Call to Worship

Beloved, let us worship God!
Let us give praise to God, the one who rides upon the clouds!

Parent to orphans and Protector of widows,
God gives the desolate a home and leads the imprisoned into prosperity.

As God led the Israelites through the wilderness and provided for them,
we too find our dwelling in God’s goodness and provision.

The Rider in the heavens speaks throughout creation;
We gather to listen and ascribe power to God!

Awesome is God in the sanctuary of creation!
Blessed be God! Amen.

Adapted from Psalm 68 NRSVUE by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2022.

Prayer of Confession

God, we confess that we rarely recognize the Holy Spirit at work, even when She smacks us in the face. Worse yet, even when we do recognize this work of the Spirit, we don’t acknowledge that it is you at work in our lives and in the world.

This week, you sent angels to watch over us. We barely uttered our thanks. We hurried on our way. Forgive us our inattentiveness and reluctance to credit you loudly and joyously. Teach us to tell our children and our children’s children of your goodness. Teach us to tell our parents of your goodness. Teach us to tell even the supermarket clerk of your goodness!

We long to hear the good news of the resurrecting love of Christ Jesus. Still our hearts long enough for us to hear that you are with us. Amen.

Written by Sherrie Dobbs Johnson, The Africana Worship Book Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), 143.

Prayers of the People

In preparation for this communal prayer practice, gather notecards to give congregants as they arrive for worship. Alternatively, provide a flat glass marble or other stone-like object for each in-person congregant. In addition, prepare a station(s) with a basket(s) at the altar and/or front of the sanctuary. For congregants participating online, invite them to find a piece of paper, stone, or other similar items wherever they are located, as well as a basket or bowl.

Consider using one of the following hymns to invite congregants into communal prayer: “Cares Chorus” (The Faith We Sing 2215); “When We Are Called to Sing Your Praise” (The Faith We Sing 2216, verses 1-2 only); “Woza Nomthwalo Wakho/Come, Bring Your Burdens To God” (In the song collection We Walk His Way by John Bell).

Beloved, when we pray together, we open ourselves to God, acknowledging our joys, thanksgivings, challenges, and anxieties. In return, God opens to us the pathways of divine love, inviting us to practice and grow in our resurrection life through communion with the Triune God and one another. Today, you are invited to embody the practice of casting our cares on God, for as 1 Peter says, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” Hold your notecard/marble in your hand. As I name petitions, write down/reflect on your cares and anxieties as you feel led. Let us pray.

Merciful God,
We come to this space today weighed down, weary, and in need of your tending. As we search our hearts, we lift up these petitions to you.

We lift up the spaces in our lives where we feel like we are walking through fire, beset on each side with seemingly nowhere to turn for relief.

Time for silent reflection.

We lift up the relationships in our lives marked by strife and unkindness with seemingly no possibility of peace.

Time for silent reflection.

We lift up the worries that haunt us and keep us up at night with seemingly no solution or resolution.

Time for silent reflection.

We lift up the burdens we bear and the struggle of carrying heavy responsibilities with seemingly no opportunity for rest.

In the silence, we lift up all these troubles and more that loom large before us.

Time for silent reflection.

As we lift up these struggles to God, we also cast them down before God’s feet, trusting in God’s care for us. As you feel led, come place your notecard/marble in one of the baskets at the altar/front, or, if you are joining us online, in a basket or bowl in your space.

Congregants bring their notecard/marble forward. Consider having music softly playing or singing a simple, prayerful chorus during this time. After all who feel led have come forward, say:

Let us pray.

God who loves us and cares for us, grant us the peace of knowing that in all our stresses, hardships, and responsibilities, we are not alone. You are with us. Grow our trust in your care, that we might first turn not to ourselves but to you. Reorient our lives so that in difficult times we would move toward joy in the deep remembering of all you have done, are doing, and will do for us, your Easter people. Amen.

If you opened this time of prayer with one of the hymns suggested above, reprise the hymn here. If you used “When We Are Called to Sing Your Praise,” sing verse 3 here.

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

Benediction

Easter people, God has done great things for you! Go, now, carrying the story of God’s work in your lives that in all things, good and difficult, you can ask with confidence, “How will God show up now?” knowing all the while that God will, indeed, take all our caring and point us toward joy. Amen.

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