New Hymn: God of the Women

Here’s a new hymn from Carolyn Winfrey Gillette which would be especially suitable for use on Mother's Day or Women's Day. 

God of the Women

God of the women who answered your call,
Trusting your promises, giving their all,
Women like Sarah and Hannah and Ruth —
Give us their courage to live in your truth.

God of the women who walked Jesus' Way,
Giving their resources, learning to pray,
Mary, Joanna, Susanna, and more —
May we give freely as they did before.

God of the women long put to the test,
Left out of stories, forgotten, oppressed,
Quietly asking: "Who smiled at my birth?" —
In Jesus' dying you show us our worth.

God of the women who ran from the tomb,
Prayed with the others in that upper room,
Then felt your Spirit on Pentecost Day —
May we so gladly proclaim you today.

O God of Phoebe and ministers all,
May we be joyful in answering your call.
Give us the strength of your Spirit so near
That we may share in your ministry here.

— text copyright © 1998 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Suggested tune: SLANE (“Be thou my vision”)

From her larger collection, Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Geneva Press, 2000).

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is also the author of Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor (Discipleship Resources/Upper Room Books, 2009), and the co-pastor of Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. A complete list of her 160+ hymns can be found at http://www.carolynshymns.com/.

For other worship resources for Mother’s Day, click on Mothers’ Day in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.


New Hymn for Women's Day

Here’s a beautiful new hymn for Women’s Day or Mother’s Day.  It was written by Dan Damon, and posted on Hope Publishing’s Online Hymnody site.  See below for tune suggestions.

God, We Praise You for the Women

Refrain:
God, we praise you for the women
who have taught us to be strong,
who have held us, who have raised us
with a prayer and with a song.

Sarah laughed to hear the promise--
God would bless her with a son;
Sarah laughed and Sarah doubted
till she saw what God had done.

Pharaoh's daughter, like a mother,
lifted Moses from a pool,
brought him safely to the palace
where a slave would go to school.

Mary watched the killing madness
as her son died on the cross;
she who knew the joy of childbirth
now was torn by bitter loss.

As her life drew on toward evening,
after she had raised her own,
Lois held her baby grandson,
told him of God's love made known.

— written by Daniel Charles Damon. Words are (c) Hope Publishing Company 2011. Posted on Hope Publishing Company’s Online Hymnody website.  Check that site for hundreds of other contemporary hymns – all free for use with a CCLI license.   

Tune suggestions:  See Hope’s site for a PDF of the song to Damon’s tune DORNAN.  If you’d rather sing the song to a familiar tune, consider one of the following:

ALL THE WAY (“All the way my Saviour leads me”) 
BEACH SPRING (“Come ye sinner, poor and needy”)
CHANNELS ONLY (“How I praise You, precious Saviour”) 
HARRIS (“Who can cheer the heart like Jesus?”)
HOLY MANNA (“Brethren we have met to worship”)  
NETTLETON (“Come thou fount of ev’ry blessing”) 

For other worship resources for Mother’s Day, click on Mother’s Day in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.


Mother's Day Monologues

Rev. Marianne C. Paul has written a set of five monologues based on the experiences of five different mothers in Scripture:  Eve, Sarah, Moses’ mother, the Pharaoh’s daughter, and Mary (the mother of Jesus). Because of their length, I’ve only included the first two here.  If you’d like the complete set, send Marianne an email, and she'll forward the whole set to you: mariannethesecond@gmail.com 

Eve

You tell me.  Would you really want to live in Paradise?  Would you embrace a world where no one dies…. If it meant that no one would ever be born?

Life—as you know it—is ever changing.  Children become adults, maybe parents, and they grow old; and, in the natural order of things, they die.

Imagine a world with no children:  no children for parents to scold; no children for grandparents to spoil.  That was paradise.

Even the pain of child birth vibrated through me… I was alive.  And the joy of holding that first child: exquisite!  The delight of that baby far outweighed the pain of birth.  Satan did not lie.

Ah… but neither did he tell all the truth.  There are many kinds of pain and not all are physical.  Worse, some are preventable.  How many times over the years did I wonder what could…should …I have done differently?  That question.  That question is the child of free will; unknown in paradise.

There are so many questions unknown in paradise.  Can the joy of holding your firstborn son be extinguished when he kills his brother?  That one day I lost two sons and was left with only questions that even I cannot answer.

Motherhood is risky business.  But that did not stop me from having another child.


Sarah

In all my long years this much I have learned: Laughter will shatter even the deepest darkness.  When I was young and considered beautiful, the Lord made a promise as welcome as a well in a desert flowing with water cold and clear.  Your descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky.  Could there be an immortality any greater than that?

At first the promise burned brightly in our hearts.  We were busy making baby after baby, eager to do our part.  But, the babies never came.  Our cattle multiplied beyond belief and we were rich beside our neighbors.  But not even one child stirred to life within me: not a son not a daughter.

Following the advice of well meaning friends and aunts who thought they could understand my sorrow, I offered up my maid to create a child.  And to Abraham’s joy a son was born.  Ishmael.  With him my darkness intensified.  I had failed.   Had the Lord of Abram told a lie?  Perhaps he had never spoken.  Perhaps we had imagined the Promise.

It wasn’t until I was old and dried up and all hope was gone that the angel came with another message from the Lord.  God had not forgotten.  This was the year the baby would come.

The laughter came from deep within me.  The promise I had held and lost was renewed.  I laughed because I was happy.  I laughed because I was terrified.  I am not sure if I was more afraid of the promise failing again or being fulfilled.         

With that laughter I took a breath and then another, breathing in the air of angels.  Later holding that promised son in my wrinkled arms, I looked into his eyes.  There I saw the brightness of the stars and I knew that from this smallest of beginnings God’s promises could always be trusted.


— written by Rev. Marianne C. Paul.  Free for congregational use.  If you are interested in the other three monologues (Moses’ mother, the daughter of Pharaoh, and Mary), drop Marianne an email:  mariannethesecond@gmail.com and she'll get them to you. 

For other worship resources for Mother’s Day, click on Mother’s Day in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.


Prayer of Blessing: Psalm 1

Here’s a prayer of blessing inspired by the tree imagery in Psalm 1.  It was written by Bruce Prewer.

Blessings of the Blessed
(inspired by Psalm 1)

In the name of the God of abundant life, I dare to bless you!
   Amen!

That in the seasons of plenty you will thrive and grow.
That in the seasons of drought you will consolidate your strength.
I bless you!
   Amen!

That you will delight in the warm sun of God shining upon you.
That you will delight in the cold rain of God falling on you.
I bless you!
   Amen!

That you will blossom to the glory of God
and make the world a more fragrant place.
I bless you!
   Amen!

That you will give shelter to those who seek refuge from storm or fierce heat.
That you may never forget whose tree you really are and whose life you share.
I bless you!
   Amen!

The grace of.......

— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. http://www.bruceprewer.com/

For other benedictions on this blog, see the Benediction Index at the upper right side of the page.  For other blessings, click on Blessings in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side.


Pastoral Prayer: John 17

Here’s a thoughtful prayer of petition and intercession inspired by Jesus’ prayer in John 17.  It was written by Rev. Abi.

Prayer of Petition
(inspired by John 17)

Jesus,
just as you prayed for your disciples so long ago
Pray for us,
Pray for our wellbeing,
Pray for our protection.
Pray for your joy to be made complete in us.
Pray for our spiritual growth.
Pray for your truth to be made complete in us.

Jesus,
we often do not know how to pray,
So pray for us,
Pray with us,
That we may be one with you,
One with each other, and
One in ministry to the world.

Jesus,
Pray for your weak ones,
Your strong ones,
You ones who are have illnesses,
Your ones near death,
Your ones who breeze through life,
Your ones who struggle in life.

Jesus,
Pray for those who have lost loved ones,
Those who have especially loved ones in past wars.
Those who have lost ones in the present wars.
Those who fear theirs may die in these wars.

Jesus,
We join you in these prayers for all your people,
Amen.

— written by Rev. Abi, and posted on her Long and Winding Road blog. 

Prayer: Finding God Together

Here’s a beautiful prayer about the unity and diversity of the Church. It was written by John van de Laar, and posted on the Sacredise website.

Finding God Together

The image you have shaped within us,
mysteriously,
incredibly,
a reflection of your own Being,

Is best seen in the multiple refractions,
of our variegated humanity;
in the prismatic kaleidoscopes,
of our shared life,
our interconnectedness,
our being with each other.

We seek you, God, we long for you
and, thankfully, you are not far off
not hidden;

We need only remember
that you are most easily found
when we find you together,
and when we are humble enough to look
even in the faces we find most strange and unfamiliar.

— written by John van de Laar, and posted on his excellent Sacredise website.  Visit that site for other excellent lectionary-based resources.  

For other prayers on this blog, see the Scriptural Prayer Index at the upper right side of the page.


Contemporary Call to Worship: Easter 7B

Here’s a contemporary call to worship for the seventh Sunday of Easter.  It was written by Thom Shuman.

Call to Worship
(John 17:18)

From comfortable pews,
from tricycle seats,
from easy chairs in front of TVs:
God gathers us in
to give us the words
to proclaim the gospel.
At kitchen sinks,
at laptops and blackboards,
at nursing stations:
Christ calls us to share
in serving all creation.
In communities gathered to pray,
in memories of those who served,
in families grilling in the backyard:
The Holy Spirit fills us
with God's joy.

— written by Thom Shuman, and posted on his excellent Lectionary Liturgies blog.  Visit that site for many other excellent worship resources.  

For other calls to worship on this blog, see the Call to Worship Index at the upper right side of the page.


Contemporary Call to Worship

Here’s a celebratory call to worship from Katherine Hawker’s Liturgy Outside website.

Call to Worship

Let us sing....
Praise be to God!
Who dared to take on human flesh and dwell among us.
Praise be to God!
Who did not turn back in the face of evil and death.
Praise be to God!
Who continues to dance through our lives even now.
Let all that have breath sing praise to God.

— written by Katherine Hawker, on Liturgy Outside.  http://liturgyoutside.net/

For other calls to worship on this blog, see the Call to Worship Index at the upper right side of the page.


Prayers of the People: God's Love

Here’s a beautiful prayer of intercession from Bruce Prewer.

Encircling Others with Prayer

God of all things seen and unseen, if you had insulated yourself from the pain of the world, then your name could not be love and our condition would be without hope. Thank you for being so personally involved, for revealing your complete commitment in Jesus of Nazareth. Through him we pray with hope, in him we pray with love.

Let your healing love be known this day by all who suffer ailment of body, or distress of mind, or agony of spirit
    Please reveal your compassion,
    Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your intimate love be known today by all who feel forgotten or lost, and all who are walking in the dark valley of despair.
    Please reveal your compassion,
    Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your fierce love this day redress the wrongs of all who suffer exploitation, injustice, abuse, neglect, violence or unwarranted imprisonment.
    Please reveal your compassion,
    Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your nurturing love today encourage those who are gathering resolve to make tough decisions, take on new responsibilities, or break free from some bondage.
    Please reveal your compassion,
    Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your relentless love this day upset congregations that have become self-centred or even contemptuous of other churches.
    Please reveal your compassion,
    Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your reconciling love today gather together the separated Christians, and make them aware of the fellowship and mission of the one, universal body of Christ
    Please reveal your compassion,
    Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your inspiring love this day rejuvenate pastors, priests and prophets who have become weary to the very roots of their souls.
    Please reveal your compassion,
    Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Thank you for hearing us, most loving God. With the whole body of believers in time and eternity, we want to love, praise and serve you, today and evermore. Through Christ Jesus your true Son. Amen!

— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. http://www.bruceprewer.com/

Confession: John 17

Here’s a prayer of confession based on Jesus’ high-priestly prayer in John 17.  It was written by Moira Laidlaw.

Prayer of Confession
(based on John 17)

Merciful God, Jesus' life, and the manner of his death demonstrated that there was literally no limit to his love. Living a human life, as we do, he demonstrated how the values of your kingdom are different from the world's values and how your standards are different from the world's standards. We live in the world also, and are exposed to all the trials and temptations that the world's values and standards place on us as Christians. So we welcome Jesus' prayer for his disciples—his prayer also for us.  Jesus prayed that his followers would be one as he and God are one.

Forgive us when we contribute to disunity or conflict in any of our relationships with one another.
Jesus prayed that God would keep and protect us from the influence of evil.

Forgive us for blaming you, O God, for distressing or difficult times and for believing that we can deal with problems in our own strength.

Jesus prayed that his disciples would be made and kept holy by the truth of the gospel—the reality of God's love for all people—revealed in Jesus and experienced through the Holy Spirit.

Keep us holy, O God, and empower us to be faithful witnesses of the truth of the gospel as long as we live. As Jesus' disciples and in his name we pray. Amen

— written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on her Liturgies Online website. http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/

For other prayers of confession on this blog, see the Confession Index at the upper right side of the page.


Call to Worship Litany: Psalm 1

Here’s a call to worship litany inspired by Psalm 1.  It was written by Joan Stott.

 

Call to Worship Litany

(based on Psalm 1)

 

With joy and delight we gather to praise our Holy God!
With reverence and awe, we approach our Gracious God.
We give thanks that God understands us, and does not
want us to be that which we were never created to become!


Creating God, you call us to worship you as your children,
made in your image, with a divine spark within each of us.
We give thanks that God understands us, and encourages
us to grow in our knowledge of God’s awesome holiness.


Glorious God, you invite us to sink our roots deep into your love
and holiness, and to grow stronger each day in our faith in you.
We give thanks that God understands us, and that the fruits
we bear are consistent with what God created us to become.
We gather to worship and praise our supporting and caring God. Amen.

— written by Joan Stott, and posted on the Geelong City Parish UCA website.  If used in shared worship, please provide an acknowledgement as follows: © 2012 Joan Stott – "The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year B, used with permission.   

Prayers of the People: Easter 7 B

Here’s a prayer of intercession written for the sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B).  It comes from the Lutheran Church in Australia.

Prayer of Intercession
(John 17:6-19; 1 John 5:9-13)

God of all ages, the success of your kingdom does not depend on any one of us, but on Jesus Christ. Help us hold firmly on to Jesus so that neither death, nor the evil one, nor our own sin, nor love of the world can separate us from him. Cleanse us of all that would stain our lives, including the sins of which we are not even aware.

Your Son stands at your right hand to pray for each one of us personally, and not only for us but for all your followers still living here on earth. Give us patience as we wait for your word to control us and lead us. Bless those who spread the good news about Christ to people whose hearts are hardened and cold, so that they can respond to the warmth of your love and care.

Comfort the sick and those who are shaken by the loss of a loved one. Bless the elected leaders of our country and help them to care for all the people with special needs, including the mentally ill, those out of work and those who live in broken families.

Fill our hearts with your Spirit of mysteries and miracles, and give us joy in the mystery of the bread and wine, where we experience the miracle of forgiveness and receive the body and blood of the risen Christ to lift our spirits. May we go on our way rejoicing that Jesus has visited us today! We ask this in his name. Amen

— from the Lutheran Church of Australia’s Sunday by Sunday website. 

For other prayers on this blog, see the Scriptural Prayer Index at the upper right side of the page.


Prayer for Unity: John 17

Here’s a prayer for unity based on John 17, Jesus’ high-priestly prayer.  It was written by William Temple.

Prayer of Petition
(John 17)

Lord Jesus Christ,
who prayed for your disciples that they might be one,
even as you are one with the Father;
draw us to yourself,
that in common love and obedience to you
we may be united to one another,
in the fellowship of the one Spirit,
that the world may believe that you are Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

— written by William Temple (1881-1944).

Call to Worship & Prayer: Easter 7

Here’s a call to worship and opening prayer based on some of the suggested scripture readings for the seventh Sunday after Easter.  They were written by Bruce Prewer.

Call to Worship
(Psalm 1, John 17)

I tell you this:
It is a wonderful thing when members of the family
live together in love and peace.
They shall be like trees planted beside flowing rivers.

May the church be one, just as Christ and God are one,
that Christ may be glorified in us.
They shall yield good fruit in its season,
and their leaf shall never wither.

The grace, mercy and peace, of the Lord Jesus,
be with you all.
And also with you.


Prayer of Praise
(inspired by Psalm 1)

You, loving God, are the ground of our being and the river of life;
you both steady our roots and draw them to seek the living waters.

You are like the sunlight enticing us taller
and like the breeze rustling our leaves.
You are with us through hard seasons of summer heat,
and in the nights when winter’s frost ice the landscape
your love warms and sustains us.
You are everything to us.
O let our gratitude be great,
let our praise be plentiful,
let our worship be wonder-full!
Through Christ Jesus your ever-living Son. Amen!

— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. http://www.bruceprewer.com/

Prayer of Intercession: Easter 7 B

Here’s a prayer of intercession for the sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B).  It was written by Richard Einerson.

Prayers of the People: Easter 7
(inspired by John 17:6-19, Acts 1:15-17, 21-26)

Our gracious, eternal God, we thank you for the challenges which life brings.  It also brings changes which sometimes throws us into crisis.  Be with us in such times in our Christian community.  Like the early disciples help us in our common life to find your guidance in our collective decisions.

Help us to approach our decisions seeking your guidance through prayer.
Help us to examine our own hearts for any unseemly motives.
Help us to focus on the common good and not be driven by our own selfish interests.
Help us to seek consensus and never be satisfied with power plays and divisiveness.
Help us all to share in our mutual ministry.
Lead us forward and help us to create a community where love, acceptance, and mutuality are expressed, where joy abounds, and where results are achieved because we are all working hand in hand together.  May it be said of us as it was said of old:  “See how those Christians love one another.”

We ask that you would save us from ever being a cloistered cell which seeks escape from our world.  Instead, open the windows of our souls to the world and its needs.  Send us forth to herald the good news of Jesus, to be your servants to those in need, to visit the sick and the imprisoned, to remember the forgotten in our society, and to work for justice and peace.  Use our varied gifts so that as Peter suggested we all might do our fair share in this ministry.   Bolster us in moments when we feel inadequate for the task and give us courage. Amen.

— written by Richard J. Einerson, from his collection of prayers, Prayers of the People. http://www.richardeinerson.com/

For other prayers on this blog, see the Scriptural Prayer Index at the upper right side of the page.


Prayer of Confession: Psalm 1

Here’s a prayer of confession based on Psalm 1.  It was written by Jeff Shrowder.

Prayer of Confession
(inspired by Psalm 1)

Merciful God,
creator of all that is, seen and unseen,
our delight is in your word
and we have a deep sense of your presence
when we allow it to fill our lives night and day.
For the times when we listen to the advice
of those who rebel against you,
Lord have mercy.
For those times when we can be found with those who scorn,
Christ have mercy.
We experience your blessings
like a tree that is planted beside a never-failing stream
For those times when we do not bear the fruits of your abundance,
Lord have mercy.

Merciful God, 
renew us by your nurture and blessing,
so that we may prosper in your ways.
Watch over us,
so that the ways of the wicked pass from us. Amen.

— written by Jeff Shrowder, and posted on The Billabong website.  For use in worship with acknowledgement: © Jeff Shrowder 2000.

For other prayers of confession on this blog, see the Confession Index at the upper right side of the page.


Benediction: Easter 7 B

Here’s a closing benediction for the seventh Sunday of Easter. It was written by Peter L. Haynes.

Benediction
(based on John 16:7-15, Psalm 1)

May God protect you through your time of trial.
May the love of Christ,
            seen in what he did, and
            heard in what he said,
                        fill you with joy and hope.
May the Holy Spirit advocate for you,
            leading into all truth,
            lighting the way of faith, and
            strengthening you to follow Jesus,
                        so that you will become
                                    like a strong, young tree,
                                                growing deep and
                                                bearing much fruit.
                                                            Amen.

— written by Peter L. Haynes, and posted on the Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren website. http://rockhay.tripod.com/

Prayer of Confession for Christian Unity

Here’s a prayer of petition and confession for Christian unity.  It comes from the Liturgy of the French Reformed Church.

Prayer of Confession
(inspired by John 17, Ephesians 4)

O God,
whose will it is that all your children should be one in Christ;
we pray for the unity of your Church.

Pardon all our pride and our lack of faith,
of understanding and of charity,
which are the causes of our divisions.

Deliver us from narrow-mindedness,
from our bitterness,
from our prejudices.

Save us from considering as normal
that which is a scandal to the world
and an offence to your love.

Teach us to recognize the gifts of grace
among all those who call upon you
and confess the faith of Jesus Christ our Lord.

— from the Liturgy of the French Reformed Church.

For other prayers of confession on this blog, see the Confession Index at the upper right side of the page.


Confession: Come Again, Feet-Washer

Here is a prayer of confession for the divisions within the Christian community.  It was written by Bruce Prewer.

Prayer of Confession

God how selfish and competitive
     is this twenty first century!
And how divided and self-serving
     are the branches of the church!

May he whose name is Feet Washer,
     Son of Common Man,
     Wounded Healer,
     Jesus-Saviour,
     Son of True God,
come again with his unique glory
     to call, heal and gather
     his scattered flock
     into one harmonious outpouring
     of love and service.
For your love’s sake. Amen!

— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. http://www.bruceprewer.com/

For other prayers of confession on this blog, see the Confession Index at the upper right side of the page.