Worship Words

One-Wisdom is calling.

All-Are we listening?

One-Wisdom is begging us to pay attention.

All-Are we listening?

One-Wisdom is crying out.

All-Are we listening?

As I offer our opening prayer this morning, I invite you to try something different. Keep your eyes open and look at those worshiping with you. Let us pray- God, we are listening for you. Speak to us. Help us hear your Wisdom. God, we are looking for you. Help us see you in others including those who share our worship space this morning.  God, we want to act on what we see and hear, so fill our hearts with compassion for your children around the world and this beautiful planet we call home. Amen.

These worship words were inspired by this week’s reading from Proverbs 1:20-33.

May love rain down on us, so we know why God calls us beloved.

May challenges and questions fill our days, so we know the Spirit of Wisdom and Creativity who walks with us.

May many opportunities to see Jesus in each other arise, so we practice compassion, justice, and mercy as Jesus did.

Go out into God’s world knowing you are never alone and always loved. Amen.

This benediction was published on liturgylink on August 20, 2015.

Back to school time is fast approaching where I live. In churches, this time of year (often) means a return to regular schedules. Any group that takes a break for the summer is getting ready to start again. When I think about the children and youth of the church, I am always aware of our responsibilities to them. We promise in the baptismal covenant with these words.

“Do you, who witness and celebrate this sacrament, promise your love, support and care to the one about to be baptized as he/she lives and grows in Christ?

Congregational Response- We promise our love, support, and care.”

(United Church of Christ Book of Worship, 139).

We promise in our Safe Sanctuary covenant to protect our children and youth as we help them live into the baptismal promises. As the new school and program year begins, I think churches should welcome and celebrate this time of year, and we can do that by sharing this prayer.

One-I’d like to invite all of our children and youth to please come up front. If you would sit or stand facing the congregation. We’d like you to be able to see all those adults out there.

(after the children and youth are up front)

Today, we are going to pray for you as summer ends and a new year of school and church begins. You may have already started back to school or may not be in school yet. You may be changing to a new Sunday School class or starting youth group for the first time this year. As so many things in our lives change, some things do not change. All of those people out there have promised to help you grow and know God loves you.

I invite the teachers to stand. Anyone who teaches here at church, youth group leaders, and teachers in our schools please stand.

Teachers-Dear God, we surround these children and youth with our love and support for the coming year. Give them a spirit of curiosity. Give them time to play and learn outside in your creation. Give them a sense of wonder at how much they know and how much there is to learn. Give all of us who teach a spirit of compassion as we journey with our students. Amen.

One-Teachers remain standing. Parents and guardians please stand.

Parents and Guardians-Loving God, give us patience on hard days. Remind us you love our children even more than we do. Give our kids a spirit of kindness in a world that isn’t always kind. Give our kids strength to stand up for what is right. May they always know how much you love them and we love them. Amen.

One-Parents, guardians, and teachers keep standing. Now, I invite the rest of the congregation and any of our guest to stand.

All-God, remind us of the promises we made to protect and love these children and youth. Help us to live those promises daily. Bless all these children and youth that they may know your love and share it with others. We promise to keep these children safe, give them opportunities to know you, and involve them in the life of the church with God’s help. Amen.

One-Look out at all those people who love you and have prayed for you. I hope you will remember how much your church family loves you and how much God loves you as we start a new year together.  

God, You said it wasn’t good for us to be alone. You called us to be in relationship. Today, Loving God, we would like to give thanks for those who love us. We are not perfect. We are not always easy to love. We forget birthdays. We are late to lunch with friends. We change plans at the last minute. We think we are too busy to listen. We do not want to ask for help or seem vulnerable.

God, you call us to be in relationship, and we thank you for our friends, colleagues, and family who forgive our mistakes and love us anyway. We thank you for our church family who know you call us beloved and treats us as your beloved children. We thank you for friends who answer the phone at 2am and rush to sit with us at the hospital. We thank you for family who remember when we were young and see us as we are today.

Increase our awareness of how much we gain from knowing each other. Faithful God, we thank you for everyone who journeys with us. Amen.

A Time of Silence

Our lives are full of noise. As I write this the washer is spinning, a man is installing a new shower door in our bathroom using power tools, and our air conditioner is running. Amidst all this noise, I’m thinking about silence. Maybe I’m thinking about silence because it is so hard to find. While writing this last sentence, my phone rang. Silence is hard to fine.

This picture was taken at a place that does silence well, The Taize Community. Miraculously, thousands of people became and remained silent when entering the worship space there. It was amazing.

As we pray this prayer, remember somewhere you have enjoyed the sound of silence. Picture that place as we pray.

Holy God, our lives are filled with noise. With all the noise, it is hard to hear what is important. Speak to us in this time of silence.

(silence)

Holy One, how are we to stop for silence when there is so much to do? We look to you as an example because you rested. You created Sabbath. And now we rest in you for a time of silence.

(silence)

Compassionate One, so many voices call our names, beg for our attention, cry out for mercy. The needs expressed by your children overwhelm us. Our needs overwhelm us. God, you provide. Let us silently be with you without asking for anything.

(silence)

Loving God, you understand that silence is hard. Even in this prayer, our minds have wandered. We have looked at the clock. And you were with us in this silence. In the noisy and quiet times of our lives, we can rely on you. Help us to seek out silence. Help us to listen to the voices and sounds in our lives so we may hear your voice and and the voices of your children. Amen.

One-Here we worship the God of Abundance.

All-Here we hear of God’s goodness and love.

One-Here we are challenged to love and live as God’s children.

All-Here we put our faith in action.

One-Here we hear God’s word.

All-Here we share our time and talents.

One-Here we see each other as God’s children.

All-Here we eat at Christ’s table.

One-Here we splash in the waters of baptism.

All-Here we sing praises and laments to our God.

One-Here we know we are loved.

All-Here we know we are loved.

This call to worship was inspired by Sunday’s Gospel text, John 6: 1-21.