Setting Our Hope

BY ASHLEY JOHNSON

WE WILL DANCE

A Call to Worship based on 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Consider using before liturgical dance ministry

One: God is here. The Creator of the Universe is with us.
Many: So, we will dance.

One: God is here. God is on the move!
Many: So, we will dance, so that our children can see what we do when God is on the move.

One: Our backs are against the wall, but God is on our side.
Many: So, we will dance with all our might.

One: After all that we’ve been through, we still have joy.
Many: So, we will dance with great abandon.

One: We are a dancing people. Dancing in all seasons of life is in our very DNA. So, let’s dance our truth.
Many: We will dance in our homes. We will dance in our communities. We will dance in our churches. We will dance together.
All: We will dance!

TOO MUCH

A prayer based on Mark 6:14-29 that merges the thoughts of John the Baptist as his executioners approached with the social realities of being black in America

God.
All-knowing God?
All-powerful God?
When
will
this
Stop!

Our bodies, our flesh
seen as disposable.
Why can’t we live?
Why can’t we breathe?
Our bodies, our flesh has had to be both everything, and nothing.
Why can’t we just be?

Too much.

This life be too much.

No matter what we do,
they think that they have got to defend themselves against our children.

Our
children.

So, they kill our bodies.
They kill our flesh.
They don’t love our flesh.
They don’t love you.

(Silence, followed by an invitation to silent prayer or prayer at the altar)

DANCE

A closing based on 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19

These seasons of life can be marked by everything from an assurance of the faithful presence of God to frustration about the ways in which it feels like we’re stumbling instead of gracefully drawing nearer to God. But know that there will be days when your hesitant walk morphs into an at times brave prance and other times when your brave prance morphs into a joyous dance.

Truly, this is just the beginning. For as we learn to dance through life in partnership with God, we learn that this same dance will sometimes seem more like a much-needed hug, and at other times, a tussle. Know this. No matter what kind of dancing you find yourself doing, God is doing a major work in you!

Ashley Johnson is a proud alumna of Spelman College. She received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University and has enjoyed serving as an elementary school teacher for more than ten years. In 2017, Ashley graduated from BU’s School of Theology with an MTS. She is a provisional deacon in The United Methodist Church, and she currently serves at Union Church Boston.