Liturgy w/communion for January 12, 2025 (Baptism of the Lord - C)

  Texts: Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Call to Worship
Like the soft whisper of a little child singing
to herself before anyone else in the house is awake,
ever so gently, God's voice cradles us
with songs of wonder and awe.
With the persistence of teenagers and young adults,
heady with the newfound freedom of questioning everything,
God's voice rumbles like a river through our lives,
sweeping away all the boundaries between us.
Like the grandpa who passes on the secret to his bread,
like the nana who teaches her grandkids how to drive,
God's voice is always reminding us
that we are precious, esteemed, beloved.

Prayer of the Day
When we baptize ourselves
in the frigid waters of fear,
     you come to gather us up,
     drying us off with grace,
     wrapping us in the warm,
     fluffy towel of the Spirit.

When our faith becomes
as threadbare as the
carpet beneath our feet,
     you come, your work boots on,
     your tool belt around your waist,
     building a new foundation for us,
          whistling, 'my hope is built
          on nothing less . . .'
When we worry that someone
else has taken our place in your heart,
you show us where our name is etched,
     so you can always feel us
     with every beat.

God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayers of joy to you,
even as we pray together saying,
 (The Lord's Prayer)


Call to Reconciliation
Broken? God promises to make us whole.  Lost? God promises to come and find us, gather us up, and bring us home. Confused about  tomorrow? God promises our future is grounded in love. Let us confess that, though we have heard the promises over and over, we have trouble believing them, as we pray together saying, 

Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
     We know what it is like to be singed by the flames of our lives, Holy God. We look for ourselves in all the wrong places - success, power, adulation. We carve our names in the granite walls of work, hoping we will be remembered when we are gone. We have gone through the waters of baptism, but live as if they have not changed us.
     We need to hear your sure word, 'do not fear,' Shaper of our lives. Our failures do not cause you to quit loving us, for you continue to claim us, gathering us up in your compassionate arms. In our baptism, we discover not the end, but the first step of our journey with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Silence is kept


Assurance of Pardon
God's words of comfort and restoration are more powerful than any foolishness, any mistakes, any sins we commit. This is good news: we are God's people!
Thanks be to God! By water and word, by the Spirit of God's redeeming grace, we are marked and sealed as God's beloved children. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication/Offering
We offer our gifts in recognition that we are baptized people, transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.  So, we will hold nothing back but will share our lives, our hearts, our energies, as well as our efforts, in ministry to the world around us.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the God of glory be with you!
And also with you!
People of God, offer your hearts to God.
We give them to the One who comes to redeem us.
Sing songs of praise and joy, Children of God.
We lift our voices to the One who journeys with us through the waters of baptism,
and who feeds us at the Table of hope.

With the water of baptism
reminding us of your love for us,
Voice of Heaven,
we lift our praises to you.
Before you breathed the Word
which tamed chaos,
you named us your children,
     heirs of all the goodness
     you desired for us.
You sang to us in Eden's fields,
inviting us to glorify you forever.
     Yet, we walked into the shadows
          of the world, leaving the songs behind us.
You persisted in your hopes for us,
knowing that where
     no life is anticipated,
      no hope is expected,
      no future is seen,
it is in those barren and desolate places
that you gather your children up
to carry us into your kingdom.

So, with angel choirs in every region,
with shepherds who caroled a homeless family,
with those who came home singing from exile,
we lift our voices in joy and hope:

Holy, holy, holy, Awesome Voice of life and hope.
All creation resounds with your wondrous love.
Hosanna in the highest!Blessed is the One who comes to be baptized
      with water and the Spirit.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Bearer of grace and Singer of truth.
When we lost our voice to sin,
     you sent your Word to teach us
     new songs of joy and praise.
When our feet became muddy
from playing in life's puddles,
     he stepped into the Jordan,
     so we might be cleansed of sin.
When our ears were filled
with the lies of the world,
     he spoke the truth of
     your everlasting hope for us.
When we were about to die,
     he came running to us,
     defeating sin and death,
          marking us as your own
          with the kiss of the Holy Spirit.

As we remember Christ's baptism,
as we recall his life and ministry,
as we follow him through death
into the resurrection of the new life,
we proclaim that mystery we call faith:

Baptized, Christ was called your Beloved;
dying, Christ was your heart broken for us;
risen to new life, Christ is the Voice which shatters all our fears;
coming to gather us up, Christ will bring us home to you.

Holy Spirit,
fill us with the bread of forgiveness
and with the cup of hope.
Flow through us like baptismal waters,
     so we might become
     a river of reconciliation.
Grant us your peace,
     so we might carry this gift to the world.
Set our hope on Christ,
      so we might build such hope
     in our neighbors and communities.

And when the river of time stops flowing,
when we gather as one around your Table,
we will join our voices as your children,
singing to God, Child, and Spirit,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

Sending
Baptized, we will go to share God's love with others.
We will welcome those the world rejects as our sisters and brothers.
Baptized, we will become the grace of our Lord Jesus.
We will share the waters of life with everyone we meet.
Baptized, we will become the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
We will be a community of justice, not judgment;
we will be a household of hope, not an exclusive club for just a few.

(c)  Thom M. Shuman

Liturgy w/communion for the Day of Epiphany

  Texts: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

Call to Worship
We gather wondering,
'Where will we find the Babe
born in Bethlehem?'
We will find the Babe
     in the laughter of children,
     in the wisdom of grandparents.
We gather asking,
'where will we find
the Child of Christmas?'
We will find the Child
     where the needy are gifted with hope,
     where the oppressed are set free.
We gather wanting to know,
'where will we find the Christ
who has come for us?'
We will find our Hope
     where fear is overwhelmed by grace,
     where hatred is overwhelmed by love,
     where all people are overwhelmed by joy.

Prayer of the Day
We have heard
of your grace,
Shaper of stars;
from those set free
     from injustice;
from our children
     who whisper of your joy;
from greeters
     of dawn's fresh start;
from late risers
     who listen to the stories
     of the needy.

We have heard
of your Light,
Bright Star of the morning:
which can illumine
     the shadows of our lives;
which can show
     the path to God's heart;
which can point the way
     to where we become
     servants of the gospel.

We have heard
of your promised peace,
Wisdom's Radiance:
that peace
     which can end war,
     as well as heal our hearts;
that peace
     which can conquer our fears,
     and flood us with faith;
that peace      which can enter our lives
     and overwhelm us with hope.

We have heard of you,
God in Community, Holy in One,
and will proclaim your glory to all,
even as we pray, saying,
(The Lord’s Prayer)

Call to Reconciliation
Why do we huddle in the shadowed corners of life, rather than running to the Light of life? Why do we love the wrong we do rather than grasping the good news offered to us? As we struggle with such questions, let us speak to God of all we have failed to do, seeking hope and grace as we pray,

Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
     We search for your light, Star Caster, but too often end up settling for the dimness of temptation. Our motives for seeking to find Christ are not always pure, for we expect him to fulfill our desires, rather than your hopes for us. We want the gifts of wealth, health, success, fulfillment, rather than those of servanthood, of compassion, of peace.      Forgive us, Shaper of our lives, that we are so foolish to put our needs ahead of your grace. Help us to be like those wise people of so long ago, who found hope, instead of a destination; who found grace, instead of gratitude; who found salvation, instead of a sign. As we journey with your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, fill us with the light of your joy and love.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
Up, on your feet! Grace has been poured into our hearts, love has flooded our souls, the light of hope shines in us.
This is the light which has come to all, the light we will carry and give to everyone we meet. Thanks be to God.  Amen.

 
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
May the gifts we offer bring food to the hungry, healing to the broken, community to the lonely, and hope to those who live in the shadows of our time.  In Jesus' name, we pray.  Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
People of Advent: the Lord be with you!
And also with you!
People of Christmas, lift up your hearts.
We lift our hearts overwhelmed with grace to the One who was born for us.
People of the Star, offer your songs of joy and thanksgiving to God.
We will sing our praises to the One
who has revealed glory and hope in the Babe of Bethlehem.

In that first moment, you spoke,
Radiant God,
     and the light of creation
     dispelled the thick darkness of chaos.
You whispered,
     and your glory filled the skies.
You sang,
     and the dust of the earth
     was shaped into your image,
as you breathed life into us.
We could have lived
in grace and peace with you
     for as long as the sun endures,
     for as long as the moon hangs in the night sky.
But we were tempted
by the sweet taste of sin,
     and overwhelmed with temptation's
      wealth of cheap gifts and thrills.
The prophets were sent
to tell of your gifts of joy and peace,
but we listened to the world's news
of success, power, achievement.
Finally, in that dark time of despair,
you sent Jesus,
your servant of salvation.

Therefore, we will join our voices
with the wise ones, as well as the foolish,
of every time and place
who forever sing of your grace:

Holy, holy, holy, God of bright dawns!
All creation renders tributes of praise to you.
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who saves the lives of the needy.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, God of redemption,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Overwhelmed with compassion,
he left the glory of heaven,
     to become a prisoner of sin,
          so we could be set free.
Overwhelmed with hope,
he entered death's house,
     to break its dark power forever.
Overwhelmed with love,
     he travelled another road,
     walking to Calvary,
          so we might run with joy
          into your waiting arms.

So, as we remember his birth,
as we prepare to journey with him this year,
we speak of that mystery called faith,
which is revealed to us through Christ:

Christ came, the morning star of love;
Christ died, the night star of salvation;
Christ arose, the radiant star of resurrection;
Christ will come again, the constellation of hope.

Holy One of stars and sinners,
send down your Spirit of hope
upon those gathered around this Table,
and on the gifts of the bread and the cup,
that they might make us 
your faithful and loving children.
Feed us with the bread of hope,
so when we leave,
we will travel another road,
     to defend the weak,
     to speak for the voiceless,
     to assist those cast aside.
Refresh us with the sweet nectar of grace,
so we, overwhelmed with joy,
would go forth
     to enter the houses
          of the strangers in our midst;
     to enter the despair
          of the lonely and forgotten;
     to enter the hearts
          of everyone we meet.

And when eternity's time begins
and we are gathered around your Table,
with friends and family we loved,
with those we ignored and mistreated,
with all our sisters and brothers of grace,
we will lift our songs of glad joy to you,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

Sending
Now, God sends us out by a different road.
So we may find those who have been left by the side of the world.
Now, Jesus walks with us down a different road.
So we may serve those who are lonely and frightened.
Now, the Spirit illumines a different road.
So we may take our sisters and brothers by the hand
to walk in wonder and grace.

(c) 2017 Thom M. Shuman

Liturgy w/communion for January 5, 2025 (Christmas 2 - C)

 Jeremiah 31:7-14;  Psalm 147:12-20; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:(1-9), 10-18

Call to Worship
However far we have wandered from God:
God comes to find us, and to gather us in generous love.
However broken we have become:
God comes to heal us, and make us whole in hope.
However empty our spirits may be:
God comes to feed us, until we are filled to the brim with grace.

Prayer of the Day
Mirror of Abba:
by light and word,
you come to us,
    so we can hear well enough
    to see your songs all around us.
Through grace and truth,
you teach us,
    so we come to know
    how graciousness is the gift
          we can offer to others.
In promise and hope,
you call us,
    trusting that we will
    accept the joy delivered to us
and count on the fulfillment
    of your dreams for us
    and for all creation.

All this we pray,
God in Community, Holy in One,
as we speak the words
Jesus teaches us to say together,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Our words, our actions, our silence may make it seem that we are on that path which only hurts others and harms us. But God has destined
us for healing, for hope, for joy. Let us pray to the One who loves us beyond compare. Please join me as we pray, saying,

Unison Prayer of Confession.
    In the winter of our lives, Tender God, our passion for following Jesus wilts in the chill of indifference.  We could walk in the light, but tiptoe through the shadows of missed chances. We could look for your glory in others, but gaze instead in the mirror of selfishness, seeing our desires staring back at us.  We could gather the broken of the world to our side, but hold them at arm's length from us.
    Forgive us, Redeeming Grace. Jesus was bringing life and hope to all people. With grace and truth, he calls us to follow. Filling us with peace, he gathers us up and brings us home to you, serving as our Brother, our Savior, our Friend.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
Grace upon grace; mercy upon mercy; hope upon hope: these are the gifts God pours out on us in this moment, and all the moments of our lives to come.
Thanks be to God! We are filled to overflowing with God's tender love and peace. We are forgiven! Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the God of new days be with you.
And also with you.
People of Christmas, lift up your hopes.
We lift them to the one who comes bringing new life to us.
People of hope, offer your thanksgiving to God.
Joy bubbles from our hearts, 

praises dance from our lips to our loving God.

Into the emptiness of chaos,
Blessing of Imagination,
the Word carried all your hopes,
scattering the seeds of goodness
    throughout the universe,
flinging light into the shadows of night,
    planting life in the watery deeps.
You offered us grace upon grace,
    tending to your garden with joy.
But we chose to dance
to the mourning dirges
    played for us by sin and death,
          shutting the doors of our hearts
          in your face.
Prophets came, singing your praises,
telling us of your hopes for us,
    but we would not listen
    to a single word they spoke.
So you sent Jesus to us,
to gather us from the far corners
of despair and loss,
to bring us home to you.

So with those in every place,
and with those through every time,
we join our voices singing to you:

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God of all creation!
Before the foundations of the world were poured,
    you prepared every blessing for us.
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the Word who comes to bear witness to you.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you in every moment, Joyous God,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, Light and Life.
In the beginning,
    he was your Word of creativity,
and at our end,
    he is your Word of hope.
He came among us,
    gifting us with grace and truth,
    whispering of your great love.
Though we rejected him,
he continued to embrace us,
    knowing we were destined for adoption,
    to be his sisters and brothers.
He carried your light
    into the shadowed recesses
    of our lives;
he was filled with
the emptiness of death,
    that we might receive
    the promise of the resurrection
into life with you forever.

As we begin this new year with hope,
we remember his promise to be with us always,
even as we tell of that mystery we call faith:

At the beginning, Christ was your imaginative Word;
at the right time, Christ was the Word of salvation;
at the end, Christ will be the Word of fulfillment.

As your Spirit rests upon
the gifts of the bread and the cup,
    we pray that you would fill us
    with every spiritual blessing.
As we taste of the life
in the Bread which strengthens us,
    we would be made aware
    of the hunger of our world -
          real, daily hunger for food
          as well as yearning for you -
    and go to bring everyone
          to the feast you offer.
As we drink the sweet
richness of your grace,
    we would reach out
    and take the hands of all
    who are despised and rejected,
          drawing them into your dance of life.
As we are filled at your feast,
    we would go to empty ourselves
    of pride and selfishness,
          as we humbly serve
          that great company of the broken.

And when all things
come to an end in your Word,
as we are gathered in the true Light,
sitting with our sisters and brothers
around the kitchen table
in that life we will have
with you forever,
we will join our voices
singing your praises through all eternity,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

Sending

Let us go to find all the wanderers,

so in finding them, we may gather them

in God's love.

Let us go to find the broken,

so in finding them, we may gather them

in the healing hope of Christ.

Let us go to find those whose

spirits are empty,

so in finding them, we may gather them

into the fullness of the Spirit's peace.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Liturgy w/communion for Holy Name of Jesus

 Texts: Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 8; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 2:15-21

Call to Worship

We come, in need of blessings;

we come, seeking closeness with God.

Let us go, to find our God.

We come, from the shadows of our lives, 

seeking light and hope.

Hurry, let us go to find the One we have heard about.

We come to God, seeking peace 

for our lives, for our world.

Come, let us go, believing the Word we have seen.

Prayer of the Day

Majestic God, 

we cannot begin to imagine you,

     yet you have made us in your image;

we wonder why you notice us,

     when we are surrounded by creation's glory;

we have been made stewards of life,

     and you choose to share your own with us.

Name above all names:

you call us 'sister' and 'brother'

     claiming us to share in your work;

exalted above all creation,

     you humbled yourself for our sake;

able to do all things,

     you choose to work through us.

Spirit of Grace:

when we look for majesty,

     you bring us to a manger;

when we yearn for glory,

     you hand us a mop;

when we want to exalt ourselves,

     you point us to the Cross.

God in Community, Holy in One,

we pray to you as Jesus has taught us,

Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation

We've been to the stable, and met the Babe.  But tomorrow, when we go back to work, or school - will others know where we have been?  Let us admit to God our reluctance to reflect transformed lives.

Unison Prayer of Confession
God of Bethlehem:
you bless us richly,
    forgive our reluctance to share;
you hold us close to your heart,
    forgive us for keeping others at arm's length;
you shine in the shadows of our soul,
    forgive us for not sharing the Light;
you lift us from where we have fallen,
    forgive us for not offering a helping hand;
you grace us with Joy,
    forgive us when we worship fear.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon

If we believe the songs of the angels, and have seen the Child in the manger, we must go out and tell others this good news.

We will go: glorifying God, praising the Lord, and confessing to everyone we meet how God has richly blessed us. Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

May God be with you.

And also with you.

People of God, lift up your hearts.

We lift them to our God.

Sisters and brothers of Christ, give thanks to our God.

We lift our songs of praise to the One who loves us.

We will indeed sing your praises,

God of Blessings,

creator of heaven and earth.

You brought forth all that is good and beautiful,

     so chaos could not keep hold of us.

You lifted up the dust of creation,

shaping it into your likeness,

     breathing your life into our lungs.

When we fell into sin,

you did not turn away from us,

     but kept your promises.

You sent prophets to remind us

of our covenant with you,

     but we continued to bow down

          to death's idols.

Finally, you sent your Beloved,

Jesus, the Babe of Bethlehem,

to become one of us,

so we could be made one with you.

So, we join our voices

with the angels in heaven and the beasts in the field,

with those who have gone before us,

and those who will follow,

glorifying you forever:

Holy, holy, holy are you, God of blessings.

All creation glorifies and praises you.

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who comes to redeem us.

Hosanna in the highest!

Holy are you, Shining God,

and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son.

Emptying himself of glory,

     we are filled with grace;

reviled and cursed by coarse humanity,

     he is given the Name above all names;

dying a criminal's death

and cast into death's cold arms,

     he is lifted to your Heart

          to rule over all creation.

As we come to this Table,

we speak of that mystery

we cannot explain:

Christ was obedient to God, even to death;

Christ was exalted by God, raised to new life;

Christ will be proclaimed by all as Lord and Savior.

Come, Spirit of Blessing

upon these gifts of the bread and cup,

and those who come to receive them.

As we bow to receive the Bread of Heaven,

     we would stoop to lift up the fallen;

as we bend to take the Cup,

     we would kneel to comfort your children;

as we worship you,

     we would serve your people.

Then, when all are gathered for your Feast in heaven,

we will sing our glory to you:

God in Community, Holy and One,

now and forever. Amen.

Blessing

The One who blesses you will keep you close:

we will go,
not keeping the blessing for ourselves, but to share it with others.

The One who is gracious to you, shines the Spirit upon you:

we will go,
to reflect the Light of Christ in gracious words and deeds.

The One who turns towards you gives you peace:

we will go, turning to everyone we meet, saying,
"The peace of God be with you."

(c) Thom M. Shuman