These resources include Calls the Worship, Affirmations of Faith, Blessings, and other such pieces. These can be used in other ways, too, for example, at your church’s Annual Meeting.
To say we are all connected is a real understatement. The “we” and “all” and “connected” are grander and more vast than we can begin to imagine! We – people, critters, rocks, air, earth, fire, water – are connected to each other on this precious planet. And we are connected… Read More »Call to Gathering
We are in this together. We are in this together. We are a community, a beloved community, earth community. The goodness of Creation is real, the holy is in our midst, we are in this together, and together we move through the seasons of our times – the upheaval, the… Read More »Affirmation of Faith During These Times
Oh God of time and space we confess we are running out of both. Church is good at lament, and knows that it needs to be voiced as a community, a nation. In fact, one of the tasks of the prophet, according to biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, is to help… Read More »Prayer of Confession and Lament for Creation
This responsive reading was originally written for an Interfaith Service of Prayer and Healing following the 2020 election. It was a Zoom event planned and led by my home church (Washington Park UCC, Denver), and First Congregational UCC and Temple Beth Shalom, both of Ocala, Florida. It was inspired, in… Read More »Imagine! A Prayer for Community
Church has always had such powerful images for connectedness – Body of Christ, people of the table, covenant, communion of saints, for example. They transcend both time and space. They’re who we are. This reading celebrates and affirms our connectedness to all creation, and offers another image for our reflection… Read More »For Comfort and Calling
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
In our congregation, the “Sacred Readings” section in the service makes use of readings not only from the Bible, but from other sources as well – poetry, song, essays, etc. This response is sung following the readings, and was co-authored by myself and our Music Director, Eric McEuen, a local… Read More »Living God, Touch Our Hearts
This blessing was written for an interfaith service of prayer and healing on November 4, 2020, the day after the election. It is also available as a PDF document. The blessing may be done by two readers, who alternate lines, and who share the final line. Be blessed, you who… Read More »Be Blessed