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.

Some liturgy from our mornings by the lakeside

Start in silent reflection:

Pastor: Before there was, there wasn’t.

Before there is, there was.

After there is, there will be.

May it be so.

Let us take a few moments to remember our place in all that was, is, and will be.

Lighting of the Candle

Pastor: Let us light the candle to remember in all of this there was, is, and will be God.

Call to worship:

Pastor: God bid us come to the lakeshore,

People: and we came.

Pastor: God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves,

People: and we try.

Pastor: God inspires us to go out and do as Jesus did,

People: and we go

Pastor: bringing the love of God and the compassion of Jesus

People: where we can, when we can, and how we can. AMEN

Invocation:

God, you call us to be church in this world; not to go to church, but to be your church. We are here seeking to be just that: to refuel, to remember, to be revived. Send your Spirit upon us that we might be refilled to go out and share your love with the world that deeply needs it. AMEN

HYMN: Come Down to the Lakeshore –

The First Word

Let us hear this word offered by Abba Serinus:

They said of Abba Serinus that he used to work hard and always ate two small loaves. Abba Job, his companion and himself a great ascetic, went to see him and said, “I am careful about what I do in the cell, but when I come out I do as the brothers do.” Abba Serinus said to him, “there is no great virtue in keeping to your regime in your cell, but there is if you keep it when you come out of your cell.”

Here ends our reading. May God add to our understanding.

Silent Reflection

The Second Word: Acts 5: 1-10

Silent Reflection

Response – offering people an opportunity to reflect

Reflection – longer sharing from clergy or other worship leader

UNISON PRAYER- Inspired by the work of George MacLeod found in John Phillip Newell’s book Rebirthing God with the help of AI and editing.

Gathering God,
You join us together like the waters of this lake—
distinct, yet inseparable.

In a world that divides,
make us one in compassion,
one in hope,
one in the creation of justice.

Let us recognize our uniqueness

and also celebrate what we are when we come together.

In our interconnectedness,

let no one feel forgotten,
let every voice be heard,
And let each drop show its full wonder.

Let us together
be a glimpse of your kin-dom and our eternal home.
AMEN

PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE

Pastor: Are there people that we should hold in our prayers today?

Pastor: May God be with each and offer them healing and hope as they have need. AMEN

UNISON PRAYER FOR THE OFFERING of GIFTS

Holy One, In a world where many are taught to hold tightly to what they have and seek to acquire more for fear of not enough, we have chosen to hear you and to open our hands and our heart. Receive these gifts as a sign of our love and commitment to you and your vision for this world. We trust in you. AMEN

Closing Litany – Lao-Tse

Pastor: If there is to be peace in the world,

People: There must be peace in the nations.

Pastor: If there is to be peace in the nations,

People: There must be peace in the cities,

Pastor: If there is to be peace in the cities,

People: There must be peace between neighbors.

Pastor: If there is to be peace between neighbors,

People: There must be peace in the home.

Pastor: If there is to be peace in the home,

People: There must be peace in the heart.

RESPONSIVE HYMN: Let there be Peace on Earth

Liturgy for ONA Sunday

Opening Centering Chant –

I am precious in God’s sight.

You are precious in God’s sight.

All are precious in God’s sight.

Call to Worship

Pastor: Within each of us lies a holy seed.

People: Let us tend it. Let us nurture it.

Pastor: Let us not fear it as it presses its way to the surface.

People: God wants each of us to grow and thrive.

Pastor: The world needs each of us to grow and thrive.

People: Let us be as God designed.

Invocation

Holy One, pour your spirit upon us. Shine within us. Weed out that which chokes life and feed what brings it. Let us grow toward you; ever seeking, ever reaching to be all that you have created us to be. May our time today encourage us to continue to grow. AMEN

Prayer of Transformation

Liberation God,

Help me to peel off the facades that I have built up.

Take off the masks that I have created to protect myself and be what others thought I could or should be.

Remind me of my divine origin and inspire us each to nurture the divine flame within and encourage us to feed that flame in others.

Free us from expectations and revisions that society places on us and work with us to shed the ideas of shouldn’t, can’t, or that is not for you. Clear out our ears so that we might hear you whispering, “Beloved, you got this. Keep going.” Let us listen closely to our heart and with your support, bravely and honestly show who you made us to be. AMEN

Assurance of Pardon

God is our originator, our creator,

In us is the divine fingerprint.

Let us always seek to reveal that wonder within being fully who God created us to be.

Prayer of Illumination

Holy Spirit flow into our heart.

Open our ears and let us hear this spoken word.

May each phrase set upon us and enlighten our understanding of God’s kin-dom and dream. AMEN

Invitation to share

As one body, we do care for one another. This is what God asks of us.

Thus, like the earliest Christians, we gather our gifts together to help all of humanity and the ways of God.

Let us respond to the wonders of God and all of God’s gifts by opening our hands and our hearts.

Prayer of Dedication

God, Receive these gifts as a symbol of our deeper commitment to work together for the coming of your kin-dom of heaven on earth. AMEN

Pastoral Prayer for Eco-Sunday

Eco-Sunday is a Sunday where our prime purpose is to celebrate creation and to commit to our care to it. This year we have guest speaker Rev. Jim Antal coming to speak. To prepare for his presence, we will be reading his book, Climate Church, Climate World.

Not only is our worship wound around this theme, but the Faith in Action Team of the church is hosting an Eco-vendor showcase where environmental action groups can come and share their information with us following worship.

For this service, I wrote the following Pastoral Prayer. If you choose to borrow it, you will want to find out what native nations lived (and live) on the land you inhabit. You will want to perhaps change the animal that is the “annoyance” like our black flies. As well, change out the NH granite, majestic mountains, and other NH centric notations like the loon’s cry.

You are welcome to use it for any religious or educational purposes, but please cite me as the author. All rights are reserved.

Pastoral Prayer

Creator, who continues to create,

Today we expand our thoughts and prayers beyond our traditional boundaries –

We pray for the people of this earth, especially the indigenous people of this land on which we stand today: the Abenaki and Pennecook

And also for the non-human inhabitants of this land.

We pray for the great loon whose cry haunts our lakes,

For the salamanders we sometimes find underfoot,

For the bold American Eagle we see fly overhead,

And for the trout and bass in the waters.

We pray for the water herself as she falls from the sky,

For the the water that gathers and flows down our hills,

For the streams and rivers and lakes

And all that find their home in them and from them.

We pray for the beautiful NH granite and the trees that grow so tall.

We pray for the majestical beautiful mountains that reach tall around us

And for the blessing of their many trails.

We give thanks for the frogs, and ducks,

And reluctantly even for the black flies.

In and amongst it all, we give thanks for you, O God, the creator of all that is was and ever will be; and thanks for a system which constantly seeks to right itself, and for those who have put their names, their reputations, and yes, sometimes their lives on the line to protect all that you have made. Continue to watch over the brave. Care for the weak and remind us all of our interconnectedness. We pray all of this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:

We follow this with the Lord’s Prayer.

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

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

Psalm inspired liturgy

Sometimes it can be a challenge to write liturgy from week to week, so sometimes I need to look elsewhere for inspiration. Sometimes I find liturgy that others have written that I can use (I especially appreciate https://re-worship.blogspot.com/ ). Other times, I reach into the Biblical text, especially the Psalter. Because the Psalms were originally sung, the liturgy gathered from the Psalms practically writes itself. Here, for example, is the Call to Worship and Invocation that I am using this week, which is drawn from Psalm 18. One Psalm can often be the inspiration for a multitude of prayers, litanies, and the like. The Psalms are like a well that is fed by an unending aquafer.

Call to Worship

Pastor: In the Lord I take refuge.

People: God is my deliverer.

Pastor: God is my rock and my fortress.

People: God is my safe place.

Pastor: In the Lord, I put my hope and my trust.

People: God is my protector.

ALL: I will praise God forever more.

Invocation

O God, my protector, you are with me in all that I do: from my waking to my sleeping. You watch over me and seek to guide me. Today, in this time, wake me up so that I may witness your work and begin to see the world around me with more clarity. AMEN

An extra special resource as it pertains to Psalmody is Richard Bruxvoort Cooligan’s Psalm Immersion. His musical creations from the Psalms can be used as background for meditation, for musical prayer responses, or for deepening your perspective on a specific psalm. I encourage you to check his work out.

NOTE: You are welcome to use the liturgy in worship or educational settings. Please cite the origin sources.

Economic Justice Sunday

This Sunday we are holding an Economic Justice Sunday as we kick-off our drive for our mission trip to Maine this summer to repair houses through MATE.

For that worship service, here is a Call to Worship and an Invocation:

CALL TO WORSHIP – Based Psalm 69

Pastor: Save us, O God. The water is up to our neck.

People: We are sinking with nowhere to place our feet.

Pastor: The water is deep

People: and our voice is being drowned out in the tumult.

Pastor: Hear, O God, our cumulative cries.

People: Respond to those in peril and send angels to their sides.

Pastor: If we are among the troubled, bring us peace and justice.

People: If we are among those already in peace, bring us purpose and perspective.

INVOCATION: –

Holy One, In our time together this morning, press open our hearts to the pain and pressures of life that others are bearing. Let us hear the cries of those being overwhelmed by the world around them. Shake us from complacency. Move us to action. Forgive us when we justify inequity. Inspire us to act as your emissaries in this world, and let us become a part of your healing balm. Be with us as we are awakened to and reminded of the harsh realities that exist in world today. AMEN