BY LINDSEY BAYNHAM, KACHAEL J, MICHAEL PARKER, VALERIE BOYER, CURRY F. BUTLER & NICOLAS “NYK P” PETTYE

IN YOU WE FIND REST

A Call to Worship based on Mark 4:35-41
(Lindsey Baynham)

Many voices: Today we are drenched with worry.
One voice: But God, you embrace our water-logged anxiety.
Many voices: We come for “me,” and, by your grace, worship as “we.”
One voice: Your attention to our storms and your fearlessness in their midst provides a healing salve.
Many voices: So, let the waves come, because in you, our raging waters find rest. Amen.

WE PREVAILED AGAINST THE WIND

A Call to Worship Inspired by Mark 4:35-41
(Kachael J)

A.
UNISON:
The wind blew this week.
It knocked me off balance
Disrupted my deep days and
Commandeered my nights.
The wind blew this week.
It stole my finances
Battled my peace
And infected my health.
Did you hear how it howled?
Did you see the waste it left behind?
Speak to the wind
Rebuke the storm, LORD
Calm our souls.

B.
PEOPLE: We fought back the sleep
LEADER: PEACE BE STILL
We awoke the house
PEACE BE STILL
We dressed and we ate
PEACE BE STILL
We navigated the traffic
PEACE BE STILL
ALL:
We greeted and we fellowshipped
Still us now in this, YOUR Holy place.

JESUS IS CALLING US

A Call to Worship for Mark 4:35-41
(Michael Parker)

Leader: Do you hear it? Jesus is calling us, inviting us to journey with him.

People: Count us in! With us we bring our joys and fears,
our victories and defeats, our celebrations, and our sorrows.

Leader: Jesus is calling us, inviting us to journey with him,
even in the face of life’s strong winds and unexpected storms.

People: With us we bring our voice and song,
both of which are familiar to his ears.
When we call, when we shout, when we yell, when we cry,
when we sing, when we don’t know what to do, he hears us!

Leader: Jesus is calling us, inviting us to journey with him,
him whose ears are attuned to the voices of his Beloved!

People: His power is great! His voice is strong!
His actions are life-changing! He’s just all that!

Leader: Everything - pain, loss, unemployment, heartbreak,
sickness, abandonment, isolation, abuse, evil – it all stops at his command.

All: And so, as grateful people, we who belong to God,
we praise the one who brings peace to our lives,
and we gather as the grateful, alongside brothers and sisters,
neighbors and friends, pew warmers and pulpit rockers.
We gather to rejoice and bear witness to him, who has done this for us!

WE COME TO YOU SEEKING FAITH

A Pastoral Prayer based on Mark 4:35-41
(Lindsey Baynham)

Calmer of seas and restorer of lost faith, we come to you seeking faith that would move mountains -- faith that is the size of a microscopic seed. Too often, we go through our journey of faith complacent with the way things are, fearful to leave what we know in order to trust you more. Yes, sometimes taking the first step is the hardest: when the boat is rickety, the waves are violent, and our crew is not the one we would have chosen for this voyage. But ironically, in the eye of the storm is where the calm lies. Speak into our storms. Calm our irrational fears, so that with clear eyes we can see beyond ourselves. Unite us in crisis, so that our actions will truly be communal. Continue to invite us to cross to the other side because we know that, in following, we move into deeper relationship with you. We pray in awe and wonder of the Christ whose words continue to be a force to be reckoned with. Amen.

PEACE BE STILL

A Prayer Litany, Inspired by Mark 4:35-41
(Valerie Boyer)

Leader: The winds of life’s terror and wave-storms of my reality are about to drown me!
People: Peace be STILL.

Leader: Splashes of disappointment, pain, fear, and guilt have entered our boat,
And I thought you were present. It doesn’t feel like it.
People: Peace BE still.

Leader: Your rest contradicts my restlessness, and I am shaken up.
How are you in this boat with me, and yet I can’t feel you?
People: PEACE be still.

Leader: You calmed the winds and the waves in the moments of our despair.
People: PEACE BE STILL!

Leader: I doubted you, but instead of condemning me, you proved yourself to me.
People: Our doubts are beneath you; our fears are not above you,
Our storms may all surround you, and still they answer to your word.
Teach us how to be peace. Teach us how to be. Teach us how to be still. Peace be still.

HE TOUCHED ME

A Dramatic Monologue Inspired by Mark 4:35-41
(Curry F. Butler)

I was just doing what I do. Well, yeah, I scare people because of the devastation that I sometimes bring, but it’s all a part of the job I ain’t trying to hurt nobody. I’m just doing what I was created to do.

I am a storm, and on this day, I was no ordinary storm . . . I was the perfect storm. I have been working on this for years. I finally got the right wind-to-sea ratio down. You should have seen those beautiful waves crashing against the ship. Then I turned out the lights, and darkness covered the sky. It was so dark that you could feel it. Those wimps on the boat got really scared. They were so scared that they went and woke up this man named Jesus.

What did they do that for?

This marked the beginning of my worries. He stood atop the deck and touched me. I’ve never been touched before, but he touched me; and all of a sudden, the winds started to calm down; and because the winds calmed down, the sea calmed down. My perfect storm was demolished all because he touched me.

And get this…he didn’t even touch me with his hands…he touched me with his words. I shall never forget those words. ‘Til this day I cringe at the very thought of those words.

He said, “Peace Be Still.”

LORD, WE KNOW THAT YOU ARE WITH US

A Litany based on Mark 4:35-41
(Nicolas “nYk p” Pettye)

Leader: When the storms of life are raging,
People: Lord, we know that you are with us.

Leader: As we all are maturing and aging,
People: Lord, we know that you are with us.

Leader: Even when you seem to be sleeping,
People: Lord, we know that you are with us.

Leader: When your silence begets our weeping,
People: Lord, we know that you are with us.

Leader: When the tempests of life toss us to and fro,
People: Lord, we know that you are with us.

Leader: This one thing we will always know…
People: Lord, we know that you are with us.

Leader: We know that you can calm the storm.
People: Lord, we know that you are with us.

Leader: Even when winds blow, your hands can keep us warm.
All: Lord, we know that you are with us.

GO, MAKE THE WIND AND THE SEA OBEY GOD

A Sending, Inspired by Mark 4:35-41
(Curry F. Butler)

Now let us go out into the world with the same rebellious spirit that dares to defy the laws of nature by speaking to a storm; the same revolutionary mind that called peace out of chaos; and the same radical actions that made the wind and the sea obey.

SURROUNDED BY THE STEADYING LOVE OF GOD

A Benediction based on 1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49
(Lindsey Baynham)

Go from this place surrounded by the steadying love of God, so that in the face of trial, adversaries, and bullies, you will remember that the Lord who has redeemed you every time before, will do so again. Go in strength and faith to serve God.

Rev. Lindsey Baynham is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church currently serving as the Director of Clergy Excellence in the Virginia Annual Conference. This proud alumna of Randolph-Macon College and Duke Divinity School has a passion for worship design, preaching and teaching, laughter over a meal with friends, and connecting folks.

Valerie Boyer was born and raised in Galveston, Texas, the home of Juneteenth, curated at Howard University, with journey to Detroit, Michigan, and now Columbus, Ohio. Valerie has embraced life through the lenses of preaching, praying, poetry, and activism, working to make a difference in different pockets of the world, one person at a time.

Rev. Curry F. Butler, Jr. is an ordained deacon in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Currently, Rev. Butler is completing his Doctor of Ministry degree at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Kachael J was a voracious reader growing up, and she enjoys exploring new worlds through literature. A researcher by training and a worshiper at heart, she desires to see people and communities raised, repaired, and restored by the power of the Holy Spirit and preaching of the gospel. Using one of her hobbies, video editing, Kachael creates videos to encourage and help others in their faith walk. The daughter of a United Methodist ordained elder and a native of Atlanta, Georgia, she currently resides in the Atlanta Metro area and works in commercial real estate.

Rev. Michael Parker is a provisional elder in the United Methodist Church, and he pastors Bells United Methodist Church and United Methodist Church of the Redeemer in Prince George's County, Maryland. Rev. Parker is pursuing a DMin at St. Mary’s Seminary and the University in Baltimore. He has been a consistent voice for the voiceless.

Nicolas Pettye is a graduate of Paine College and is currently a student of Gammon Theological Seminary. He is a member of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Augusta, Georgia. He aspires to continue using his musical and creative gifts for the edification of the church after graduating from seminary.