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6/30/2020 0 Comments Call to Worship, Pentecost +5, A Come, you who are weary
and carrying heavy burdens. Come, and find rest for your spirit. Come, and take the yoke of Christ upon you, for Jesus is gentle and humble in heart. Come, and find rest for your souls. Come, and dance to the music. Come, you who are grieving, and mourn. Come, you children of God, and worship the Lord of Heaven and earth.
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 Welcome, prophets,
speaking truth to power. Welcome, welcomers of prophets, who listen and ask questions and grow. Welcome, righteous ones, seeking to live purposefully and with love. Welcome, welcomers of righteous ones, who follow and adopt holy principles and are transformed. Welcome, missionaries, offering water alongside Living Water and bread alongside the Bread of Life. Welcome, disciples of Jesus. Come, and worship. 6/18/2020 0 Comments Spiritual Practice of the Month Spiritual Practice of the Month: Witness
The Gospel passage this week is Matthew 10:24-39. Vs. 38-39 read: and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (New Revised Standard Version) The act of bearing witness involves telling what you saw, heard, or experienced first-hand. The world is full of disciples who are taking up their cross to follow Christ at great personal risk. This is not a new phenomenon. Jesus knew when he sent the disciples out that they, like he, would be persecuted and would suffer from terrible abuse for answering the call. Bearing witness to God's love for all God's people ... bearing witness to the worth of all God's children ... does not seem like it should wreak such havoc in our lives, and yet it does. It did for Jesus who gave up his own life because of it, and who warned it would be worse for those who follow him. No truer words were ever spoken for those who take seriously the call to bear witness to Christ's call, yet it *is* what we are called to do. Where are you called to bear witness to the worth of the most vulnerable and under-served of God's children and how? Call to Confession
All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, [a] says the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look, to the humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2) Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, and with fear and trembling, approach the throne of grace and seek forgiveness. Prayer of Confession, Pentecost +3, Year A God, forgive us. We are so full of ourselves, expecting better treatment than even you received when you walked among us, and our feelings are hurt when we are ridiculed and taunted and persecuted for following you. We are quick to give up, to keep silent, to change sides, to forget what we have been taught, or to bury it deep within. In fear of rejection, of being disowned by those we love, we cower ... we fail to speak up ... we gloss over ... we reject the one who has loved us from the beginning of time and with him, all those he loves and calls his own. Forgive us, we pray, and grant us courage to proclaim from the housetops that which you have taught us about love and grace and the worth of every child of God who lives. Assurance of God's Grace If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. (Romans 10:9-10) 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 this day. Come, disciples and teachers.
Come, descendants of slaves and descendants of slave masters. Come, and proclaim from the housetops that Jesus is Lord. Come, without fear. Come, knowing you are valued. Come in peace, regardless of the sword that will divide you from those you love for daring to follow the command to love. Come, and worship the Lord of all.  Rabbi ... Teacher ...
you have taught us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have been looking for wedding banquets and hidden treasures. Instead, we find the kingdom of heaven in hospital COVID units and peaceful protests. Prophet ... Priest ... you preached to us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have been looking for the mustard seed or the pearl of great price. Instead, we find the kingdom of heaven right under our noses in our siblings in Christ whose gifts are undervalued and whose voices are silenced because of who they are and the places from which they call. Physician ... Healer ... you offered comfort to us by reminding us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have been looking for it in yeast and seeds. Instead, we find the kingdom of heaven in grace-filled conversation and ears that are willing to listen and hearts that are open to being changed. Reconciler ... Redeemer ... you sent the Spirit to us as a sign that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Move among us now, so that the lost can be found, the wounds can be healed, the untouchables embraced. Make your presence known, O God, so that the kingdom of heaven is evident in our midst. In Jesus' name we pray ...  Call to Confession
(God's) people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold. (Jeremiah 50:6) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession (based on Ezekiel 34:3-6) Good Shepherd, forgive us, though we are hardly worthy. We feast on good food. We clothe ourselves well. We choose the best of the best, and then we hoard it for ourselves and our own. We do not strengthen the weak. We do not mend the broken. We do not heal the wounds that long have festered. We do not actively seek those who have strayed, nor do we look for the lost to bring them back home. Instead, we bully and badger those who are alone and voiceless and suffering. Your own people have left our siblings in Christ exposed and vulnerable. Hear our cries of repentance. Hear our pleas for forgiveness. Stop us in our tracks, and open our eyes to the extent of our sinfulness. Help us confront our wicked ways, and teach us to listen to those whose stories we have shaped in painful and destructive ways. Give us humility, compassion, and empathy, we pray, and make us into the people you have called us to be: a people born of Love. Assurance of God's Grace All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) 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 this day.  Come, you ill and suffering.
The Lord has compassion on you. Come, you harassed and helpless. The Lord is your shepherd. Come, you laborers. The Lord is longing to send willing workers into the harvest field. Come, you teachers and preachers and healers. The Lord is ready to equip you for the work of education and proclamation, of healing and justice and peace. Come. Let go of your demons, your fears, and your biases, and hear the word of the Lord. We can't breathe, Creator God!
We fear for the lives of our siblings in Christ. We fear for those unfairly targeted based on the color of their skin. We fear for those seeking to promote peace as well as those seeking only to maintain order who have each been met with violence and injury. We fear for business owners and congregations who have suffered at the hands of riotous acts. Almighty God, hear our prayers. Speak love to your children everywhere through your children everywhere for your children everywhere, and grant us the courage to humble ourselves and listen. Precious Redeemer, we can't breathe! We recognize our own contributions to the hatred and division that exists among your people, and we are devastated by the terrible pain we have caused. We acknowledge that we have been part of the problem and not part of the solution because we have made fear-based choices, rather than faith-based choices. We confess that we have failed to look beyond our biases to see and celebrate our similarities as well as our differences. Jesus, Savior of the world, hear our prayers. Change our hearts, and renew a right spirit within us, transforming us into people who seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly in the name of love. We can't breathe, Holy Spirit! We are grieving. We are angry. We are hungry. We are ill. We are broken. We are lost. We are in pain. We are done. Spirit of Wisdom and Truth, hear our prayers. Breathe new life into our beings. Breathe new hope into our hearts. Breathe peace into our communities. Breathe wisdom into our leaders. Breathe truth into our beings. Creator, Christ, and Spirit, ordain THIS moment as a moment of transformation and lead us ever forward, we pray, toward a justice where the the last shall be first, the least the greatest, and your people everywhere can breathe.  Call to Confession
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." Acts 2:38-39 Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, Year A This is us, God. We are the ones who bow in worship, but still doubt: we doubt that you mean it when you say that we must love our neighbor as you have loved us; we doubt that making disciples means of all nations really means ALL nations, because that would mean opening our doors to welcome people who are not like us -- surely you did not mean that; we doubt that teaching them to obey all you have commanded means standing up for what is right, actively resisting the passive prejudicial and even apathetic attitudes which have created this socio-economic disparity, calling for justice in the face of injustice, braving ridicule for walking alongside our siblings in Christ whose lives we have devalued and diminished. God, in your mercy, forgive our ignorance, our blatant arrogance, and our cowardice. Though we do not deserve it, have mercy, we pray, and ignite in us a passion for listening and learning from our neighbors in an effort to understand their pain; replace our pride with humility and empathy, and give us courage to be the people we claim to be. Assurance of God's Grace But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 In the name of Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God's grace covers our sin. 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 this day~ |
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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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