God – Page 6 – katyandtheword

Narrative Lectionary, Year 2, Lent 6

March 24th, Lent 6
Mark 11:1-11 Triumphal Entry
Mark 14:3-9 woman anoints Jesus
Psalm 118:25-29

Kneeling with Christ
The Promise of a New Kin-dom
Breaking [A World Beyond] Capitalism

Lent 6 : Anointed King by a Serving, Simple Woman or Throw him a parade instead of serving the poor, humans never change–Love and Serve the Lord, Jesus wants sacrifice of praise through loving and serving one another not a show of glory.

Breath Prayer Option
Inhale: Christ is King
Exhale: Hosanna

Inhale: Blessed is the One
Exhale: Bless all who come in God’s Name

Inhale: the Lord is God
Exhale: Let us Greet Jesus Christ

Call to Worship
You are my God, I give thanks to you
You are my God, I will extol you
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord
Save us, we beseech you, Hosanna, Hosanna in the High
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
Come, let us praise God whose steadfast love endures forever

Call to Confession: Come let us cry out our confession to the Lord together.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we cry out Hosanna, even when we are uncertain whether or not we want to serve you today. We are uncertain how to anoint you as King. Yet here we are, crying out to be saved, from something. because deep in our hearts we know that you are our savior. Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, come and teach us how to be a people of Christ we pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.

Prayer of Confession: Jesus we confess that we do not always know how to serve you. We would rather throw you a parade, then give away all of our possessions and go out and work with the immigrants, the poor, the hungry and the naked. Hossana, help us to learn how to serve you better, so that we may kneel beside you when you return to serve we pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the good new, Jesus Christ came to save us, so we know the truth, In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God may we go into the world remembering that you will always be our God, and we will alway be your people. May we hold this in our hearts always. Amen.

Hymn Suggestions: Hosanna Loud Hosanna, All Glory Laud and Honor

Taize Option:Adoramus te Domine, Magnificat

Children’s Activity: Smell perfumes/Scents talk about anointing Kings and how revolutionary it was for a woman to anoint Jesus as King
Color a Palm https://www.illustratedministry.com/2020/palm-frond-coloring-page/

Children’s Book: Mother God talk about all the ways God is in the World

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Narrative Lectionary, Year 2, Lent 4

March 10th, Lent 4
Mark 12:28-44 Great Commandment, Poor Widow
Psalm 89:1-4

Lent 4: Serving God: Love God exactly as you Are Don’t need to change Nothing (anything) first. How would the world be if we stopped worrying about appearances?

Breath Prayer Option
Inhale: I am imperfect
Exhale: I am ready to serve

Inhale: God loves me
Exhale: I am the Widow’s Mite

Inhale: God is faithful
Exhale: It’s Ok if I change

Call to Worship:
I will sing of your steadfast love, forever!
With my mouth, I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations!
God made a covenant with David and his descendants
God is faithful, Come let us praise our faithful God!

Call to Confession: God knows us and loves us, come let us confess ourselves to our loving God.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that it is hard to hear the story of the widow without judgement. Should we be the widow? Should the poor widow not have given her last mite? And yet, perhaps Jesus was just stating the facts that those who serve are going to be the poorest among us, because they get it. Help us when we judge how others use their money or how others serve, to instead just love and serve in our own ways, we pray. Amen.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that the command to simply love God with all of our heart, minds and souls does not seem to be concrete enough for us. In what ways? Are there not specific hymns to sing or prayers to pray? We confess that it bothers us that Jesus does not say how we are supposed to love God, just that we should, and this means that we cannot judge each other. Help us not to judge, and to just love you the best we can we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, God loves us exactly as we are, so we know the truth In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God help us to remember that you have called us exactly as we are to serve you, encourage us to go and into the world ready to love and serve the Lord. Amen.

Hymn Suggestions: Just As I am Without One Plea

Taize Option: Wait for the Lord

Children’s Activity: Play Freeze (try not to move) or Red Light/Green Light. Talk about how God is always faithful even if you change/move.

Children’s Book: I’ll Wait Mr Panda by Steve Antony about how waiting for the results of hard work is worth it.

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Narrative Lectionary, Year 2, Lent 3

March 3rd, Lent 3
Mark 12:1-12 [13-17] Wicked Tenants, Pay Caesar (Sacrifice)
Psalm 86:8-13

Kneeling with Christ
The Promise of a New Kin-dom
Breaking [A World Beyond] Capitalism

Lent 3: Serving God: Rendering to God what is God’s, What do you have to offer?

Breath Prayer Option
Inhale: Great is God’s Steadfast Love
Exhale: God delivers me

Call to Worship
God is great and wondrous
You alone are God
I give thanks to you, of you alone are God
Let us give our whole hearts to God
God’s steadfast love is eternal
Come let us glorify God’s name forever

Call to Confession: God allows us to sit in the Divine presence even when we feel uncertain, come let us confess ourselves to God.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we do not know what to render to you. It feels like everything belongs to society and Caesar: our bodies, our time, our work. We confess that it angers us in such a way that we might become like the tenants, ready to lash out even at those who come to with messages from God. Help us to move beyond the structures of this world, so that we can serve the Kingdom we pray. (Silent Confession) Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, the yoke of Jesus Christ is light, and He is ready to forgive, so we know the Good News of Christ’s grace In Jesus Christ we are Forgiven.

Communion Prayer: God you are here to serve us and to feed us. You stooped your divine self into human form–translating divinity into a body and Good News into a format that we can understanding, so that we can taste and see the Good News of your life, one of service and foot washing. Send your Holy Spirit upon these elements so that we can feel your holy presence as a moment of communion with you and understand your teachings as moments of grace and love, we pray in the name of your son Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God, we are here to dedicate ourselves to you, because when we do, our lives are more joyful and complete. Help us to recognize the ways you move and are in our lives, so that we might live more fully in service to you we pray. Amen.

Hymn Suggestions: We Give Thee But Thine Own

Taize Option: Ubi Caritas

Children’s Activity: Talk about offering and what it means, and why it is you give offering–and how one can give offering of money, time and talents. Arrange a service project–preparing food or toiletries or birthday kits for the community.

Children’s Book: The Power of One by Trudy Ludwig or Children’s Book: The Power of One by Trudy Ludwig how goodness has ripple effects or Thank You Mr Panda by Steve Antony about how waiting is hard but it can have good effects.

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Rachel

A reflection on the ongoing violence in Gaza, CW: war, death violence against children

God
I hear her
in the middle of the night

Sometimes when my children
run around the house
in their ruckus game of Hide and Seek
(which I do not tell them they are too old for)
their teenage feet sound like
hippos
With the hunger to go with it
a trail of crumbs
going up and down the steps

I do not yell at them
for the noise
the chaos
the mess

I hear Rachel weeping
All the way from Gaza
it is a whispered
choking sound

Her snuffling lament
It sounds both angry
and full of hurt

And I can hear it
all too often
echoing across the oceans

Rachel is weeping
for her children

She refuses all comfort
I see her pacing
Unable to eat or sleep
because her children
are buried under rubble
or blown to pieces

Her children who were scrounging for food
and licking the rain off of gutters
Her children who she packed up
in the middle of the night

First to travel to one part of the world
and then another
In the bitter cold
In hats and gloves knitted by
an old Auntie, who unrolled all the wool they had
Just to cover the children

And then in a blink of violence

Rachel’s children are gone
And sometimes her eyes play tricks on her
And she thinks that she sees them
Out of the corner of her eye
or in the line marching towards a border
Blocked by soldiers
Even as her heart beats

They are gone
They are lost
I can’t find them

Rachel weeps
the tears flow
so that she does not notice them
any longer
she does not
notice…

Jeremiah 31:15 Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
   lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
   she refuses to be comforted for her children,
   because they are no more.

Picture of the wall written on by these students, which is lovely because it gives a fuller story of the conflict which is complicated by the terrorist group Hamas who wanted this war, the corrupt governance of Netanyahu and the anti-semitism throughout the world that begs for a safe place for Jewish people to exist and be (and this summary does not even do the situation justice, however this poem expresses some of the pain of this moment) https://lisaschirch.wordpress.com/2017/10/10/rachel-is-weeping-at-the-separation-wall/

With thanks to Rev Kyle Delhagan and Presbyterian Women for finding the image

Narrative Lectionary, Year 2, Lent 1

Mark 10:17-31 Rich Man sell all
Psalm 19:7-10

Kneeling with Christ
The Promise of a New Kin-dom
Breaking [A World Beyond] Capitalism

Feel free to Email KatyandtheWord at Gmail for Text version for easy Copy/Paste Formatting
Suggested Donation for entire Liturgy $75
(you can decide what is fair for portions)
Receipt Available upon request
Please give credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

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Lent 1: Serving God, Journey & Change

Breath Prayer Option
Breathe in: Jesus I will serve you
Breathe out: Jesus I will follow you

Call to Worship
Jesus we are following you into Lent
Your laws are perfect, so we follow you
Jesus we long to love and serve like you
Here we are, starting the journey into Lent, Journey with us God
Come let us journey with God
Come, let us make space for this holy time together.

Call to Confession
Jesus calls us to follow him, because we are heavy burdened, let us lay down what we are carrying to God, so we might find rest

Prayer of Confession: God we know that what you have to offer is more desirable than God and sweeter than honey, but we confess that we are not ready to give up all of our possessions and follow you. We confess that we find the idea of changing everything, difficult. We confess that we are uncertain, sometimes, what following you even means sometimes. Forgive us when we are afraid, teach us how to serve beside you in ways that are life giving and hopeful we pray. In the name of your son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News: Jesus promises that he is preparing a way full of grace and mercy for us, so we can be assured of the good news, In Jesus Christ we are forgiven, Amen.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: Let us go forth proclaiming the good news, that faith is not about who is first or who has the most. It is not even about being perfect. For it is God who will teach us to serve, and we will carry that throughout the world. Amen.

Hymn Suggestions: They will Know We are Christians By Our Love, I Wonder as I Wander

Taize Option: Veni Sancte Spiritus

Children’s Activity: Play Simon Says, Stoplight, Duck Duck Goose depending on Ages, talk about how these games who wins “it” the person in control, how you lose, and then play them backwards, where the loser WINS

Children’s Book:The Goblin and the Empty Chair https://www.amazon.com/Goblin-Empty-Chair-Mem-Fox/dp/1416985859 Talk about about how the disciples fought over where to sit as opposed to the empty chair where welcome was made for the Goblin

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A circular wooden table with wooden chairs, above is the Holy Spirit dove with a circle of arrows pointing everywhere

Ash Weds, Giving your Heart to God, a very brief reflection, Narrative Lectionary

Image from here and here

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Ash Weds/Maundy Thurs Prayer

(Invitation to write something you want to give to on a valentine/heart: a hope or a burden. This can be written in the order of worship, and dropped in at the end)

Let us gather together in the name of God,
Happy are those who confess themselves to God
When we keep silent, our bodies feel heavy, we can feel them growing
We grown all day long, everything feels heavy upon me, but the weight of it all can be taken by God
How beautiful is it, that God knows us and loves us? We are the children of God.
Come let us gather close to God.

Read:
Mark 9:30-37

How wonderful is it to know that there is no competition for Jesus. We will all be fed by him. Let us approach God with the wonder and questions of children.
Come let us celebrate the feast of our Lord Jesus and

(Celebrate communion together in your tradition)

As we have all been fed and brought to God with one another, now we can remember that we belong to God in life and in death. We can give our heart to God, and accept the truth, that we are ashes, and to ashes we shall return.

(Imposition of ashes, bringing of hearts valentines or end of service with the passing of the plates)

Postlude

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#Advent Day 15 Christ is Coming Anyway

Dr. Wil Gafney “Christmas is not Canceled. Festive Christmas celebration and public displays are. But the Feast of the Incarnation will continue to be observed. There will be church services for the local residents. Tourism is strongly discouraged.” Layla Darwish: Most average Americans doesn’t even know Christmas is cancelled in Bethlehem.

Christ Incarnates
Christ always comes
that is the promise

That is what I said
when I took my ordination question
I said that I believe that
Christ will come
and every knee shall bow

And someone stood and asked me
How?

Aren’t you worried about Universalism
(Worried that Jesus might save everyone??
HA!)

And I said
I don’t know
It is not my job to understand it

Just to believe it
and to declare the good news

That even in the midst of war
and rubble
and horrific devastation
where humans dehumanize one another
Christ
will keep his promise

I believe that somehow
Christ is still with us
and will be incarnate
for everyone

Because the Bible says
Good News for All People
All people will stream
Every Knee shall bow

I did not see any asterisks
or footnotes

I did not see any guns
or calls for coercion
or force

Last I saw
Jesus said to kneel
to one another
And wash each other’s feet

(I have suspicions about
this is why we will be kneeling
to be besides the Christ
who is already kneeling
to serve us)

But right now
I am just hanging on to
the faith
that Jesus is here
And Coming

Because it’s not my job
to bring Jesus

Or to bring anyone to him
God has already done all of that work

Jesus is coming
Hear the Good News
Alleluia,
Amen.

Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Advent Day 8 Silence & Noise

I like to think about
How Jesus was all about
the in-betweens

Because Jesus got
that some days
You wanted to be
in the the middle
of the racous noise

And others
the stillness
is what feeds
your soul

I remember the moment
in the pandemic
when all the introverts needed people
And I know there are many times
When I, and extrovert, was surrounded
by my family’s devices, and craved an empty house

The extremity can feel so holy can it not?
Alone in a field looking at the stars?
In the middle of a crowd, feeling lost in the humanity?

I love that all of this is blessed
Yes, be loud!
Yes be quiet!

Go, find your people!
Go, be alone!

Is this not how God makes things holy?
By blessing who we are
what we need
And how we do it?

Feel free to share/adapt/use with credit to Katy Stenta “Katyandtheword” tweet by Amy Colleen

Tweet by Amy Colleen @sweistwrites
So many Christmas carols can be divided into two categories “Will You Be Quiet” and “Let’s Get Loud.”

“Shush! The Herald Angles Will Now Perform
Muteness (x)
Let All Mortal Flesh Please Can It
If You Would Shut Your Pie Hold for 5 Seconds You would Hear What I Hear
(2) The Loud Ones
Virtuous Believers, Let Me Hear you Say Yay!
Happiness to the Earth!
Small Child Banging on Percussive Instrument.
Hasten to the Hilltop and Give it To’em
TRUMPETS! AND! LATIN! CHRIST THE LORD

Advent Day 6 Sitting in the Dark of Advent

Dr. Wil Gaffney “I have come to appreciate Advent so much more without the light/dark binary. Rather, I see darkness as the generative space in which the light is conceived and form which it is born. Both holy, both life-giving.”

Out of the Deep
the dark
the womb
…….

Out of the Silence
the non-speaking
the I-don’t know what to say

~~I have so many things to say~~
~~but I know nothing will fix this~~
………………
………………
………………

~~When I sit in the Dark…..~~
………………
………………

~~When I have no words….~~
………………
………………

~~When I cannot generate anything else…~~
………………
………………

(the Nothingness)

………………

I remember…

Jesus came from this

Light,
Word,
Hope

Created from the Holy Rest,
Sabbath

………………

………………
~~In the midst of like circumstances~~
………………

………………

This is how God Conceives
a Savior for us

Holy
able to sit
in the dark
silence
nothingness
war….chaos….loneliness

And be unproductive

With us…..

holy, holy, holy
Amen

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Dr. Wil Gaffney and Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Advent Day 3

O Come thou mighty and find
Ways to scatter the powerful n proud
And show your strength through grace and mercy
And exalt those who are humble and meek.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Those Who Seek

O Come O Comrade Emmanuel: Magnificat Version v. 2