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”



Good Friday

Extinguishing of Lights Worship & Nailing Our Sins to The Cross
(Yes we nontraditionally do communion, because my worshiping community does not do Maundy Thursday, feel free to disclude)

Call to Worship  

L  The Lord be with you.
P  And also with you

THE NAIL OF BROKENNESS*                                      

“We are a resurrection people” we like to say
And we say it often
“But resurrection doesn’t erase or replace the real life that happens before, during and after, the real life that we all know. 
The places where we are broken
Where we are grieving
Where we are sad
Where we are angry
Where we are hurting
Where we are anxious
Where we are lonely
Where we are human—fully
And we each carry around the experiences of trauma, and loss and hurt, that are a real part of our life. 
Those experiences live within us, and they exist before, during and after resurrection. Yes, we are a resurrection people
But we are also human—fully.
And that means that we know death, just as surely as we know life.
Death is real, it is excruciating, and painful, and it is a part of life. 
But God is not afraid of death. God is big enough to hold us in our hurt, in our brokenness, in those places of death where we cannot hold ourselves. When we find ourselves in those places, when we cannot imagine ever feeling joy again, may we remember, that although God will not erase the pain, God will hold us, God will stand with us. 

THE NAIL OF BETRAYAL           Matthew 26:48-50 

. 48Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.’ 49At once he came up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him. 50Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, do what you are here to do.’ Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

NAIL OF HATRED                                                         Matthew 27:27-31

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters,* and they gathered the whole cohort around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ 30They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. 

Sung Response:

      Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 

      Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 

      O Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;

      Were you there when they crucified my Lord?(silence)

Silent Meditation: Extinguishing of the Light  

THE NAIL OF STUMBLING                                          Matthew 26:69-75

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ 70But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ 71When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’* 72Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ 73After a little while the bystanders came up and said to 

Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ 74Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ At that moment the cock crowed. 75Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.

Sung Response

      Were you there when they left him on the cross?  

      Were you there when they left him on the cross? 

      O, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;

      Were you there when they left him on the cross? (silence)

THE NAIL OF DEATH                                                Matthew 17:45-50

45 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land* until three in the afternoon. 46And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ 47When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ 48At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. 49But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ 50Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.

Sung Response

      Were you there when the sun refused shine?  

      Were you there when the sun refused shine? 

      O, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;

      Were you there when the sun refused to shine? (silence)

Silent Meditation: Extinguishing of the Light

                     THE RESPONSE

ACT OF CONFESSION                                           

     You are invited to have your sins nailed to the cross

Sung Response

      Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?  

      Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?  

      O, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;

      Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? (silent)

Silent Meditation: Extinguishing of the Light  

RESPONSIVE READING: THE PROMISE OF MERCY*       

O God of my heart, remind us that this was the day the temple’s curtain was torn in two, breaking open the divide between the divine and human. God’s mercy 

Let hold onto what centurion and those who were keeping watch said “Truly this man was God’s Son.” (Matthew 27:51, 54)

Communion

The Lord be with you
And also with you
Lift up your hearts
We lift them up to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give our thanks and praise….(Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the power and the kingdom and the glory forever. Amen.
Jesus came into the world, not to judge it, but to save it.
We are so grateful for God’s infinite love, and we celebrate with all of creation, the saving work, of our Suffering Savior. On the night before he was nailed to the merciless cross,
Jesus shared His last meal with His friends. He took the bread, He broke it, and He gave thanks, and then He passed it among them saying,
This is my body which is broken for you. Eat it and remember Me.
He took the wine, and He gave thanks, and then He passed it among them saying,
This is my blood which is shed for you. Drink it and remember Me.
And so, we take, we eat and drink, and we remember:
There is no greater love, than this sacrifice which You, Jesus, made for us 
God is with us, even when we fear.
Come, let us taste and see the Lord.

Sung Response: Extinguishing the Light

      Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 

      Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 

      O Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;

      Were you there when they crucified my Lord? (silence)

*Prayer from Dying Liturgy of NextChurch national gathering 2018

Hosanna, a Dangerous Prayer

“Hosanna” God we cry
When did we make this
an easy prayer to pray

We hand it to our children
And make it a parade
–Filling their hands with palms
to dance around the room

Hosanna, the children Scream
“SAVE US”

As the rooms fill with gunfire

As their gender identities are destroyed

as they are ripped away from their parents at the border

As they cry for hunger when we cut their SNAP benefits

And Jesus takes a child
puts them on his lap and says
unless you understand the children
you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven

“How do we tell the children about school shootings?”

They know
They have been practicing for them, like maths or piano
And they know the grownups are not preventing them

Hosanna, they cry
My youngest came home from kindergarten
And said to me we are practicing being quiet for when bad guys come to school.

Shhhh!

Hosanna!

My middle child has autism
He will never be able to be quiet
If a bad guy comes to school

Hosanna!

Hosanna, God, Grace alone
But Still we know we have to participate
in our own salvation
Thoughts and prayer won’t do it

Policy and Change
will be our chant of Hosanna

Jesus paraded into the City
And then Flipped the Tables
It is not enough to cry out and pray
Action and Accountability must follow

Hosanna, we pray–what a Dangerous Prayer
on our Lips
Maybe only the Children truly know what it means

Hosanna God, Hosanna Christ!
May we Hosanna this together we pray

Amen

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

Gun Violence Prevention Prayers

Image is a pair of AK47s crossing, covered with the words Hosanna and palms layered, and Save us at the Top and Prince of Peace, Flip the Tables, Policy and Change on the Bottom. Created by Katy Stenta on Canva, free to use with credit.

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Palm Sunday April 2nd Triumphal Entry

April 2nd 
Triumphal Entry, Cleansing the Temple
Matthew 21:1-17
Psalm 118:25-29

Hosanna: A Dangerous Prayer

Call to Worship
Hosanna, Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord
Hosanna, Lord, Jesus
The Lord has given us Light, Come Lord Save us
Hosanna Lord, Save us
Bind the festal procession with branches! The Lord is God!
Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!

Call to Confession: God we are longing for you to save us, so we come to confess to you, full of hosannas, come let us confess ourselves to God.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we forget that right after we cry Hosanna, Jesus save us! We do not Jesus coming in and flipping over the tables of the sanctuary. Yet here we are and it turns out the Palm Sunday and Flipping Tables Sunday are one and the same. Because you save us, by turning our worldviews upside-down. Remind us that Jesus is with us and for us, remind us that Jesus loves us no matter what and that Jesus continues to walk with us.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good news: God is good, God’s steadfast love endures forever, let us proclaim the truth to one another: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.