forth new life.
Thanks be to God. Amen

 

For February 28, 2021 Lent 2B

CALL TO WORSHIP
May the Peace of Christ be with you!
And also with you!
People of God, you are invited into this virtual space.
Sitting in front of TVs and phones and computers we gather to worship with our friends in faith.
Let us open our hearts and souls to God!
We come to celebrate God’s presence.

Opening PRAYER
Source of life and love, we open our lives to you.
In this unending season of COVID-19 we seek your comfort and your wisdom.
As we listen for your voice during this time of worship,
remind us who we are called to be, empower us to live into that reality.
As we strive to follow Jesus, to live as citizens of your Kingdom,
keep us bold both when the way is easy and when the road is darker and more challenging.
We pray in the name of Jesus, who leads us on the road, who calls us to be ready to offer our lives, and who teaches us to pray saying...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God is the time now? Is the Kingdom of God alive here in our midst?
If so, help us to repent, to change direction, to believe in the Good News.
God you call us to follow Jesus on The Way, even though it may lead us to difficult, even dangerous places.
We want to. Really we do.
But to be honest that whole “lose our lives to save them” thing seems a little...odd, hard, unsettling.
God you challenge us to be bold for the Kingdom, for a renewed vision of a changed world.
When we are unsure we can be that bold, strengthen us, when we have trouble seeing the vision, open our eyes.
God of Grace, you tell us that the time is now, that the Kingdom is alive in our midst.
God of Grace, you lead us in The Way, when it is easy and when it is difficult.
God of Grace, help us to live fully, to offer of ourselves, to see beyond our preconceptions and fears.
We pray in the name of Jesus, our teacher, our guide, our source of hope. Amen.

COMMISSIONING
The time is here!
The time is here when we will share the Good News that the Kingdom of God is at hand
As our worship concludes, we commit ourselves to live for God’s Kingdom.
Taking the risks that come with this commitment, opening ourselves to renewal, pledging to follow a new path.
Take on this commitment knowing that God, known as Parent, Child and Spirit is with you every step of The Way.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

A Good FRiday Service

WE APPROACH OUR GRACIOUS GOD

PRELUDE

CALL TO WORSHIP

We have reached the central weekend of our faith

We gather to tell the story and remember.

Today we walk with Jesus on that final walk to a cross on a hill.

God challenges us to see the horror of the story and remember.

God is here

and so we worship and remember.

LIGHTING THE CANDLES

As the darkness deepens, as the story gives us chills, we light candles to bring light and heat to a world that is too often dark and cold.

May their light remind us of the hope that lies beyond the shadow

Opening PRAYER

God, today our hearts are challenged.

Today we remember the capacity of humanity to work against your hopes for the world.

God we know that the world is a place where sinfulness and power can work against love and life.

God we know that we are a part of that equation, and not always on the best side

Today as we pause to remember the story,

open our eyes to see the crosses in our world today, awaken in us a burning desire to turn from sinfulness and live as people of love.

And when we go from this place to wait and watch and reflect,

keep the spark of hope and love alive in our souls, keep us aware that the powers of the world will not have the final say.

God of love and life,

make us people of love and life, even in the face of the cross. Amen.

Gathering Hymn

WE HEAR AND REFLECT ON THE STORY

7 Words From the Cross

Word #1 Luke 23:33-35

Reflection

Prayer

A Candle is Extinguished

Word #2 Luke 23:39-43

Reflection

Prayer

A Candle is Extinguished

Word #3 John 19:25-27

Reflection

Prayer

A Candle is Extinguished

Hymn

Word #4 Mark 15:33-35

Reflection

Prayer

A Candle is Extinguished

Word #5 John 19:28-29

Reflection

Prayer

A Candle is Extinguished

Word #6 John 19:30-34

Reflection

Prayer

A Candle is Extinguished

Ministry of Music 

Word #7 Luke 23:44-46

Reflection

Prayer

THE CHRIST CANDLE IS PUT OUT

The deed is done, it is completed, the mourning has come.

And so we blow out the last candle, hoping against hope that it will once again burst into flame.

WE GO OUT TO MOURN AND WAIT

Hymn

The Story Concludes

Luke 23:50-56

COMMISSIONING:

The Shadow has fallen, the powers and principalities have won the day

Can this really be the end?

We go out with heavy hearts, the Messiah of God has been laid in a stone cold tomb.

This can’t really be the end. Can it?

In the darkness of mourning we wait and we watch.

Trusting and hoping that Dawn will come again.

Go with God.