The words we speak and sing make a difference in how we view ourselves, the world and our place in it, and our relationship with all Creation. These Worship Life resources speak a language of responsibility and lament, of hope and community, and of justice-making. Under this umbrella category, there are four subcategories: (Liturgies & Rituals; Readings & Prayers; Reflections & Poetry; and Songs). The listing of posts shown below includes items under all of these five categories.
This Call to Worship explains just why we gather as a community of faith. It talks about work, and healing, and community, and what we are to be about. Together. We are part of something so much greater than ourselves, but we each have gifts and roles to play in… Read More »Called Together
Did you ever notice that, in the Bible, it seems like anytime angels make themselves known to a human, the first words they say are, “Fear not.” That doesn’t strike me as a very realistic expectation. A little fear in the face of this strange and divine presence is not… Read More »The Qualifier Angel
During National Poetry Month’s 2020 “Poem a Day” challenge, the prompt for one day was to write a Haiku variant that consisted of three lines – with one, two, three words. “Vigil” was the result – something stark and simple, like standing outside the courthouse or detention center or state… Read More »Vigil
On Easter weekend, I got to do a baptism for a friend’s young daughter. I wanted to celebrate the value and worth of this adorable and lively child, in a world that would try to deny her value over and over as a person of color and a female. I… Read More »Baptismal Vows for Parents/Godparents
Trust the science! I was never much good at science, but here goes: Quantum physics somewhere along the line has discovered that the “building blocks” of matter (discreet, separate) are not really blocks anymore. They’re waves or fields, connected, not discrete and separate. Several years ago I read two books… Read More »Proclamation and Confession of Faith
We love in the face of deathIf we can do that, we can do anything During the early days of COVID, there were stories abounding about how we could hear the birds again, since traffic noise was down. How clean the streets were. How the water was clearer. I wrote… Read More »This Is What We Do
Who are the saints in your life? Your church? Who keeps you going? Who holds out a hand to help you walk the steep and treacherous path to justice and God’s kin-dom? Who are the sung and unsung saints you and your congregation wish to honor on All Saints Day… Read More »All Saints Day
What do we say when there are no words? Where do we find a solid center when the world is going crazy around us? Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord! —from A Ritual of Lament and Promise Colorado, where I live, had yet another mass… Read More »A Ritual of Lament and Promise
Our church really knows how to sing the original of this song (“In The Midst of New Dimensions”, by Julian Rush) – with gusto and energy – because we used to sing it all the time. When this is sung by the attendees in any denominational gathering, you can tell… Read More »Stewardship Song
Whether your favorite image is the Circle of Creation or the Web of Life, or another similar image, the whole point is: we are all connected to each other – we are not alone – what I do affects you and vice versa. As the playwright and father of Chicano… Read More »Keep the Circle Whole for All