UCC – Wandering and Wondering

A Thanksgiving Thought –

Liturgy from our Thanksgiving Worship

This was not from this week but last. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the beautiful final altarscape with the vessel completely returned to wholeness. We have been putting it together throughout our journey in Exodus and now that they have crossed the Jordan, it is completed.

Call to Worship – based on Psalm 22

Pastor: There are days God feels far away from us

People: God, my god, why have you forsaken me?

Pastor: There are days we wonder if God hears the groanings of our hearts.

People: God, why does it seem you are so far from me?

Pastor: There are times we may wonder if there is a God at all.

People: O God, I cry day and by night, but you are silent and I find no rest.

Pastor: Do not fear, beloved, God is as close as your breath. God is seeking the way of good in every moment. Trust in the Lord your God.

Invocation

Creator, Sustainer, and Protector, make yourself known to us. Do not be far from us, but gather our tears and allay our fears. Let us know you in our hearts. Let us hear you cry out, “ Peace!” in our soul as Jesus did in the storm. Help us to still ourselves and take respite from the world long enough to remember that you are God. AMEN

Preparing

Prayer of Transformation

Teilhard de Chardin offered the ideas that in all our dark moments, God is present. God is in the parting of the fibers of our being and penetrating the very marrow of our substance . . .

Stop.

Listen.

Absorb in the silence the active stillness of a God seeking to work in your heart.

Moment of Stillness

AMEN

Response to Stillness –

May the movement of God within and through you not only work to heal you, but may it heal the whole of the world.

Pastoral Prayer

On this Thanksgiving Sunday, when Christians everywhere proclaim Christ is King, may we give thanks for the people in our lives:

Those who brought us to life,

Those who cared for us when we were young,

Our teachers,

Our mentors,

Our bosses,

Our partners,

Our friends.

Let us give thanks for those who make our days easier:

our mail delivery person,

the person who makes us food or coffee,

the bank tellers,

neighbors,

garage mechanics,

the grocery check out person,

and the bagger.

Let us give thanks for those who seek to make our lives healthier:

our doctors,

physical therapists,

chiropractors,

dentists,

cardiologists,

nurses,

physicians assistants,

mental health professionals,

and nutritionists.

Let us give thanks for those we forget to acknowledge who make life go smoother:

the road workers,

the tree trimmers,

the traffic directors,

the civil engineers,

water treatment staff,

electricians,

plumbers,

carpenters.

We are thankful for all the people who give of their time and talents to make this world a better place. God, may you continue to inspire them in their calling and let them know how their work is truly a ministry in the world.

We pray also this day for those who are feeling down on their luck and for whom giving thanks seems more like a joke than a possibility. May you strengthen their reserves. May you move helpers into their lives. May you make level their path. May you give them concrete and palpable hope that there are those who see them and understand their need.

We pray also for those on our minds today. Hear as we lift their names to you:

(Have people speak the names of those who are on their heart)

We pray all of this in the name of Jesus, our King of Kings, and your son, who taught us to pray saying:

& Lord’s Prayer

Prayer of Illumination –

O Lord, speak to our hearts. Let your words move beyond our ears and take root in the deepest corners of our soul so that it might grow and transform our ways. AMEN

Invitation to share –

Today, we are invited to not only put in our weekly offering, but to dedicate the pledges that have been coming in for weeks. We honor the thoughtful consideration that has gone into deciding how much to pledge to the mission and ministry of this gathered body.

As the plates are passed, please put any final pledges in the plate. We give not out of necessity, but out of desire; not out of confidence, but out of humility; not out of what is left over, but boldly from our first fruits. We give knowing that we together with each other and with God truly can change the world.

Prayer of Dedication

God of the Ages, receive today both our offerings for the day and the promise of tomorrow. Unify us in spirit. Unify us in ministry. Unify us in mission. May you receive our pledges and our gifts. May they show honor to you, and may they go to serve all of the world in your name and to your purpose. AMEN

A Flexible Liturgy

Call to Worship – based on Psalm 19

Pastor: The law of the Lord is perfect;

People: it revives the soul.

Pastor: The decrees of the Lord are sure;

People: making the wise simple.

Pastor: The precepts of the Lord are right.

People: We rejoice in our hearts the ways of God.

Pastor: God’s ways are more precious than gold.

People: They are sweeter than honey dripping fresh from the honeycomb.

Invocation

Holy one, we seek to know you. Enlighten our eyes. Give hunger to our souls. Teach us and show us your ways. Let not just the words of your mouth and the meditations of our heart be acceptable to you, but let all that we do bring you honor and praise. Amen

Unison Prayer of Transformation

God of tangles and frayed edges, we lay ourselves before your seeking healing and wholeness. Patiently untangle our life. Hem our edges and mend the tears. See the beauty in our disarray and weave us even more fully into the wonder and beauty you imagined. Remind us that we are created by your hand and that your acts of creation do not end at our birth. Continue to act on us and in us. Let us become the masterpieces you imagine. AMEN

Assurance of Love

Pastor: God is always working on you, with you, and in you. You are a masterpiece in the making and you are beloved just as you are. Both are true. May you feel the love of God constantly around you, guiding you, sustaining you, and celebrating you.

Pastoral Prayer

Holy God,

Your children are crying. Hear their pain. Be attentive to their suffering. Recognize their fears. Hold them in their anxiety.

Search each person’ heart for that which they are holding onto.

Today, we hold all of humanity. We hold the young and the old and everyone in between. We hold those that live next door, those that live on the other side of the world and everyone in between. We pray for the care of all. We pray for their needs to be met. We pray for not only their survival but for their flourishing.

May warfare be quelled.

May food be plentiful.

May education be available.

May water be clean and the air fresh.

May kindness and compassion, love and care, infuse all.

We pray this for all;

And we pray specifically today for . . .

We pray all of this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together saying . . .

Lord’s Prayer

Prayer of Illumination

Holy and Gracious God,

You have gifted us with language. You gave us letters that we could combine to make words. Words that we could combine to make sentences. Sentences that we can put together to tell stories. Stories which get built up and retold to create our culture. As we hear our story today, let us hear at all levels. What did this story mean? What might it mean now? What can it mean in the future? Bless our hearing. Bless our understanding. AMEN

Prayer of Dedication

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Adonai. You have poured on us abundant blessings. We recognize that what we return is but a portion of what we received. We are so grateful for all that you have done; so receive these gifts as a token of our gratitude and a sign of our appreciation. As we give here in these plates, we give also through our lives. Accept it all with the honor with which it was given. AMEN

Blessing of the Animals Worship Liturgy . . .

Call to Worship- based on Psalm 25

Pastor: To you, Abba, I lift my soul.

People: In you, Amma, I trust.

Pastor: Let us take solace in you.

Pastor: Let us learn your ways.

People: Make straight our paths.

Pastor: Teach us truth and wisdom.

Pastor: Let us leave our troubles.

People: Revive our hopes.

Pastor: We wait for you.

Invocation

God of slow time, in our impatience we try to direct. We like to demand things in our time and in our way. In this time though, right now, encourage us to let go of the reins and listen for you. Amen

Prayer of Transformation

Holy God, You created us in your image. Help us to continue to develop and mature in that image. There is so much that draws us away from you and taints our reflection. Call us back to your dream and hope. Help us trim the waste and release the build-up on our original sacred form. Teach us to listen to your still small voice within and give us the strength to follow wherever you might lead.

In you,

Through you,

And for you,

Let us develop to the fullness that you imagine. AMEN

Assurance of Pardon

May you know God is always working with us, in us, and through us. God loves you just as you are and seeks to help you grow. May the love and acceptance of God offer you the nourishment you need as you continue to heal and bloom.

Pastoral Prayer

Today, O Lord, we lift the world in prayer:

The places of strife,

The places of civil war,

The places of poverty, hunger, and pestilence.

We pray for the places, where there is what seems to be an impenetrable chasm between the rich and the poor.

We pray for those places that turn a deaf ear to the needs of the people and only line their own pockets,

We pray for those places where the rule of law is being side stepped for the enrichment and comfort of a few,

We pray for people being displaced and disappeared for those being deported, and for those living in fear that they are next.

There is so much on our mind and our heart.

Search for that which we have forgotten to say.

We pray also for the individuals known to us who are in need today. Hear now as we name them.

We pray all of this in the name of your son and our teach, Jesus, who taught us to pray together saying:

& Lord’s Prayer

Invitation to share

We are invited now to share. It is not a demand. It is not a requirement. It is not a key to heaven. It is an invitation into the reciprocity of creation. Seeds are sown. Plants grow. Fruits are harvested. Meals are made and served. We are invited to participate in a system of grace, gratitude, and giving. May you hear the invitation and respond with joyous love and appreciation.

Prayer of Dedication

God of all that was, is, and ever will be, acknowledge the gifts that we have brought forth. Like the fall harvest, you have long ago planted seeds within us. They have grown and born fruit; and so, we return a portion to honor what we received first from you. May these gifts represent our gratitude and thanksgiving for all that you have done, and may they go forward to plant and assure a crop of the future. AMEN

NOTE: Permission granted for use for religious or educational purposes with citation.

The blessing took place in lieu of our chancel steps time. The kids helped to bless the animals. Each animal was given a certificate and a cookie if it was allowed by their owner.

The sermon was based on the story of Balaam’s Donkey Numbers 22:21-33. This reading does not appear in the lectionary and is rarely shared in Sunday School stories so often is unknown to a congregation.

CALL TO WORSHIP (based on Psalm 104)

Pastor: Bless the Lord, O my soul.

People: The Lord is great, clothed with honor and majesty and wrapped in light as with a garment.

Pastor: The Lord has stretched the heavens like a tent across all the earth.

People: God has set the earth on its foundations.

Pastor: and created all that is within, and upon, and around this earth.

People: Every bird and every tree, every blade of grass, every mountain, every rock, every spring bursting forth with water, God has made all things.

Pastor: God made the moon and the sun. God set the seasons into motion.

People: God made the darkness and light.

Pastor: God made humanity

People: and blew air into our very lungs.

Pastor: God is the creator and the redeemer of all.

People: God is our beginning and our end.

ALL: Bless the Lord, O our souls.

More Lenten Prayers

Call to Worship
Pastor: In the tiredness of the day, Lord,
People: you are there.
Pastor: In the weakness of my soul, Lord,
People: you give me strength.
Pastor: In the chaos of the world, Lord,
People: you ground me and give me courage.
Pastor: You, O Lord, are our ever-present help. Let us rejoice and praise you.

Invocation
Holy One, Meet us here and give us insight to the world and to ourselves so that we can navigate our lives and interactions in a way pleasing to you and to the benefit of all. Help us find balance in the imbalance. Help us find calm in the storm. Be our anchor and our rudder. AMEN

Pastoral Prayer

God who created and cares for each one of us,

We reach to you today to leave at your feet the prayers we hold that are too heavy to bear. Prayers of the hurting, the persecuted, the tired, and the tormented.

We seek your balm to help offer comfort to those who live too often in discomfort.

We seek your peace to soothe the agitated and anxious.

We seek your healing to bring heath and recovery to those who are in physical and mental pain.

Bring healing, peace, and your balm to all who need – those who are both known to us and unknown to us. Search our hearts for the names of those we know, who need you this day and inspire us to care for those whom you know and we may not.

May your grace pour upon all who are in need.

And now let us pray in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together saying:

The Lord’s Prayer

Unison Prayer of Illumination

God, Sometimes we trust our eyes and our mind too much.

Sometimes we let what we believe we know override what you know to be true.

Help us to set down our preconceived perceptions and release our understanding of the world so that your truth may be revealed.

Let us release our expectations so that you can show us your way.

Let us open our heart and hear today’s sacred text. AMEN

Invitation to share

Peter showed Jesus his trust by stepping out of the boat. When do we step out of the boat? When do we begin to let go of control? When do we let “Jesus take the wheel” as Carrie Underwood once sang? One place we can do that is through practicing our generosity. We can open our hands and our hearts and trust that God will meet us there. As you open your hands today to release your offering to God, ponder what you have now made room for.

Unison Prayer of Dedication

God of Grace and hope, Too often we give limitedly, fearful of what giving too much might mean for us. Sometimes, we give just enough for people to notice so that we are seen as generous people. Today though, let us give what is right and good. Let us feel a bit of a pinch as we let go so that we can learn to trust and let us celebrate the fact that we are blessed to be able to give. Accept all that we give and encourage us to give even more through service. AMEN

More Lenten Prayers

Call to Worship: (based on Psalm 46)

Pastor: God is our refuge and strength

People: Our ever-present help in times of trouble

Pastor: When the mountains shake and waters roar,

People: we ground ourselves in the hope of our creator.

Pastor: When nations are in an uproar and kingdoms totter,

People: we receive our strength and courage from the one who created all.

Pastor: Come let us find our sacred center as we worship God together.

Invocation

Holy One, We’re gathered here a little unbalanced. The world feels askew. We’re gathered here a little imbalanced. We feel a little askew. Meet us here and give us insight so that we can navigate this world in a way pleasing to you and to the benefit of all. AMEN

Pastoral Prayer

Holy One,

As we tear down the walls of our heart and stretch the limits of our compassion,

we seek to hold in our prayer those who we often overlook or ignore.

We pray for those who we have never seen: our neighbors far away.

We pray for those who are most different from us by language, culture, or faith.

We pray for those who we walk by daily, but perhaps do not notice – – –

the person who serves us coffee,

the one who rings us out at the grocery store or packs our groceries.

We pray for the bank teller and the telemarketer.

We pray for the farmer who seeded our dinner into the ground

and the truck driver who brought it near to us.

We pray for those who line our roads and empty our garbage cans.

We pray for the librarian and news broadcaster on the radio.

We pray for those who often go unseen – – –

the 911 dispatcher,

the night clerk at the 24 hour convenience store,

the school custodian,

the cleaning people in our office.

God, there are so many that escape our notice,

but we know they do not go out of your vision or care.

May you continue to pour your love upon them

and may you help us to stop and see and listen to their trouble or tragedy.

Let us remember our connection to the whole.

We also, O God, have those who we do know that we wish to lift up. Hear now their names:

<have people speak names aloud popcorn style>

Be with them in their time of need. Embrace them in your constant grace. Grant them the peace of recognizing your presence.

We pray all of this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together saying:

The Lord’s Prayer that is used in your setting.

Unison Prayer of Dedication

Generous God, Take these gifts that have been gathered. Bless them and return them into a wanting world. May these financial gifts be just one way that we seek to co-create with you. AMEN

Lenten Prayers

Call to Worship (based on Psalm 51 & 103)

Pastor: We come to you, O Lord, imperfect, but hungry.

People: We trust in your steadfast love and take hope in your abundant mercy.

Pastor: We turn to you, O Lord, recognizing that too often we turn away.

People: We trust that indeed you are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in compassion and lovingkindness.

Pastor: We desire, O Lord, your wisdom in our inmost heart.

People: We open ourselves to you.

Invocation

Creator, Meet us here. Meet us now. Walk with us on our Lenten Journey. Continue to create us and form us in your likeness. Let our very being act as an offering to you. AMEN

Unison Prayer of Blessing for Communion

Holy Spirit, we invite you here into our midst. Bless this bread and this juice that in receiving it, we might know you better. In drinking and eating, we might see more clearly. In being filled, we might also become more hungry. AMEN

Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving for Communion

Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving: (DMA – shared)

Holy One, you accept us as we are. You invite us to your table. You make space for all. Your gracious love astounds us. It humbles us. We pray that we might live lives worthy of your generosity. Receive our thanksgiving and our praise. AMEN

Transfiguration Prayers

Invocation

Moutaintop God, Your glory astounds us. We are in awe of all that you have done. The child who came to us just weeks ago now takes his place between Moses and Elijah. Help us to bear the light and not look away. Help us to be the light. Let us take momentary refuge here so that we too are changed; and then push us back into the world and the work you set before us. AMEN

Prayer of Illumination

Pastor: God is Holy, God is beyond what we can know, beyond what we can see, beyond what we can understand; and yet, we look, we listen, we try to comprehend.

People: God, let us see you if only but a glimpse. Let us hear you if only but a whisper. Let us understand you, if only in our heart. AMEN

Call to Worship, et al

The front door before renovations at the First Congregational Church of Brimfield, UCC.
-July 1, 2021

Call to Worship

Pastor: In times when we feel like giving up,

People: come to us anew.

Pastor: In moments when we are lost or confused,

People: illuminate your path that we might see where to tread.

Pastor: In times of trouble,

People: protect us and give us refuge.

Pastor: When we are arrogant, believing in only our way,

People: humble us that we may remember our interconnectedness with you and with each other.

Pastor: You sent your son that we might all live,

so let us open our eyes and our hearts that we might learn and live as he did.

Assurance of Pardon

God of Grace,

Pour your love upon this world.

Mend the torn.

Heal the broken.

Weave us together.

Remind us that we are your children, loved, beloved, and forgiven.

Invitation to share:

God as we think of seeing things in new ways, let us not think of what we are necessarily giving to God, but recognize what we are withholding. Help us to notice those areas that our heart is still full of plaque and needing to be cleansed. Relax our grip on personal security and help us trust on the care of one another. Remind us of the widow, who thought not of her own needs, but gave out of faith all that she had, making way for a new way to be birthed.

May we make space by giving out of joy and faith

And not reserving out of fear.

Let us be a part of a new economy of love and thanksgiving.

Prayer of Dedication

Holy One,

As we have opened our hearts to you,

refill us with even more generosity.

Give us new eyes to see potential where others see lack.

Give us new hearts to embrace creative solutions to problems.

Give us new hands to be the helpers the world needs.

Let us honor all you have done for us,

by doing the same for our siblings. AMEN

Pastoral Prayer – God as the one who catches us

Pastoral Prayer –

Holy God who fishes for humanity,

We pray this day that you throw your net into the world.

There are so many who need to be caught by you:

There are those harboring resentments and anger,

Those lost in old storylines of who they could be or should be.

There are those who feel tossed and turned on the sea of life,

And those drowning in the murky waters of half-truths and made up tales.

There are those who feel abandoned out in the wide waters,

And those who are struggling trying to navigate their current conditions.

There are those who need someone to hear their cries for help and throw them a lifeline;

And those who have thrown themselves in the sea believing that no one would miss them if they were swallowed by the depths.

There are those who are afraid to sail into deep waters;

And those who hesitate to even leave port.

So many need your presence, Lord, be with them and meet them where they are.

Today, we also have specific people on our mind that need your care. Listen as we say their names:

Invite people to say names one atop the other trusting that God knows already who is in need and what they are in need of.

In your mercy, care for all who are in need; those we have named and those who we have left unnamed, and even those we do not know to name. We pray all of this in the name of your son, who taught us to pray together saying:

& Lord’s Prayer

Our Father / Mother / Creator*, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

*Use the words you are most comfortable with or try something you haven’t before to see how that fits or pushes against your theology (understanding of God). Take some time to reflect on your experience.

This was used along with our reading of Luke 5:1-11, which is a Lectionary reading for the 5th Sunday of Epiphany in Year C.