Mother’s Day in Church

[This post is excerpted and edited from a previously published post.] Celebrating earthly motherhood in worship is problematic on many levels. But lifting up the maternal qualities of God is, it seems to me, a valuable way to observe the holiday. After all, the earliest roots of Mother’s Day can be found in Greek and Roman celebrations…

Epiphany Sermon (Matthew 2:1-12)

*This sermon was preached at Peace Mennonite Church on January 7, 2024. You can watch a video version on the church’s YouTube channel. My husband and I recently visited our daughter, who is studying abroad, in Chile. Her host family took us on a beach trip, and it was too cold to swim (at least…

Entering Lent

As we prepare to begin Lent next week, I want to share with you all some resources that might be helpful as you plan for spiritual formation and worship. (If, that is, you don’t already have everything planned. Which I know some of you don’t.) I just finished this devotional booklet! It contains daily reflections…

Lenten Daily Prayers: March 6-9

Each week during Lent, I will post Lenten prayers. There are some suggested spiritual practices and music links for the week. Beginning with the call to worship, there is a daily prayer liturgy that you can follow on your own or with a group. The basic outline and prayers are the same throughout the week,…

Call to Worship for Lent 3A

This call to worship is based on Psalm 78:12-20, which echoes the week’s lectionary reading from Exodus (17:1-7) Can God spread a table in the wilderness? In the sight of our ancestors, God worked marvels. Can God spread a table in the wilderness? In the land of Egypt God divided the sea and let them…

Easter Worship Pieces

Call to Worship (from Isaiah 65 and John 20) In the light of this Easter morning God is doing something new! New heavens. New earth. New life. Weeping turns to joy. Sorrow to delight. Be glad and rejoice. The stone is rolled away. The grave clothes lie in a heap. Jesus, who was dead, is…

Good Friday Worship, 2015

Good Friday, April 3, 2015 Peace Mennonite Church Welcome and Introduction Hymn: Abide with me  Call to Worship We are Jesus’ disciples, following him even as he moves toward the cross. Even as he wraps a towel around his waist. Even as he kneels to wash the filth from the feet of his friends. We…