Epiphany 4 / Ordinary Time 4
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook, Series IV, Cycle C
Soul Motion
Object:
A single song is being inflected through all the colorations of the human choir.
The way to become human is to recognize the lineaments of God in all the wonderful modulations of the face [of humankind].
-- Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome to this place where we can speak like humans and angels!
People: Ah -- but we know that if we are not compassionate we're like noisy whistles!
Leader: Welcome on this winter day to this place where love is part of our mission statement.
People: Hmm. We know that the spiritual journey with God requires more than words in an official document.
Leader: Welcome to this sanctuary where love is a divine gift and our human goal.
People: Great! We are glad to be here; for one hour, we feel protected from the world's cynicism and profiteering gaze.
Leader: But love is not confined to one hour each week!
People: Right. Here we are refreshed in spirit so we can be patient and kind, not jealous or conceited. We lose all desire to be ill-mannered and selfish. We lose the need to keep a record of others' wrongs. We choose to be truthful and happy, never giving up on faith and hope.
Leader: Love is eternal, a treasure from God --
People: A treasure we carry inside to share with others.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Living God -- so many gifts you give us -- opportunity to gather in this place, to mature together in faith, hope, and love. Thank you for encouraging us day after day to practice love, charity, friendship, and compassion. Amen.
Call To Confession (Leader)
We learn about God as we look at Creation, for nature reveals God's creativity. When we take time to reflect on our souls and minds, we learn about ourselves. Pray the printed prayer with me, then you and God have a private conversation.
Community Confession (Unison)
Living God -- disappointments and betrayals clutter our minds. Nasty words and bitterness hamper our relationships.
Belligerent attitudes get in the way of your guidance.
We regret all these thoughts and behaviors and we pray for freedom from guilt and shame.
As this new year matures, transform us to live generously with the gifts of your Spirit. Amen.
Word Of Grace (Leader)
In the light of God, we can see our errors; open to the Spirit, we can recognize hidden faults and be freed from them. Our words and our thoughts are acceptable to God! Hallelujah! Jesus the Christ leads us to a dynamic relationship with the living God!
Sermon Idea
How many essays and sermons have people heard about love and compassion? How many brides and grooms use 1 Corinthians 13? Tsunamis and hurricanes and all natural disasters tug at our hearts and purse strings. Terrors and malevolence by humans push our anger buttons. War scenes repulse us. Poverty displays jerk our gag reflexes. Faith-based initiatives have laid societal burdens on people who take seriously 1 Corinthians 12 and 13. Where does adequate funding come from for alleviating worldwide poverty? (In 2005, the UN said the biggest problem facing humanity is global poverty.) Do governments make decisions with 1 Corinthians 13 in mind? Should they? Do educators work with children on the basis of 1 Corinthians 13? Should they? As Christians, can we minimize the "-isms," which plague our culture by using the ethics and behaviors suggested in 1 Corinthians 13? At town meetings? At soccer games? With international family planning?
Contemporary Affirmation (Unison)
Throughout nature we see the imagination of the Creating God.
In Jesus the Christ we learn how to be in relationship with the Holy.
With the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to embody divine love and mercy.
In community, we experience belonging and receive the encouragement to live as faithful disciples of Jesus and to struggle for justice and peace for all creatures.
Together, we have an insistent voice, proclaiming that there is a "kingdom of heaven."
Offertory Statement (Leader)
We can make our appreciation for this place and the nurturing we do tangible with our money and our time.
Doxology
Now Thank We All Our God, tune: NUN DANKET ALLEGOTT
Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love and still is ours today.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Generous God, there are so many kinds of riches, only one of them is money. Thank you for wealth that comes to us in relationships, in creation, and by the Spirit. Thank you, too, for money to make our way in the world. Amen.
Intercessory Prayers (Leader or Readers)
Lover of our Souls -- we say you are the Creator of all that is; we say you invite us to be co-creators with you. Empower us to embody patience and kindness with strangers as well as with friends, with the ecosphere, and with animals.
Artist of the Universe -- move among us and through this planet home; brush governments and citizens with the colors of civility and respect. Bring an end to the ugliness of war and terror. Bring young and old, gay and straight, black and white, male and female, rich and poor under a rainbow of bright hope for justice and "enough" for all creatures.
Architect of the Cosmos -- be clear with us in synchronicity and in happenstance so we may participate in caring for the land and sky; the water and air all around this globe. Open our eyes to the Christ in others; project the light of Christ through us so all who come near us recognize your Spirit. Work through the Body of Christ to restore sanity and wholesomeness to manufacturing, to chemicals used in foods, to nuclear research, and to human exploitation of reproduction.
Engineer of Humanity -- we live and die, feeling connected to your energy and grace. Fill our cracks with curiosity, soothe our aches, inspire our thinking, heal our dis-eases, and make us whole.
Holy One -- thank you for Jesus and his teachings. Help us to walk this earth as creative thinkers following his example. Amen.
Benediction (Leader)
As you leave the sanctuary, be alert for all the colors of humanity; listen for the songs beginning low and swelling to a great "Hooray!" Watch for the modulations of souls -- your own and others, move about wearing some sign of God-within; reaching with unmistakable goodness to those close by. Most of all, may the God of today and tomorrow enliven you with joy!
Music
The Gift Of Love (Though I May Speak)
Words: Hal H. Hopson, 1972
Music: Traditional English melody; adapt. Hal H. Hopson, 1972
GIFT OF LOVE
Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost
Words: Christopher Wordsworth, 1862
Music: Jane Manton Marshall, 1985
ANDERSON
I Cannot Dance, O Love
Words: Jean Janzen, 1991, based on the writing of Mechthild of Magdeburg
Music: Swedish folk tune; harm. Lahrae Knatterud, 1983
BRED DINA VIDA VINGAR
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Words: Charles Wesley, 1743
Music: John Zundel, 1870
BEECHER
Not For Tongues Of Heaven's Angels
Words: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1985
Music: Peter Cutts, 1969
BRIDEGROOM
Ubi Caritas Et Amor (Live In Charity)
Words: Latin (9th century); tr. Taize community
Music: Jacques Berthier (20th century)
UBI CARITAS
Womb Of Life
Words: Ruth Duck, 1986, 1990
Music: Traditional Dutch melody; arr. Julius Roentgen, 1906
IN BABILONE
The way to become human is to recognize the lineaments of God in all the wonderful modulations of the face [of humankind].
-- Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome to this place where we can speak like humans and angels!
People: Ah -- but we know that if we are not compassionate we're like noisy whistles!
Leader: Welcome on this winter day to this place where love is part of our mission statement.
People: Hmm. We know that the spiritual journey with God requires more than words in an official document.
Leader: Welcome to this sanctuary where love is a divine gift and our human goal.
People: Great! We are glad to be here; for one hour, we feel protected from the world's cynicism and profiteering gaze.
Leader: But love is not confined to one hour each week!
People: Right. Here we are refreshed in spirit so we can be patient and kind, not jealous or conceited. We lose all desire to be ill-mannered and selfish. We lose the need to keep a record of others' wrongs. We choose to be truthful and happy, never giving up on faith and hope.
Leader: Love is eternal, a treasure from God --
People: A treasure we carry inside to share with others.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Living God -- so many gifts you give us -- opportunity to gather in this place, to mature together in faith, hope, and love. Thank you for encouraging us day after day to practice love, charity, friendship, and compassion. Amen.
Call To Confession (Leader)
We learn about God as we look at Creation, for nature reveals God's creativity. When we take time to reflect on our souls and minds, we learn about ourselves. Pray the printed prayer with me, then you and God have a private conversation.
Community Confession (Unison)
Living God -- disappointments and betrayals clutter our minds. Nasty words and bitterness hamper our relationships.
Belligerent attitudes get in the way of your guidance.
We regret all these thoughts and behaviors and we pray for freedom from guilt and shame.
As this new year matures, transform us to live generously with the gifts of your Spirit. Amen.
Word Of Grace (Leader)
In the light of God, we can see our errors; open to the Spirit, we can recognize hidden faults and be freed from them. Our words and our thoughts are acceptable to God! Hallelujah! Jesus the Christ leads us to a dynamic relationship with the living God!
Sermon Idea
How many essays and sermons have people heard about love and compassion? How many brides and grooms use 1 Corinthians 13? Tsunamis and hurricanes and all natural disasters tug at our hearts and purse strings. Terrors and malevolence by humans push our anger buttons. War scenes repulse us. Poverty displays jerk our gag reflexes. Faith-based initiatives have laid societal burdens on people who take seriously 1 Corinthians 12 and 13. Where does adequate funding come from for alleviating worldwide poverty? (In 2005, the UN said the biggest problem facing humanity is global poverty.) Do governments make decisions with 1 Corinthians 13 in mind? Should they? Do educators work with children on the basis of 1 Corinthians 13? Should they? As Christians, can we minimize the "-isms," which plague our culture by using the ethics and behaviors suggested in 1 Corinthians 13? At town meetings? At soccer games? With international family planning?
Contemporary Affirmation (Unison)
Throughout nature we see the imagination of the Creating God.
In Jesus the Christ we learn how to be in relationship with the Holy.
With the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to embody divine love and mercy.
In community, we experience belonging and receive the encouragement to live as faithful disciples of Jesus and to struggle for justice and peace for all creatures.
Together, we have an insistent voice, proclaiming that there is a "kingdom of heaven."
Offertory Statement (Leader)
We can make our appreciation for this place and the nurturing we do tangible with our money and our time.
Doxology
Now Thank We All Our God, tune: NUN DANKET ALLEGOTT
Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love and still is ours today.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Generous God, there are so many kinds of riches, only one of them is money. Thank you for wealth that comes to us in relationships, in creation, and by the Spirit. Thank you, too, for money to make our way in the world. Amen.
Intercessory Prayers (Leader or Readers)
Lover of our Souls -- we say you are the Creator of all that is; we say you invite us to be co-creators with you. Empower us to embody patience and kindness with strangers as well as with friends, with the ecosphere, and with animals.
Artist of the Universe -- move among us and through this planet home; brush governments and citizens with the colors of civility and respect. Bring an end to the ugliness of war and terror. Bring young and old, gay and straight, black and white, male and female, rich and poor under a rainbow of bright hope for justice and "enough" for all creatures.
Architect of the Cosmos -- be clear with us in synchronicity and in happenstance so we may participate in caring for the land and sky; the water and air all around this globe. Open our eyes to the Christ in others; project the light of Christ through us so all who come near us recognize your Spirit. Work through the Body of Christ to restore sanity and wholesomeness to manufacturing, to chemicals used in foods, to nuclear research, and to human exploitation of reproduction.
Engineer of Humanity -- we live and die, feeling connected to your energy and grace. Fill our cracks with curiosity, soothe our aches, inspire our thinking, heal our dis-eases, and make us whole.
Holy One -- thank you for Jesus and his teachings. Help us to walk this earth as creative thinkers following his example. Amen.
Benediction (Leader)
As you leave the sanctuary, be alert for all the colors of humanity; listen for the songs beginning low and swelling to a great "Hooray!" Watch for the modulations of souls -- your own and others, move about wearing some sign of God-within; reaching with unmistakable goodness to those close by. Most of all, may the God of today and tomorrow enliven you with joy!
Music
The Gift Of Love (Though I May Speak)
Words: Hal H. Hopson, 1972
Music: Traditional English melody; adapt. Hal H. Hopson, 1972
GIFT OF LOVE
Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost
Words: Christopher Wordsworth, 1862
Music: Jane Manton Marshall, 1985
ANDERSON
I Cannot Dance, O Love
Words: Jean Janzen, 1991, based on the writing of Mechthild of Magdeburg
Music: Swedish folk tune; harm. Lahrae Knatterud, 1983
BRED DINA VIDA VINGAR
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Words: Charles Wesley, 1743
Music: John Zundel, 1870
BEECHER
Not For Tongues Of Heaven's Angels
Words: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1985
Music: Peter Cutts, 1969
BRIDEGROOM
Ubi Caritas Et Amor (Live In Charity)
Words: Latin (9th century); tr. Taize community
Music: Jacques Berthier (20th century)
UBI CARITAS
Womb Of Life
Words: Ruth Duck, 1986, 1990
Music: Traditional Dutch melody; arr. Julius Roentgen, 1906
IN BABILONE
