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Where Life and Worship Intersect

3/30/2018 1 Comment

Prayers of the People, Easter B

Picture
We have walked
the journey
from the protest to the cross,
the cries of the crowd turning
from "Hosanna!"
to "Crucify!"
We walk to the tomb,
grieving and forlorn.
You are the God for whom we have waited,
so that you might save us.
You are the Lord for whom we have waited.

Your people are still living
in occupation
for none of us are free
until we all are free.
Liberation is a
dream ...
your dream for your people
and a vision of what is
to come.
You are the God for whom we have waited,
so that you might save us.
You are the Lord for whom we have waited.

The threat of violence
consumes us;
the abuse of power
terrifies us;
the fear of the other
influences us,
for what we value
is out of proportion to
the love for your people
to which we have been called.
You are the God for whom we have waited,
so that you might save us.
You are the Lord for whom we have waited.

Your people cower
in the shadows,
scorned and ashamed.
We have betrayed you.
We have betrayed our neighbor.
We are a people in need
of grace,
and standing
in the shadow of the cross
reminds us:
You are the God for whom we have waited,
so that you might save us.
You are the Lord for whom we have waited.

As the stone is rolled
from the entrance to the tomb,
we stand in stunned
surprise.
Death no longer has a hold.
Oppressors only rule in fear.
Shame is covered in grace.
Love wins!
You are the God for whom we have waited,
so that you might save us.
You are the Lord for whom we have waited.

You are the Lord,
the risen Lord,
the Son of God,
for whom we have waited.
​Hear our prayers.

1 Comment

3/28/2018 0 Comments

Prayer of Confession, Easter B

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Call to Confession

Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. God will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when God hears it, God will answer you. (Is. 30:19) Let us confess our sin before God.


Prayer of Confession

Ignorance and
hardness of heart
shroud our understanding,
alienating us from the life of God.
We are ruthless in our judgment,
excluding those who do not
look like us, who do not
think like us, who do not
dream like us, who do not
fight like us
for our kind of justice.
We come to the table, but
we do not come to share the feast;
we come to claim it,
to hoard the leftovers.
Our celebration is only
for those we deem worthy.
Forgive us, God,
for we
are not worthy.


Assurance of God's Grace

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Is. 35:10)
In the name of the risen Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter today.
0 Comments

3/27/2018 0 Comments

Call to Worship, Easter B

Picture
We, who have been grieving,
are called to gather
at Table.
The feast is set.
Death is swallowed up in victory!

We, who have been scorned,
are called to places 
of honor.
We are those in whom the Lord delights!
We put our hope in God, who does not disappoint!

​ We, who have been exiled,
are called to freedom
in the name of our God.
The celebration has begun!
Let us rejoice in the God of our salvation!
0 Comments

3/27/2018 0 Comments

Prayers of the People, Palm Sunday B

Picture
Young people marching,
Marching for their lives ...
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 


Pipe bombs exploding,
Anguish encroaching ...
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 


Chaos in Congress,
The White House, the world ...
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 


Flooding, mud slides, storms,
Strong winds, snow, and cold ...
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 


Whales on foreign sand,
Dying where they lie ...
White rhinos threatened
As the last male dies ...
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 


We cry out!
Have no doubt:
Hope wanes here;
We LIVE fear. 
Hear our cries!
Hear our sighs. 
Hold our hands. 
Help us stand. 


Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 


In your mercy,
Your great mercy,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 

​
0 Comments

3/27/2018 5 Comments

Prayer of Confession, Palm Sunday B

Picture
​Call to Confession

The gate of the Lord has opened that the righteous might enter through it. Made righteous only by the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, let us confess our sin before him and seek mercy.

Prayer of Confession

Too soon our joyful praises
Turn to shouts of hateful rage
And we take off our celebration clothes
And quickly turn the page.

The jostling just to see you
Turns to apathy at best
And we leave our gifts behind
To be trampled by the rest.

Jesus, Son of God, have mercy.
Jesus, Son of God, have mercy.

When the dust has hardly settled
We are oft among the throng
That denies we ever knew you,
Sometimes the ones who do you wrong.

Forgive our faithlessness, O God.
Forgive our bold betrayal
And restore our hearts to you, O God,
Our desire for Life, enable.

Jesus, Son of God, have mercy.
Jesus, Son of God, have mercy.

Assurance of God’s Grace

The Lord has answered us and has become our salvation. Thanks be to God! In the name of Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

Since we have been forgiven in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day.
5 Comments

3/27/2018 0 Comments

Call to Worship, Palm Sunday B

Picture
​We come home praising.
The Lord is good!
His steadfast love endures forever!
Waving branches along the way,
We come home praising.


We come home watching.
The stone the builders rejected 
Has become the chief cornerstone!
Look and see what God has done!
We come home watching.


We come home rejoicing.
This is the day the Lord has made
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Throwing our coats on the ground,
We come home rejoicing.


We come home worshiping.
Blessed is he who comes 
In the name of the Lord!
Gathering in community,
We come home worshiping.
0 Comments

3/16/2018 0 Comments

Prayers of the People, Lent 5B

Picture
Grieving communities
mourn the loss
of their children
and young adults,
senseless violence and carelessness
taking the lives of innocents
in their prime.

Empowered teens
walk out
to remember their peers,
to call for reform ...
a plea to be heard,
to be valued,
to be protected.

Peurto Ricans
walk for miles
to carry water
and walk back home
to darkness,
still waiting,
six months after a hurricane
to be restored.

The exiled
remember and
call upon the name of
the Covenant-Maker,
the Covenant-Keeper,
the Source of Love.

Be present with your people,
Lord,
remember your covenant with them,
restore to them the hope of salvation,
and bring your exiled people home. ​
0 Comments

3/14/2018 0 Comments

Prayer of Confession, Lent 5B

Picture
Call to Confession

All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession

There are days when
we forget that we are where we are
because of our faithlessness.
Our covenant-breaking
has caught up to us
and the consequences of our sin
is brokenness in the community,
brokenness in our spirits,
our very selves.
We have failed to love
as we have been loved,
failed to serve
as we have been served,
failed to remember
what has been done for us
and therefore,
failed to remind those who come after.
It is not all about us.
We have forgotten that.
Covenant-Keeper,
forgive us, we pray.
Write your name on our hearts,
that we might remember
and live as the redeemed people
we are.

Assurance of God's Grace

God has promised that when we confess our sin, God who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin and remove it as far as the east is from the west, remembering our sin no more. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter today.
0 Comments

3/13/2018 0 Comments

Call to Worship, Lent 5B

Picture
​The exiled ache
for new life
in familiar places
knowing the familiar
is all too unfamiliar now
for one cannot go back to what was
in the same way one was there
before.
God understands
the plight of those
who grieve
and promises new life
for all people, regardless
of their missteps, for God is the God
of grace,
therefore,
let us worship God.
0 Comments

3/9/2018 0 Comments

Prayers of the People, Lent 4B

Picture
​Your people, God, are hungry.
YOUR people, Lord, they thirst.
Your people cry in agony,
their only hope to be heard.

Righteousness is lost
in the hallowed halls of law
because judgment rules
and money fuels
an economy that is flawed.

But your Body will not rest
until hope has stood the test
and your people have been blessed
because Justice reigns for all.

Your people, God, are fearful.
YOUR people, Lord, are afraid.
Your people cry in terror,
their broken hearts dismayed.

Righteousness is lost
in the hallowed halls of law
because judgment rules
and the powerful fuel
a security that is flawed.

But your Body will not rest
until hope has stood the test
and your people have been blessed
because Justice reigns for all.

Your people, God, are perishing.
YOUR people, Lord, are dead.
Your people suffer relentlessly
having suffered much in dread.

Righteousness is lost
in the hallowed halls of law
because greed rules
and companies fuel
a system that is flawed.

But your Body will not rest
until hope has stood the test
and your people have been blessed
because Justice reigns for all.

Hear our prayers, we pray, O God.
Lift up your faithful Word
that grace may overflow
and your faithful people stirred.
0 Comments
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    Author

    Julie served as a Commissioned Ruling Elder in a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation for thirteen years. She now absolutely delights in filling the pulpit for colleagues upon request, and looks forward to opportunities to do so. Her reformed perspective is sprinkled with humor and presented with authenticity, and she is open to creatively deconstructing worship as a means to helping congregants explore worship in transformational ways.

    Julie and her husband, Ray, are parents of three adult children, and grandparents of four energetic and imaginative little people. She is an introverted-with-enough-extrovert-balance-to-keep-her-social, perfectionistic-with-hopper-tendencies, time and goal-oriented, kaleidoscopic, and insatiably curious child of God.

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Julie participated in the 25th Seminar for Certified Zentangle(R) Teacher Training in June, 2019, trained by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. In addition to creating art as a personal spiritual practice, Julie also incorporates the Zentangle(R) method in Prayer Art Retreats in a variety of contexts, including church groups, friend gatherings, and at a local art gallery. Check out the Upcoming Events page for a calendar of events, or use the Contact Us page to inquire about scheduling an event with your group!
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