This week at Peace Mennonite, three people will be sharing about personal epiphanies. The call to worship is based on Psalm 19: The heavens declare and we declare the glory of God. Our voices join the speech of creation to tell of our known and unknowable God. Now may these words of our mouths and…
I’ve posted this before, and I offer it again. At our house we worship together before the present-opening begins. (You will note that it is a short service.) May you know the deep peace of Christ during this holy season. – – – – – Scripture: from Isaiah 9 The people who walked in darkness…
Call to Worship People of God, arise, shine, for your light has come! The light of Christ has come into the world. Immanuel. God with us. So arise, shine, for your light has come! And we will follow the light– when it shines brightly in the night sky when it glows dimly on the horizon.…
Candle-Lighting Liturgy (Isaiah 9:2-7; Hosea 11:1, 3-4) We come to proclaim the light of hope. Hope in the promises of God; hope in the power of the Holy Spirit; hope in the person of Jesus Christ. Hope for each of us and hope for all of us. The people who walked in darkness have seen…
Call to Worship In our poverty, we await the son of Mary, Who brings good news. In our brokenheartedness, we await the Incarnate One, Who heals our hearts. In our captivity, we await the Redeemer, Who proclaims freedom. In our mourning, we await the Wonderful Counselor, Who offers comfort. In the midst of this world’s…
Have you ever had this experience: You decide to watch a movie, and you’re in the mood for something light, something happy. So you choose your DVD at the library or video store or redbox, you make a big bowl of popcorn, and you settle in. You are ready for something fun, something comforting, something…
Here is a call to worship for this upcoming first week of Advent, based on Psalm 80, Isaiah 64, and my own desperate need for Advent this year. (Even if the pastor part of me is not ready for Advent yet.) – – – – We are broken by racism and militarism. Restore us, O…
Believe it or not, Advent begins in less than a month. I’ve been thinking about how I want to live into the holy season this year. I looked around for online retreats; while I found some that look lovely, none of them seemed quite right. So I thought, “I’ll write my own on-line devotions and…
Call to Worship (Isaiah 25:6-9) Hurricanes and floods and environmental havoc; drones and IEDs and handguns; cancer and heart disease and ebola; poverty and injustice and oppression. The ways of death in this world are many. The words of death surround us. The fear of death envelopes us. But we come now to hear a…
As some of you know, this fabulous foursome gathered in Kansas City a few weeks ago to talk to the Mennonite Church USA board. (Well, Stephanie was really just there to glare at people.) I appreciate the opportunity we were given to share about the movement of the Spirit in our communities and the hopes…
Spacious Faith 