Proper 11 / Ordinary Time 16 / Pentecost 6
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook, Series IV, Cycle C
Soul Motion
Zoos are no longer in people's good graces.
Religion faces the same problem.
Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.
-- Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Call To Worship
Leader: It's a good morning! A good day to welcome friends and share good food!
People: Ah, yes. We are thankful for the goodness in our lives, glad for homes and wholesome foods.
Leader: We have called to God many times and the Holy One has sustained us and restored us to hopefulness.
People: With music and dance, with words and silence, we thank God for opportunities to feel contented and satisfied!
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Living God -- surely, goodness and mercy follow us from sunrise to moonrise. We are grateful for this faith home and for the companions who share our search for intimacy with you. We choose to explore your ways and to practice what is honest and helpful. With our thoughts and our voices, we turn our attention to your presence. Amen.
Call To Confession (Leader)
In Jesus the Christ, we see how to be in relationship with God. In Jesus we see how to be in relationship with one another. In the teachings of Jesus, we find hope for a society that values peace. Pray with me the printed prayer and then have your personal conversation with the Holy One.
Community Confession (Unison)
We do know that deep within us is an urge to be connected to what is eternal.
In this very moment, we want to be free from anything that retards our journey to the Holy Mystery and psyche peace.
Transform our priorities and our goals; reshape our relationships and professions. Amen.
Sermon Ideas
The texts present a continuum with bad things for the people at one end and good things at the other end. Abraham hears that he and Sarah will have a child but Sarah laughs, and there's a hint at retribution for her lack of faith. Amos sees fruit in a basket but hears of famine and war. The psalmist speaks of harmful aspects of politics and the environment and balances them with the bribe that if you do what is right, you'll not have to worry about security. Then Jesus on one hand affirms Mary's desire to sit down with him and does not invade her boundaries by suggesting that she help Martha in the kitchen. That's the way life is; it is comprised of satisfying events and of disappointing events. Jesus indicates how we can make it through the thick and the thin: stay in touch with the Holy Spirit, avoid allowing others to bash our boundaries, and spend time with companions who share our desire to be close to God. A title might be: Problems, Poetry, and Pregnancy, articulating how Jesus meets and affirms the heart's longing while not denying the practical; relationships and creativity can help us feel at one with the Divine.
Contemporary Affirmation (Unison)
We know God, the Creator, by many names;
we believe that God, the Holy One, loves us and all creation.
We know Jesus of Nazareth taught people to love friends and enemies;
we believe Jesus' teachings lead us to satisfaction in living.
We believe the Holy Spirit is moving throughout the global village,
inviting all peoples to live peaceably together;
we experience the Holy Spirit to be motivating us to journey toward
internal contentment and external service for justice.
In community, we are stimulated intellectually to ask questions
about the meaning of life and Mystery.
We are challenged to know ourselves and to relate to God.
We are soothed during the painful parts of life and in good times,
we share our rejoicings! Hurrah! Yippee! Hallelujah!
Offertory Statement (Leader)
Which of the characters in today's Bible stories are you identifying with: the poet-psalmist? Amos? Sarah? Abraham? Paul? Mary? Martha? Jesus? Our faith family needs to pay our bills, to offer help, and to enrich our journeys. You will have a response to the inner voice just as the Bible characters did to the situations they ran into. As you respond, may your psyche be satisfied.
Doxology
The Lone, Wild Bird (v. 2, modified), tune: PROSPECT
The ends of earth are in God's hand, The sea's dark deep and far-off land.
And I am yours! I rest in you. Great Spirit, come, and rest in me.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
God of Mary and Jesus -- your voice beckons us to make time to listen for your whispers of love and challenge. We each have our own ways we can respond -- with money, with action, and with hope. We are grateful for all of them. Thank you for this money; elasticize it to care for our building, to serve the community, and to offer goodness throughout the global village. Amen.
Intercessory Prayers (Leader or Readers)
God of Amos and Martha -- we love beautiful and tasty foods like baskets of juicy fruits and succulent green vegetables. We don't like looking past them to see who produced them or the pesticides that might have touched them or how they were savage to the land. We are fearful of not enough to eat; we dread seeing the pictures of starving children; we look away from the maimed and brutalized. We pray for the kingdom of God to come in our time to all the world!
God of Singers and Speakers -- we want to be free from worry like the psalmist 4,000 years ago. We say we'll do and be whatever it takes to feel secure and to have companions who help us along the journey. But when the moment comes, we have difficulty keeping our word. We want to see Christ in others, as the apostle says is true; we want to say that we walk with you and we want to really do it; we want to sing of our love for you and for creation. Heal our broken parts, control our pains, soothe our scars, and give us strength to take the next steps.
God of Work and Play -- like Mary, we want to listen for your affirmation; like Martha, help us hospitably welcome guests. Like Jesus, let us not be judgmental or bossy. Like Paul, let our goals honor your claim on our lives.
God of the Free and the Oppressed -- we pray for peace and food for children and adults in every tribe. Come to politicians raining on them wisdom and compassion, compelling them to share their wealth with people whose blessings are minimal, whose skills do not support their will to live. Banish corruption and evil intent; stop hatred and ugliness. Let us and this planet experience again real truth, real neighborliness, and real godliness. Let there be no more war; instead, inspire all humankind to wage peace. Amen.
Benediction (Leader)
Life is a journey to Mystery.
Experiment with multiple names for God;
Explore different ways to respond to the Holy Spirit.
Laugh each day and unbuild the overwhelming towers of the world.
Notice possibilities around each corner;
Make dreams and cultivate a glad heart!
Holy Spirit empowers you and me to live real life --
Peace be yours, deep peace. Amen.
Music
Come, Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire
Words: Attr. Rabanus Maurus (9th century); trans. John Cosin, 1627, alt.
Music: Plainsong, Mode VIII; arr. Healey Willan (1880-1968)
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS
God Is One, Unique And Holy
Words: Brian Wren, 1983
Music: Peter Cutts, 1983
TRINITY
Holy Wisdom
Words: Patrick Michaels, 1989
Music: Choralemelodien zum heiligen Gesange, 1808; arr. Hal H. Hopson, 1991
SALVE REGINA COELITUM
O God, We Bear The Imprint Of Your Face
Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1987, alt.
Music: Dan Damon, 1994
RAUMATI BEACH
Spirit Of God, Unleashed On Earth
Words: John W. Arthur, 1972, alt.
Music: Attr. Elkanah Kelsay Dare, as in Pisbury's United States Harmony, 1799
KEDRON
LM
Religion faces the same problem.
Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.
-- Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Call To Worship
Leader: It's a good morning! A good day to welcome friends and share good food!
People: Ah, yes. We are thankful for the goodness in our lives, glad for homes and wholesome foods.
Leader: We have called to God many times and the Holy One has sustained us and restored us to hopefulness.
People: With music and dance, with words and silence, we thank God for opportunities to feel contented and satisfied!
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
Living God -- surely, goodness and mercy follow us from sunrise to moonrise. We are grateful for this faith home and for the companions who share our search for intimacy with you. We choose to explore your ways and to practice what is honest and helpful. With our thoughts and our voices, we turn our attention to your presence. Amen.
Call To Confession (Leader)
In Jesus the Christ, we see how to be in relationship with God. In Jesus we see how to be in relationship with one another. In the teachings of Jesus, we find hope for a society that values peace. Pray with me the printed prayer and then have your personal conversation with the Holy One.
Community Confession (Unison)
We do know that deep within us is an urge to be connected to what is eternal.
In this very moment, we want to be free from anything that retards our journey to the Holy Mystery and psyche peace.
Transform our priorities and our goals; reshape our relationships and professions. Amen.
Sermon Ideas
The texts present a continuum with bad things for the people at one end and good things at the other end. Abraham hears that he and Sarah will have a child but Sarah laughs, and there's a hint at retribution for her lack of faith. Amos sees fruit in a basket but hears of famine and war. The psalmist speaks of harmful aspects of politics and the environment and balances them with the bribe that if you do what is right, you'll not have to worry about security. Then Jesus on one hand affirms Mary's desire to sit down with him and does not invade her boundaries by suggesting that she help Martha in the kitchen. That's the way life is; it is comprised of satisfying events and of disappointing events. Jesus indicates how we can make it through the thick and the thin: stay in touch with the Holy Spirit, avoid allowing others to bash our boundaries, and spend time with companions who share our desire to be close to God. A title might be: Problems, Poetry, and Pregnancy, articulating how Jesus meets and affirms the heart's longing while not denying the practical; relationships and creativity can help us feel at one with the Divine.
Contemporary Affirmation (Unison)
We know God, the Creator, by many names;
we believe that God, the Holy One, loves us and all creation.
We know Jesus of Nazareth taught people to love friends and enemies;
we believe Jesus' teachings lead us to satisfaction in living.
We believe the Holy Spirit is moving throughout the global village,
inviting all peoples to live peaceably together;
we experience the Holy Spirit to be motivating us to journey toward
internal contentment and external service for justice.
In community, we are stimulated intellectually to ask questions
about the meaning of life and Mystery.
We are challenged to know ourselves and to relate to God.
We are soothed during the painful parts of life and in good times,
we share our rejoicings! Hurrah! Yippee! Hallelujah!
Offertory Statement (Leader)
Which of the characters in today's Bible stories are you identifying with: the poet-psalmist? Amos? Sarah? Abraham? Paul? Mary? Martha? Jesus? Our faith family needs to pay our bills, to offer help, and to enrich our journeys. You will have a response to the inner voice just as the Bible characters did to the situations they ran into. As you respond, may your psyche be satisfied.
Doxology
The Lone, Wild Bird (v. 2, modified), tune: PROSPECT
The ends of earth are in God's hand, The sea's dark deep and far-off land.
And I am yours! I rest in you. Great Spirit, come, and rest in me.
Prayer Of Thanksgiving (Leader)
God of Mary and Jesus -- your voice beckons us to make time to listen for your whispers of love and challenge. We each have our own ways we can respond -- with money, with action, and with hope. We are grateful for all of them. Thank you for this money; elasticize it to care for our building, to serve the community, and to offer goodness throughout the global village. Amen.
Intercessory Prayers (Leader or Readers)
God of Amos and Martha -- we love beautiful and tasty foods like baskets of juicy fruits and succulent green vegetables. We don't like looking past them to see who produced them or the pesticides that might have touched them or how they were savage to the land. We are fearful of not enough to eat; we dread seeing the pictures of starving children; we look away from the maimed and brutalized. We pray for the kingdom of God to come in our time to all the world!
God of Singers and Speakers -- we want to be free from worry like the psalmist 4,000 years ago. We say we'll do and be whatever it takes to feel secure and to have companions who help us along the journey. But when the moment comes, we have difficulty keeping our word. We want to see Christ in others, as the apostle says is true; we want to say that we walk with you and we want to really do it; we want to sing of our love for you and for creation. Heal our broken parts, control our pains, soothe our scars, and give us strength to take the next steps.
God of Work and Play -- like Mary, we want to listen for your affirmation; like Martha, help us hospitably welcome guests. Like Jesus, let us not be judgmental or bossy. Like Paul, let our goals honor your claim on our lives.
God of the Free and the Oppressed -- we pray for peace and food for children and adults in every tribe. Come to politicians raining on them wisdom and compassion, compelling them to share their wealth with people whose blessings are minimal, whose skills do not support their will to live. Banish corruption and evil intent; stop hatred and ugliness. Let us and this planet experience again real truth, real neighborliness, and real godliness. Let there be no more war; instead, inspire all humankind to wage peace. Amen.
Benediction (Leader)
Life is a journey to Mystery.
Experiment with multiple names for God;
Explore different ways to respond to the Holy Spirit.
Laugh each day and unbuild the overwhelming towers of the world.
Notice possibilities around each corner;
Make dreams and cultivate a glad heart!
Holy Spirit empowers you and me to live real life --
Peace be yours, deep peace. Amen.
Music
Come, Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire
Words: Attr. Rabanus Maurus (9th century); trans. John Cosin, 1627, alt.
Music: Plainsong, Mode VIII; arr. Healey Willan (1880-1968)
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS
God Is One, Unique And Holy
Words: Brian Wren, 1983
Music: Peter Cutts, 1983
TRINITY
Holy Wisdom
Words: Patrick Michaels, 1989
Music: Choralemelodien zum heiligen Gesange, 1808; arr. Hal H. Hopson, 1991
SALVE REGINA COELITUM
O God, We Bear The Imprint Of Your Face
Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1987, alt.
Music: Dan Damon, 1994
RAUMATI BEACH
Spirit Of God, Unleashed On Earth
Words: John W. Arthur, 1972, alt.
Music: Attr. Elkanah Kelsay Dare, as in Pisbury's United States Harmony, 1799
KEDRON
LM
