Call to Worship When we are welcomed God you call us When we heal God you call us When we feed one another God you call us Come let us serve the Lord Come let us worship the Lord
Call to confession: Let us confess ourselves to the God who loves us and welcome us exactly as we are
Confession: Godwe confess that we do not believe that those who welcome us welcome Christ. We confess that we have trouble believing ourselves one minute to be imposters and the next taking on too much for Christ. Help us to find balance in serving you. Give us the strength, patience and understanding we need. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Be assured, Christ loves us and walks with us in disciples, so know the truth In Jesus Christ we are forgiven, Amen
Prayer of the Day Dedication: May we walk with Christ, as he walks with usour discipleship we pray. Amen
Call to Worship Let all who are afraid come The Shepherd is here Let all who are weary come The Shepherd is here Let all who hunger come The Shepherd is here Let all who are looking come Truly, the Shepherd here. Let us come, and find the Shepherd together
Call to Confession: Come, the gate is open, we do not need to fear the one who is calling, let us confess ourselves to God.
Confession: Jesus Christ we are weary, too long we have put our trust in money and stuff and weapons and governments and institutions and we look around and realize, that we are still not but confused sheep. We long for your voice. We long for green pastures and still waters, we long for goodness and mercy. We want a land where good food is so plentifully even our enemies get it. Forgive us, teach us your voices, so we can hear it, and follow it, and live in fear no more we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Hear the good news, Jesus is calling us towards grace, In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: Fear not the angels said, Peace be with you Jesus said. God, you come and comfort your sheep, reminding us to live without weapons or fear. You remind us we are meant to flock together. God may we go forth building a world of green pastures, safety and hope we pray. Amen.
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
Just wanted to say that my Hosanna prayer has been viewed well over 3,000 times and I know a lot of churches read it last Sunday/other times–thanks to everyone who prayed with me…in whatever capacity….this week
katyandtheword 