April 23 Peter’s Vision

Acts 10:1-17, 34-48
Matthew 9:36-37

Call to Worship
God we are the sheep and you are the Shepherd
Come Risen Christ
In Christ there is neither male nor female, slave nor free
Come Risen Christ
We are ready to greet Jesus Christ
Come Risen Christ

Call to Confess: We are truly all made clean in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, come let us confess ourselves to Christ.

Prayer of Confession: Dear God, we confess that we would like to pick and choose our Christians. We often would like to say, we are not like those Christians, or we would like to tell people who is included in our congregation and who is not. Forgive us. Teach us how to be both inclusive, and still to tell be brave enough to denounce wrong when we see it. Help us to continue to act in love we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: Remember that Christ came returned saying “Peace be with you” and so we can be assured of the Good News: In Jesus Christ we are Forgiven. Amen

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God may we go into the world blessed that any may be given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, may we recognize these gifts when we see them we pray. Amen.

Wrong Turns

CW: Gun Violence, Racism

God,
I am praying for the young adults, the teens, the kids
who take the wrong turns
Sweet Resurrected Jesus
You and I know, that I have no sense of direction–
How many times have I been
lost and alone in the car
Making my way across the country
(Pre-cell phone directions even)
–Luckily I am a white girl
But the shooting mere miles from my house
In upstate NY
proves that
it’s the guns
the guns
the guns.
And Lord save all the Black Boys, The beloved
Beautiful, made in your image
Black Brothers
My soul keens for them

God, you hung up your weapon,
your bow, your version of a gun
in the sky–way before Jesus
In the time of Noah–so that every single time we see it

We might, maybe possibly remember
That you are a Disarmed God
A Weaponless God
A God who refuses to Destroy anymore

A God of Peace

And when we refused to believe it
You sent your Son
What-His-Name
The Prince of Peace

Down to Earth
You don’t bring the Weapons
I’ll bring the Revolution
“Drop your swords” He says
When he is being arrested–
By the Empire no less
“And I’ll heal your ears, so you can hear
my words of peace”

And when you were resurrect Jesus
Among the huddled and fearful disciples
Did they raise arms against you
in “defense” and fright
(Its a question I don’t want to think about)

You replied to the fervor of frightened humans
“Peace be with you”

When we are lost
or feel invaded
or scared
or alone

“Peace be with you”

Disarm yourselves
God demonstrated
coaxes
whispers

If you really trust God,
I promise, you won’t need any guns
the end of the world won’t be with a bang

It will be with the whisper
“Peace be with you”

I’m still praying for the kin(g)dom
come

Peace be with you
Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Rainbow and clouds with an orange car heading towards it, created on canva by Katy Stenta, feel free to use

Gun Violence Prevention Prayers

Great Commission

Psalm 40:9-10
Matthew 28:16-20

Call to Worship (based on Psalm 40:9-10)
Let us speak of God’s faithfulness
Come let us proclaim God’s salvation
Here is the glad news of God’s deliverance
God’s love is steadfast and God is faithful!
Let us praise God today!
Come, let us praise God forever!

Call to Confession: Nothing is too big, too burdensome or too human for Jesus to understand, come let us confess ourselves to God.

Prayer of Confession: Jesus, we confess that we have trouble with the complexity of your final commandment. That you grant us your authority, that we are to baptize all nations–that you promise that you remain with us forever. To be honest this sounds like a lot of work for us to do, and the fact that you are with us, is hard for us to always believe. Help us when we are weary, scared or feel alone. Help us when we take your command to mean to force, ostracize or belittle other people to be Christian. Help us to understand that all of this falls under your Maundy Thursday work of loving and saving one another we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, Jesus Christ Loves us, Serves us and helps us. Let us comfort one another with the the good news: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: Let us go into the world making disciples, through the acts of listening, praying, inviting and loving. Let us go and create disciples through the love of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Curious Easter

God,
Sometimes I feel like Christ is Risen
Is unbelievable
Ungraspable
Scary

And then I remember
That is the point
We humans
find so many things
so hard to hang onto

things like
grace
promises
and love

Easter Incarnate
is not an easy thing
it takes practice
It’s different than hope

Deeper
perhaps more desperate

It’s community
solidarity
It’s re-membering Christ
Somehow

God who walks with us
Thank you
For giving us Easter
the curious story

and reminding us
It’s not supposed to
Make any sense


Every Year
Amen

Feel Free to Use/Adapt/Share with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Abstracted sun streaked background, sunrising behind the tomb, with a couple of clouds in front of it. Made with Canva. Feel free to use with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Un-Prayer for Holy Saturday

I’m so sorry for your Loss
…………………………(silence)……………………
They are in a better place
This really sucks
God needed another angel
…………………………(silence)……………………
Call me if you need anything
::Sitting and crying together::
They were too good to live
…………………………(silence)……………………
You did everything you could
Oh God
You can always have another child/You have other children
…………………………(silence)……………………
They had a good life
…………………………(silence)……………………
…………………………(silence)……………………
…………………………(silence)……………………
…………………………(silence)……………………

Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Stone Cave Tomb, Stone in front of it, black background, made on Canva, free to use

Sitting on Good Friday

Jesus
I wasn’t there Good Friday

But I’ve planted a garden almost every year
despite the fact, my thumb is black, and nothing will ever grow

I have sat alone in middle school, at the lunch table, at the classroom
Being told to shut up every time I’ve spoken, isolated and alone

I have left a room
only to realize later that I participated in White Supremacy–
Leaving a Person of Color to fend for themselves

And I have participated in politics that have lead to people having to leave
or find solace, because they were so hurt by what happened

I have cried Hosanna! after Massive Gun Violence And Gender Violence
So many times–with phone calls, votes and letters

Again, and again, and again

I wasn’t there on Good Friday
But I have been abandoned or done the Abandoning

Jesus, I picture you
starting your descent into hell
with the words “My God, My God, Why have you abandoned me”

I wasn’t there that Good Friday–
Almost no one was–
Yet that was the point

Hate
Violence
Politics
Sexism
Patriarchy, All the bad things…seemed to be winning

I wasn’t there Good Friday,
But I have felt those pieces of Hell, the utter loneliness
the failure
I have heard the devil whispering to me

that I’m too different
that my voice doesn’t matter
that peace won’t win

that my betrayals are bigger than my good works

that THAT scene, the one on replay in my head? Everyone remembers that one about me

I don’t know how Jesus utterly cut off from Love
in Hell

But I know all humans feel that at some point;
so I know you did it Jesus

You walked into Hell…
so we wouldn’t be alone there anymore

To remind us that Nothing
no height, no death,
no
angels
no
demons
heaven
nor hell
can cut us off from the love of Jesus Christ

I wasn’t there Good Friday..But you were,
Un-abandoning us
Sitting with us
We can’t see you or hear you in the dark

But thanks for being there
with me when the seeds won’t grow,
at the lonesome lunch table
Or in the Aftermath

And it’s ok to sit in the dark for awhile
Amen.

Feel free to adapt/share/use with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Senator Jones in the foreground Rep Pearson in the background in a black suit—both with their fists raised after the two young, black men were expelled from Tennessee House for partying peaceful anti-gun demonstrations, the white woman senator was allowed to remain

Maundy Thursday Prayer

I firmly believe
Jesus Christ
I confess
your Lordship

And it does not scare me
The way power does
in the hands of lets say
some humans

Because I have seen
You
healer Christ
teacher Christ
companion Christ

I have seen you
sitting at the well
hanging out with the outcasts
talking to the tax collectors
the nuerodivergent
the disabled

the poor, ethnically, religiously, differently gendered
You see them, talk to them and call them by name

I know what the authorities called you
dangerous
rabble rouser

Trouble

I know that you you don’t care about
money
status
and power

And on your last day on earth
You ate some good food
With friends
you took some time to pray
and asked your friends to sit with you

And you made a point
to get on your knees
and wash their feet

People picture your return
in glory–and that tongues
will confess Jesus as Lord
As some kind of military thing
(Again)

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
It is clear that we have learned nothing
Since you hung bow, your weapon, your Rainbow
up permanently in the sky
That many-a-thousand-years ago

But I know your secret
When you return–every knee will bow
…because you will return as you came
stooping down to see heaven and earth

Kneeling to serve

And we are Allllll
all of us
gonna kneel….to get next to you

Every knee will bow indeed

We will knee next to our Savior
and confess….Lord
I want to do what you are doing
I want to serve the people you are serving

It will be Maundy Thursday Incarnate
Communion
filling our tongues
with Love
and the Servant Lordship of Jesus Christ
Confession–all of it the same

I cannot wait to kneel beside you
and confess

Jesus Christ is Lord
Amen, Amen

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta

Stick Figure Kneeling created by Canva

April 9 Easter, Resurrection

April 9
Easter, Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-10
Psalm 118:19-24

Call to Worship 
Christ is Risen!
He has Risen Indeed!
This is the Lord’s doing!
It is marvelous in our eyes!
This is the day that the Lord has made!
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Prayer of Confession (unison)   Jesus, that we find too find the Kingdom of Heaven stories to be overwhelming. We can scarcely take the news in, and we are too obsessed with heaven to worry about what it is we should be doing here on earth. Forgive us. Teach us to do fear not and to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. (Silent Prayer)Amen 

Assurance of Pardon: Know this, God has answered us and become our salvation, so let us proclaim the good news of Easter: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. 

Prayer of Dedication: (unison) Jesus meets us with the good news, reminding us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Let us remind one another as we go into the world—the Kingdom of heaven is like grace, it is like justice it is love and forgiveness and resurrection. Come let us rejoice in the Kingdom of God this Easter. 

Maundy Thursday Taize Communion/Footwashing Worship

Taize “Laudate omni Gentes”

On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.” Matthew 26: 17-25

Taize “Bless the Lord My Soul”

[Jesus] got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand. Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. John 13:4-10, 16-17

Taize: “Ubi caritas” during Washing of the Feet/Hands

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Matthew 16:26

Taize “Wait for the Lord”


(Serving of the Bread, An invitation to all onscreen or in the bulletin is appropriate)

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 17:27-29

(Serving of the Cup)

Taize “Jesus Remember Me, When You Come into Your Kingdom”

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mathew 27:30

Taize “Jesus Le Christ” or “Nada le Turbe”