Our Easter celebrations tend toward glaring and loud:trumpets and choirs and big, gaudy lilies,baskets full of too-sweet candy and bright, glaring colors.That is all good—for what it’s worth. I wish you glorious musicand fragrant flowers;plenty of chocolate—the good stuff,and all the luminous beauty of the rainbow. That is my wish,for you.But this blessing is different.…
Call to Worship from Luke 1:26-38 Greetings, favored ones! The Lord is with you.And also with you.Do not be afraid. Listen today to the word God has for you.We are much perplexed.Do not be afraid. God will bring great things to the world through you.How can this be?Do not be afraid. The Holy Spirit will come…
I love the Magnificat! Call to Worship from Luke 1:46-55 Our worship is a song of praise:Our souls magnify the Holy One!Our worship is a song of joy:Our spirits rejoice in God our savior!Our worship is a song of thanksgiving:The Mighty One has done great things for us.Our worship is a song of the ages:God’s mercy…
Prayer from Exodus 20:1-20 God, we long to follow your teachings and live by your guidance.We know we will live our best lives if we tend not merely to our own desires,but to our relationship with you and our relationships with others.We find, though, that the path of faith is not always easy to figure…
OK, folks. Can we take a moment to acknowledge that I am posting this Ash Wednesday resource a full month before I would generally start planning Ash Wednesday worship? I’ve hear rumors of pastors who “plan ahead”–so this is for you. Whether you use this service in it’s entirety, pull out a few pieces of…
This Sunday (1/8/23) we will receive star words as part of our worship at Peace Mennonite. This has become a tradition for us–to claim a word as a gift from God and a guide in the new year. In the past, I have simply handed out the star words randomly to people. Since we are…
Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Like so many other people I know, I’ve been sick this week–but thankfully it’s nothing severe. I’m on the mend and looking forward to upcoming times of worship and with family. Also the pumpkin pie. For any of you who don’t have a community to worship with this weekend, you are…
This is a blessing I wrote for my reflection on “Advent for Every Body,” an aural devotional from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Portland). While the blessings in Expecting Emmanuel are written in the voices of individual women (and the community of weeping mothers), this blessing is in the voice of the full line of women connected…
It seems that most blessings are for peace(if not love, or faith, or some other such vague ideal)–A few words to calm you down and get you out the door.But this is not that kind of a blessing.It will not make everything OKOr pretend you can escape trouble—for yourself or for this world. This blessing…
Call to Worship from John 14 When we cannot see the path, Jesus is the way. When we cannot trust the voices we hear, Jesus is the truth. When it feels like death is closing in, Jesus is the life. So do not let your hearts be troubled. Benediction (from 1 Peter 2) Now…
Spacious Faith 