Call to Worship

(from a Native American interpretation of Psalm 23)

The GREAT FATHER above a SHEPHERD CHIEF is.
I am His and with Him I want not.

He throws out to me a rope,
and the name of the rope is love
and He draws me to where the grass is green
and the water is not dangerous,
and I eat and lie down and am satisfied.

Sometimes my heart is very weak and falls down
but He lifts me up again and draws me into a good road.
His name is WONDERFUL.
Some time, it may be very soon, it may be a long, long time,
He will draw me into a valley.
It is dark there, but I'll be afraid not,
for it is between those mountains
that the SHEPHERD CHIEF will meet me
and the hunger that I have in my heart all through life will be satisfied.

Sometimes he makes the love rope into a whip,
but afterwards, He gives a staff to lean upon.
He spreads a table before me with all kinds of foods.
He puts His hand upon my head and all the "tired" is gone.
My cup he fills till it runs over.
What I tell is true.
I lie not.

These roads that are "away ahead" will stay with me
through this life and after;
and afterwards, I will go to live in the Big Teepee
and sit down with the SHEPHERD CHIEF forever. Amen.

Adapted from “A Native American Interpretation of the 23rd Psalm,” https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/a-native-american-interpretation-of-the-23rd-psalm. This interpretation of Psalm 23 was taken down by Isabel Crawford, a late nineteenth-century Baptist missionary to the Kiowa Indians in Oklahoma. The interpretation is an English translation of the Native American sign language version of Psalm 23 that Crawford encountered among the Kiowa.

Call to Worship

Oh God, you are a mighty God! Nothing is as great as you. You overturn evil. You hand out justice and blessings. For you, the impossible is possible. You can even make those who died live again!

When you brought back Jesus from the dead, you did so to show us just how powerful you are and how much you love us. You sent the Good Shepherd to show us the way to please you. You sent the Good Shepherd to show us how to love one another. You returned him from the dead to show us that you forgive our cowardliness and cruelty. We know you expect more from us.

Continue to guide us, O Mighty God. Do not take your hand from us. Send into our lives people who are like angels to keep watch over us, to keep us from harming others or being harmed. Make us your angels. Make us one people with the entire world, united by the blood and love of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Written by Sherrie Dobbs Johnson, The Africana Worship Book Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), 65.

Prayer of Intercession

Lord, Have Mercy
(Psalm 23)

Jesus, you are the shepherd of us all. I pray that those who need you in this moment would not be found lacking. You lead them to calm waters, infusing them with new strength. You guide them on the path of justice for the sake of your name.

Although they pass through difficult and dark trials caused by evil forces, may they not be afraid because you are at their side and with them.

It is you who supplies all their needs, laying out a banquet for them, even when surrounded by their enemies, anointing them, continuing to fill them with your Holy Spirit so that they can know that your kindness and love follow them all the days of their lives, and in the house of Jehovah the Lord, they will live every day now and forever. Amen.

Written by Cláudio Carvalhaes, Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the Ends of the World,” (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2020), 154.

Prayer of Confession

Gentle Shepherd, You guide us in right paths, You lead us in the ways of righteousness, but we have allowed our anger, our rage, our greed, and at times even hate, to direct our paths. We have overreacted, we have taken more than our share, we have despised others that seem to have it all. Forgive us, God, for not following Your ways. Forgive us for not remembering that we are Your sheep, and You are our Shepherd. Forgive us when we have not listened for Your voice and instead have acted in the ways of the world. Guide us back to Your path, to loving You and loving our neighbors. Help us to unclench our fists and lend out our hands in hope and healing, forgiveness and love. In the name of Christ our Shepherd, we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd knows the sheep, and the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep so that the sheep may live. We are part of the flock, we are part of Christ’s body. In Christ, we find wholeness and restoration. Go forth and share this Good News. Amen.

Written by Rev. Mindi on her blog Rev-o-lution. Reposted at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/05/easter-4-confession-assurance.html.

Benediction

Remember this: the world will tell you the best response to suffering is to turn away. Yet the Guardian of our souls came near to our suffering and calls us to do the same. As you leave this place, how will you be a healing companion with your neighbors who are suffering, isolated, and struggling? May you go in peace to bring peace to all you meet. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2022.

Ritual of Healing for Isolation

So often, we think of rituals of healing as addressing specific physical or mental health challenges. The following healing ritual draws on “A Service of Healing I” from The United Methodist Book of Worship with a focus toward the healing of isolation in congregations and communities. Depending on the logistics of your space, consider whether you want to include anointing with oil with the laying on of hands as congregants come forward during the ritual. A blessing is included for both possibilities. Since this is a ritual for healing isolation, have two leaders—either clergy or laypersons—at each station so that more than one person is involved in the laying on of hands/blessing of each congregant. During the closing blessing, encourage congregants to hold hands with their neighbors in the pews or look at one another while reading the closing blessing as a way of embodying support and togetherness as healing antidotes to isolation.

Invitation to Healing

Beloved children of the Good Shepherd,
we come knowing that something is not right.
We live in a world that isolates us from one another,
that tells us it’s everyone out for themselves.
We feel forced to carry our burdens alone,
to not name what we need,
or to feel shame when we acknowledge our vulnerability.
We have been scattered not just from our Shepherd,
but from the flock.

And so, let us come together now
to seek God’s healing touch.
Let us gather in this space like a family
gathering around the table to bless one another
and reclaim our place in the flock
of Jesus Christ, our Shepherd and Guardian.

Prayer for Communal Healing

Healing God,
In the midst of our busy lives,
the stresses, burdens, and challenges
we face day in and day out,
we miss the silent wounds that we carry
from our lack of connection to one another.
Heal us, God, from disconnection and isolation.
Bind us together and build in us a community
of support and encouragement.
Help us be for one another the Body of Christ,
tending one another as we are tended by you.

Amen.

If you are not using oil, skip to Prayers for Healing.

Thanksgiving over the Oil

Merciful God,
We give thanks to you for the gift of oil.
As your apostles anointed many who were sick and healed them,
pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on this gift,
that in turning away from isolation and toward belonging as
family in Christ, the wounds of our disconnection may be healed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers for Healing

Invite congregants to come forward for anointing or laying on of hands at one of the stations provided. Include two people at each station. If possible, allow enough space for congregants to pray at the altar after receiving anointing or blessing.

Consider singing one or more of the following hymns as people come forward for anointing/blessing: “Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines,” (Worship and Song 3137); “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” (Psalms for All Seasons 23A, Glory to God 80); “O Christ, the Healer” (United Methodist Hymnal 265).

Prayer for Anointing

For each congregant receiving anointing, one person lays a hand on the congregant’s shoulder while the other anoints the individual, saying:

I anoint you with oil
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
May God heal your wounds of isolation so that you may find your home
in the love of God and the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Amen.

Prayer for Laying on of Hands

For each congregant who comes forward, each person at the station lays a hand on the individual’s shoulder, while one says:

We lay our hands on you
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
May God heal your wounds of isolation so that you may find your home
in the love of God and the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Amen.

Prayer after Anointing/Laying On of Hands

Once all who came forward have returned to their seats, invite congregants to either join hands or look one another in the eye as you say this prayer together.

Almighty God,
We pray that each of us may be comforted in our suffering
and made whole.
When we are afraid, give us courage to reach toward one another;
when we feel weak, grant us the strength to name our vulnerability;
when we are afflicted, help us persevere together;
when we are lost, show us how to offer one another hope;
when we are alone, move us to come alongside one another.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Adapted by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2022; from “A Service of Healing I” © Copyright 1992 UMPH. Thanksgiving and Communion © 1972 The Methodist Publishing House; © 1980, 1985, 1989, 1992 UMPH. Dismissal with Blessing, alt., from The Book of Offices and Services After the Usage of The Order of Saint Luke, Timothy J. Crouch, O.S.L. ed. and comp. Cleveland (OSL Publications) © 1988.