Worship....where and when and how? With who?
Winter life in Indiana can be....unpredictable! One year, there might be the tiniest bit of winter arrive. The next year a deluge of snow, or hail,...or rain. Or rain and ice. And sometimes this unpredictable weather arrives on a Sunday morning or late Saturday night. So, Trinity Parish has developed a special worship life for these occasions. Here is the place to come to worship when we can not come together to worship, because of the rain or ice or snow.
Snow and Ice (Dec 2016 edition)
so, it's happened again...iced out of worship together in one place. We offer these images and words and sounds as a way for us to gather together around Christ, in worship. May you be warmed and God be blessed by it all.
T'was the night before Sunday
T’was the night before Sunday and all thru the town,
There was not one car driving, as the rain settled down.
The elders had worried of ice and cracked bones,
So the call went out, to worship in our homes.
The services were cancelled, the parties on hold,
Waiting and warming for fierce storms to unfold.
The sun rose so slowly that cold Sabbath morn,
As wind drove the temperature down below norm.
The sky it was gray, the sidewalks were slick.
All wondered silently, is this the world God would pick,
To come to and enter from heaven on high,
And bless with deep peace from a baby’s wee sigh?
But this is the world God entered and lived in.
YES, this is the one with its disasters and sin.
This is the world that God called into being,
It’s the world that heard angels fantastic singing.
For, though the sun reluctantly rises today,
The Spirit is busy preparing the way.
Preparing for truth and for life and for love,
Preparing for below to look like above.
For ever and eons the same story unfolds,
Of people and creatures, both timid and bold,
Who have wandered and gathered as if pulled by string,
To witness a glorious, mysterious, unbelievable thing.
The mother was there, of course she must be.
The father was too, where else would he be?
But others who gathered that night now long passed,
Would not be expected as part of the cast.
The invited shepherds, covered in sweat and in dung,
(if we speak of a ladder, they’re on the last rung).
But also, a band of wild angels filled the sky that night,
Like legions of soldiers on a battlefield, ready to fight.
There were foreigners, who slipped through the boarder
(ignoring the lying King and his vile fearsome order).
They kept watching and walking across the long journey,
For the honor of spending one moment with the child of Eternity.
Other strange visitors also came to this family.
The Dreams stopped by, warning of -calamity.
“Run, and run now,” the Dreamers shouted clear,
“There are forces that strive to slay the babe with spear.”
I’ve never heard of a guest book left for our viewing,
There’s no surveillance photo of those who stood queuing.
But I wonder, who else was there, that long-ago night?
Maybe cattle, surely lambs hungrily took in the sight.
Were there children and workers and musicians huddled there?
Drifters and addicts, families on their way home from the fair?
People drawn to this strange, awkward place,
where human form a mask disguising God’s face.
Were there others we can’t possibly imagine?
Mysteries of the holy plan I cannot fathom?
It’s cold and its blowing and our churches are chilly.
But the Spirit is stirring and the baby is willing.
Let’s join the long line of Unlikelies that are traveling today,
Who are drawn by the healing and love of this nativity’s sway.
With angels and shepherds and a mother heavy weighed,
And all those who long to be at the place where Christ is laid.
Be at home where God is when the sun breaks through the night,
Be safe even in the place where God is, but seems out of sight.
Right now, is the advent of God and right here is the manger,
Filled with a Light that is lit for every friend and for every stranger.
(W. Olson, 2016)
T’was the night before Sunday and all thru the town,
There was not one car driving, as the rain settled down.
The elders had worried of ice and cracked bones,
So the call went out, to worship in our homes.
The services were cancelled, the parties on hold,
Waiting and warming for fierce storms to unfold.
The sun rose so slowly that cold Sabbath morn,
As wind drove the temperature down below norm.
The sky it was gray, the sidewalks were slick.
All wondered silently, is this the world God would pick,
To come to and enter from heaven on high,
And bless with deep peace from a baby’s wee sigh?
But this is the world God entered and lived in.
YES, this is the one with its disasters and sin.
This is the world that God called into being,
It’s the world that heard angels fantastic singing.
For, though the sun reluctantly rises today,
The Spirit is busy preparing the way.
Preparing for truth and for life and for love,
Preparing for below to look like above.
For ever and eons the same story unfolds,
Of people and creatures, both timid and bold,
Who have wandered and gathered as if pulled by string,
To witness a glorious, mysterious, unbelievable thing.
The mother was there, of course she must be.
The father was too, where else would he be?
But others who gathered that night now long passed,
Would not be expected as part of the cast.
The invited shepherds, covered in sweat and in dung,
(if we speak of a ladder, they’re on the last rung).
But also, a band of wild angels filled the sky that night,
Like legions of soldiers on a battlefield, ready to fight.
There were foreigners, who slipped through the boarder
(ignoring the lying King and his vile fearsome order).
They kept watching and walking across the long journey,
For the honor of spending one moment with the child of Eternity.
Other strange visitors also came to this family.
The Dreams stopped by, warning of -calamity.
“Run, and run now,” the Dreamers shouted clear,
“There are forces that strive to slay the babe with spear.”
I’ve never heard of a guest book left for our viewing,
There’s no surveillance photo of those who stood queuing.
But I wonder, who else was there, that long-ago night?
Maybe cattle, surely lambs hungrily took in the sight.
Were there children and workers and musicians huddled there?
Drifters and addicts, families on their way home from the fair?
People drawn to this strange, awkward place,
where human form a mask disguising God’s face.
Were there others we can’t possibly imagine?
Mysteries of the holy plan I cannot fathom?
It’s cold and its blowing and our churches are chilly.
But the Spirit is stirring and the baby is willing.
Let’s join the long line of Unlikelies that are traveling today,
Who are drawn by the healing and love of this nativity’s sway.
With angels and shepherds and a mother heavy weighed,
And all those who long to be at the place where Christ is laid.
Be at home where God is when the sun breaks through the night,
Be safe even in the place where God is, but seems out of sight.
Right now, is the advent of God and right here is the manger,
Filled with a Light that is lit for every friend and for every stranger.
(W. Olson, 2016)
Snowy Sabbath (March 2015 edition)
As a light blanket of snow covers the county and all its roads, all its roofs, all its residents...may a light blanket of the Spirit cover us each - all our hopes, all our dreams, all our words, all our thoughts...all our lives.
"This is going to sound like a rerun but is, in fact, a new episode. At 3:30 am on Sunday March 2, 2014, before I even looked out the window - I heard the sound of drops falling from the sky; heavy, frozen drops. When next I looked out, at 7 am, there was a frosting of snow atop this thin cracker of ice. Not the 6 - 8 inches forecast....but still a hint of hazard. "
Those lines were the last thing I wrote on this site....a year ago (exactly) we canceled worship because of weather! On this day - March 1, 2015, we again canceled worship services of the Parish. The snow is still falling as I write this. Tiny cold flakes of snow blanket the streets and sidewalks and steps. So out of an abundance of caution - the elders and pastors decided to cancel services.
No organ. No communion. No offering.
Stay home. Stay warm. Stay safe.
But there will be worship!
Some prayers. Some scripture. Some singing. From right here (wherever "here" is for you) - we will join together in praise and worship of the God who is everywhere and always to be
praised.
To the God who brings snow to the mountain peaks
Who commands the heavens and shapes the winds;
hear our prayer and visit us with your glorious light.
Descend as the rains and the snows and the gleaming light
that feed the earth and all that grows upon it.
Descend upon us and feed us with your gleaming light,
that we may grow within it.
We wait in silence as you find your way to us...
to each place,
each home,
each heart,
each thought,
in every broken corner,
every lost hope,
every forgotten soul,
every weary sister & brother,
with every song of joy,
every prayer of faith,
every journey of love
every gift of compassion. Amen
Sing out - or sing in...but sing what ever way you've got!
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, God of love.
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!
Scripture reading....
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
18 Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. . Isaiah 1:16-20
Let's preach a sermon together, you and I and the Holy Spirit
Contemplate the snow -
watch it fall
follow one single flake as long as you can
watch flakes join together in their fall
consider the presence and power of tiny things
Contemplate the transformation -
watch as a twig or branch or part of the tree or sidewalk is covered in snow
watch as the change happens - as the shape and color of its nature is covered over
witness the remaking of the world
consider what it is to change and to be changed
Contemplate the promise of God - when we allow and obey
what needs a good, cleansing snow fall in your life
when will your Will be ready to bend to God's
how does it begin
TO DO list...
Go for a walk in the snow
Catch a snow flake on your tongue
Time how long it takes the falling snow to cover your shoulders
Call a friend and tell them what you see
Sit in the quiet and LISTEN
Prayer
This is a picture from a pottery shop Mark and I visited in North Carolina. The piece is, to me, a perfect rendition of prayers of praise; afloat in a pool of silvery wrapped goodness!
Sit in a prayer of joy. Unwrap a praise. Lift up a loved-one, a sick-one, a grieving-one....picture them kissed by Jesus' healing grace and love. Smile a prayer of thanksgiving for the quiet beauty of this day. Laugh a prayer of confidence in God's goodness. Crinkle up the cheeks of your soul and NEVER worry about wrinkles. Set the path for laugh lines to take over your life.
Lord, hear our prayer. Amen
"This is going to sound like a rerun but is, in fact, a new episode. At 3:30 am on Sunday March 2, 2014, before I even looked out the window - I heard the sound of drops falling from the sky; heavy, frozen drops. When next I looked out, at 7 am, there was a frosting of snow atop this thin cracker of ice. Not the 6 - 8 inches forecast....but still a hint of hazard. "
Those lines were the last thing I wrote on this site....a year ago (exactly) we canceled worship because of weather! On this day - March 1, 2015, we again canceled worship services of the Parish. The snow is still falling as I write this. Tiny cold flakes of snow blanket the streets and sidewalks and steps. So out of an abundance of caution - the elders and pastors decided to cancel services.
No organ. No communion. No offering.
Stay home. Stay warm. Stay safe.
But there will be worship!
Some prayers. Some scripture. Some singing. From right here (wherever "here" is for you) - we will join together in praise and worship of the God who is everywhere and always to be
praised.
To the God who brings snow to the mountain peaks
Who commands the heavens and shapes the winds;
hear our prayer and visit us with your glorious light.
Descend as the rains and the snows and the gleaming light
that feed the earth and all that grows upon it.
Descend upon us and feed us with your gleaming light,
that we may grow within it.
We wait in silence as you find your way to us...
to each place,
each home,
each heart,
each thought,
in every broken corner,
every lost hope,
every forgotten soul,
every weary sister & brother,
with every song of joy,
every prayer of faith,
every journey of love
every gift of compassion. Amen
Sing out - or sing in...but sing what ever way you've got!
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, God of love.
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!
Scripture reading....
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
18 Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. . Isaiah 1:16-20
Let's preach a sermon together, you and I and the Holy Spirit
Contemplate the snow -
watch it fall
follow one single flake as long as you can
watch flakes join together in their fall
consider the presence and power of tiny things
Contemplate the transformation -
watch as a twig or branch or part of the tree or sidewalk is covered in snow
watch as the change happens - as the shape and color of its nature is covered over
witness the remaking of the world
consider what it is to change and to be changed
Contemplate the promise of God - when we allow and obey
what needs a good, cleansing snow fall in your life
when will your Will be ready to bend to God's
how does it begin
TO DO list...
Go for a walk in the snow
Catch a snow flake on your tongue
Time how long it takes the falling snow to cover your shoulders
Call a friend and tell them what you see
Sit in the quiet and LISTEN
Prayer
This is a picture from a pottery shop Mark and I visited in North Carolina. The piece is, to me, a perfect rendition of prayers of praise; afloat in a pool of silvery wrapped goodness!
Sit in a prayer of joy. Unwrap a praise. Lift up a loved-one, a sick-one, a grieving-one....picture them kissed by Jesus' healing grace and love. Smile a prayer of thanksgiving for the quiet beauty of this day. Laugh a prayer of confidence in God's goodness. Crinkle up the cheeks of your soul and NEVER worry about wrinkles. Set the path for laugh lines to take over your life.
Lord, hear our prayer. Amen
another Snowy Sabbath (March 2014 edition)
This is going to sound like a rerun but is, in fact, a new episode. At 3:30 am on Sunday March 2, 2014, before I even looked out the window - I heard the sound of drops falling from the sky; heavy, frozen drops. When next I looked out, at 7 am, there was a frosting of snow atop this thin cracker of ice. Not the 6 - 8 inches forecast....but still a hint of hazard.
We knew this one was coming our way. We didn't know exactly what, but we knew that some kind of "weather event" would greet us, when what we really wanted was to greet each other and together greet God. And so, with regret, but caution, the Elders of the parish churches decided to cancel gathering for worship and opted for worshipping in our dispersed locations.
So again, we say, though not gathered in one place to worship, we can be together in worship of the One who is the place we find our deepest selves most fully at home.
Who ever you are, where ever you are...even when ever you are...join in the song of praise.
We pray that these words may help you to hear and receive and live the Word.
Psalm 42:1-5
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?"
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Call to Worship
Where can be seen the face of God?
Where can be felt the hand of God?
Where is there need for the peace of God?
Where can be taken the love of God?
Where is God now?
Opening Prayer Here and there and everywhere God – in brilliant constellations strewn across the sky. O Great Mystery – in hidden regions of the heart and of the atoms. Oh Boundless Other – who knows us by name and knows the number of hairs on our head and feathers on the wing. You behold us and we cannot contain you. We are made in your image yet we cannot draw your face. Oh great wild and loving Mystery – we come to bow before you and be warmed by the Light of your perfection. Hold us close as we ponder who you are and who we are in you. Be our compass to keep us headed in the right direction. In the name of Christ, our companion on the journey, we pray all things. Amen.
Join in song (# 263 in the blue hymnal)
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.
All laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
Call to Confession
Yes indeed, God is Mystery beyond our understanding; …but to this Mystery we add our own shadows that obscure the Light. Sometimes we trade in the truth of God for a more acceptable version of our own. We manipulate the mystery until it is more manageable. The seemingly good intentioned act of giving God a complimentary “makeover” is, actually, a sin. A sin that amuses us and confuses us. Be done with this manipulation and instead welcome God on God’s own terms.
Confession God, you call me to follow you, but I want to follow you to the place I tell you to lead me. Forgive me and help me to take your hand as you lead me out of the shadows and into what you have not yet shown me. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon The Lord says: Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. In the powerful grace of Jesus Christ the way before clear you is clear, the day before you is new. Walk as resurrection people.
Hear the Word
And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; God gave Joseph favor in the sight of the jail keeper. The jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners and whatever was done there, Joseph was the one who did it. The jailer did not worry about anything that was in Joseph's care, because the Lord was with him. (Genesis 39:20-23)
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell, what you own, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." Mark 10:21
Saturday evening, all day Saturday really, the forecast lingered as a vague but ominous presence. It was clear some sort of weather "event" was headed our way...but what? A simple dusting of snow or an inch of ice covered in 8 inches of snow?
That is where the decision needed to be made about whether (weather) to cancel worship or not. - in between what was said and what would actually happen - between the forecast and the cleared skies.
Joseph is in prison, falsely accused, and far from home. And that is where the Lord showed him steadfast love.
Remember how the story begins? Joseph is loved by his dad and has dreams foretelling greatness. We know how it ends. God saves the family, the nation, from starvation. But in verse 20 he is between that hint of greatness and the doxology of salvation.
That is where we spend a great deal of our lives. That is where we must make most of our choices - in between the hint of God's gifts and the doxology after unwrapping them.
What hint have you been given? What whisper of love and life and possibility have your heard?
What doxology awaits you? What great praise will you shout when you hold, securely in your hand, what you have been waiting for?
Right now we stand between those two. Between hint and doxology. This is where we make our choices. And, yes, this is where God shows us steadfast love.
Join in song
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Refrain
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
Refrain
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Refrain
We knew this one was coming our way. We didn't know exactly what, but we knew that some kind of "weather event" would greet us, when what we really wanted was to greet each other and together greet God. And so, with regret, but caution, the Elders of the parish churches decided to cancel gathering for worship and opted for worshipping in our dispersed locations.
So again, we say, though not gathered in one place to worship, we can be together in worship of the One who is the place we find our deepest selves most fully at home.
Who ever you are, where ever you are...even when ever you are...join in the song of praise.
We pray that these words may help you to hear and receive and live the Word.
Psalm 42:1-5
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?"
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Call to Worship
Where can be seen the face of God?
Where can be felt the hand of God?
Where is there need for the peace of God?
Where can be taken the love of God?
Where is God now?
Opening Prayer Here and there and everywhere God – in brilliant constellations strewn across the sky. O Great Mystery – in hidden regions of the heart and of the atoms. Oh Boundless Other – who knows us by name and knows the number of hairs on our head and feathers on the wing. You behold us and we cannot contain you. We are made in your image yet we cannot draw your face. Oh great wild and loving Mystery – we come to bow before you and be warmed by the Light of your perfection. Hold us close as we ponder who you are and who we are in you. Be our compass to keep us headed in the right direction. In the name of Christ, our companion on the journey, we pray all things. Amen.
Join in song (# 263 in the blue hymnal)
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.
All laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
Call to Confession
Yes indeed, God is Mystery beyond our understanding; …but to this Mystery we add our own shadows that obscure the Light. Sometimes we trade in the truth of God for a more acceptable version of our own. We manipulate the mystery until it is more manageable. The seemingly good intentioned act of giving God a complimentary “makeover” is, actually, a sin. A sin that amuses us and confuses us. Be done with this manipulation and instead welcome God on God’s own terms.
Confession God, you call me to follow you, but I want to follow you to the place I tell you to lead me. Forgive me and help me to take your hand as you lead me out of the shadows and into what you have not yet shown me. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon The Lord says: Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. In the powerful grace of Jesus Christ the way before clear you is clear, the day before you is new. Walk as resurrection people.
Hear the Word
And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; God gave Joseph favor in the sight of the jail keeper. The jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners and whatever was done there, Joseph was the one who did it. The jailer did not worry about anything that was in Joseph's care, because the Lord was with him. (Genesis 39:20-23)
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell, what you own, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." Mark 10:21
Saturday evening, all day Saturday really, the forecast lingered as a vague but ominous presence. It was clear some sort of weather "event" was headed our way...but what? A simple dusting of snow or an inch of ice covered in 8 inches of snow?
That is where the decision needed to be made about whether (weather) to cancel worship or not. - in between what was said and what would actually happen - between the forecast and the cleared skies.
Joseph is in prison, falsely accused, and far from home. And that is where the Lord showed him steadfast love.
Remember how the story begins? Joseph is loved by his dad and has dreams foretelling greatness. We know how it ends. God saves the family, the nation, from starvation. But in verse 20 he is between that hint of greatness and the doxology of salvation.
That is where we spend a great deal of our lives. That is where we must make most of our choices - in between the hint of God's gifts and the doxology after unwrapping them.
What hint have you been given? What whisper of love and life and possibility have your heard?
What doxology awaits you? What great praise will you shout when you hold, securely in your hand, what you have been waiting for?
Right now we stand between those two. Between hint and doxology. This is where we make our choices. And, yes, this is where God shows us steadfast love.
Join in song
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Refrain
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
Refrain
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Refrain
a snowy Sabbath (February 2014 edition)
At 10 pm, February 1, 2014 the rain that had been falling all day made a sly and silent shift to snow...pausing for only a few paces at sleet. By 6 am of Sunday 2/2, a full 6 inches of the fluffy white stuff had fallen on Montezuma. The temperature was 22 degrees. So, it was 6 inches of snow on top of the now frozen rain of the day before. With regret, but caution, the Elders of the parish churches decided to cancel gathering for worship and opted for worshiping together in our dispersed locations..ie. stay home and safe and warm to praise God. Though not gathered in one place to worship, we can be together in worship of the One who is the place we find our deepest selves most fully at home.
Who ever you are, where ever you are...even when ever you are...join in the song of praise.
We pray that these words may help you to hear and receive and live the Word.
On this snowy day, February 2, 2014, let us worship the Giver of Life.
Psalm 147, retold
Lift up your eyes Montezuma. Shout joy Rockville. Shake the tambourine Clinton.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
with your voice, through your hands.
God covers the sky with clouds; supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
God the Giver provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
Holy One does not take pleasure in the strength of the horse, nor delight in the legs of the warrior;
The Maker delights in those who are alert, pay attention and are gripped by God first,
those whose horizon is always this Holy and unfailing love.
Shout joy Rockville. Shake the tambourine Clinton. Lift up your eyes Montezuma.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
with your voice, through your hands.
God strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.
- grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
The Holy Host of heaven sends commands to the earth; the word runs swiftly.
Shake the tambourine Clinton. Lift up your eyes Montezuma. Shout joy Rockville.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
with your voice, through your hands.
God spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
The Lord hurls down hail like pebbles. Who can withstand this icy blast?
God sends the Word and melts them; stirs up breezes, and the waters flow.
God has revealed The word to Jacob and laws and decrees to Israel. Praise the LORD.
Trinity Parish – lift a song of praise to the heavens. Delight in what the Lord has brought you. Sing so that all of Vermilion County hears. Fill all the hollers of Parke County with a toe tapping tune of joy.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
With your voice, through your hands.
Invitation
A poem by Mary Oliver
Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy
and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles
for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,
or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air
as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine
and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude--
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,
do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.
It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.
— from Red Bird: Poems by Mary Oliver
published by Beacon Press
Join in Song… (#554 in blue hymnal)
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise.
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
God's banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished
As forward we travel from light into light.
His law he enforces, the stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a Song let us raise
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving:
"To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!"
Isaiah 55:10-13 a reading form the Word of God
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
Join in Song… (#442 in blue hymnal)
The Church’s One Foundation
The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her and for her life He died.
Elect from every nation, Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses, partakes one Holy Food,
And to one Hope she presses, with every grace endued.
’Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious shall be the Church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won,
With all her sons and daughters who, by the Master’s Hand
Led through the deathly waters, repose in Eden land.
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee:
There, past the border mountains, where in sweet vales the Bride
With Thee by living fountains forever shall abide! Amen
The Church On A Snowy Day
A single snow flake falls,
One perfect feathered crystal of water
dancing down the endless black of sky, it appears out of Nothing,
formed in perfect symmetry.
and lands on the sidewalk.
next to a red scarf dropped on the path.
There is another falling, landing flake
– from another corner of the sky,
doing another perfect dance of falling.
Across the street a flake falls.
One catches in the branch of the mighty limbed oak.
Sleep arrives while the single flake hangs in the tree.
During the hushed night,
absorbed in slumber…everyone dreaming, unaware, uninvolved,
flakes fall from the sky – each one coming to rest here and there.
When I wake this one and that one and the other one are, together, one blanket
covering everything.
Every corner, every branch, every inch of side walk. Even the mighty oak is covered.
The world is transformed into a seamless sight by
Single perfect snowflakes landing where they will, finally able to rest, as
one
blanket.
Wendy H. Olson, February 2, 2014
This is how I see it, out my window on a Sabbath morning, when we will not be together, but are very much together;
When we will not hear each other’s voices, but are very much heard;
Will not feel each other’s embrace, but are very much held.
God beyond the limits of Time. Space. Obstructions. Limited only by Love.
John 15: 9-14 a reading form the Word of God
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Pray for Oneanother
You may use this prayer guide as you pray for one another.
Pause wherever you feel led to. Add the names of those know.
As you pray, imagine your sisters and brothers of the Parish, who are also praying with you...maybe not beside you in the same place, but with you in the same grace.
God of righteousness - spread your wings over the earth,
enfold in a blanket of mercy, the suffering and those out in the cold
Reach into the places where tragedy rules,
Especially in the violence in Syria and the Congo and the tensions of Ukraine.
And those ….(add those you know who suffer)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Guide the leaders of families and communities and churches and nations and circles of friends –
in grace teach us, your people, to be Your heart, your love abundant.
Like snow in the wind, may we become a growing drift of love reaching higher than we can see over.
Build your church to be, by the Holy Spirit, a refuge in the storm and hope in darkness.
By your light, may we see that we can be light.
And those ….(add those you know who lead and influence others)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge In the shadow of your wings.
Merciful God, be with us all this day – wherever we are.
We know that we are all dying, but we lift to you those who feel closer to death, because of sickness, pain, fear, weakness, poverty or loneliness.
May they know health and wholeness and the truth of eternal Life.
And those ….(add those you know who are in need of healing)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Gracious and Holy One, we give thanks for all the blessings of this life;
being found, air and water, food and shelter, song and prayer…
And ….(add what your are thankful for)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge In the shadow of your wings.
Amen.
Matthew 28:1-7 a reading form the Word of God
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
The prayer Jesus taught…
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever.
Amen.
Where ever you are, where ever you go, who ever you are with…
May the love of God warm you
The grace of Christ blanket you
The presence of the Spirit shape you Amen.
Who ever you are, where ever you are...even when ever you are...join in the song of praise.
We pray that these words may help you to hear and receive and live the Word.
On this snowy day, February 2, 2014, let us worship the Giver of Life.
Psalm 147, retold
Lift up your eyes Montezuma. Shout joy Rockville. Shake the tambourine Clinton.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
with your voice, through your hands.
God covers the sky with clouds; supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
God the Giver provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
Holy One does not take pleasure in the strength of the horse, nor delight in the legs of the warrior;
The Maker delights in those who are alert, pay attention and are gripped by God first,
those whose horizon is always this Holy and unfailing love.
Shout joy Rockville. Shake the tambourine Clinton. Lift up your eyes Montezuma.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
with your voice, through your hands.
God strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.
- grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
The Holy Host of heaven sends commands to the earth; the word runs swiftly.
Shake the tambourine Clinton. Lift up your eyes Montezuma. Shout joy Rockville.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
with your voice, through your hands.
God spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
The Lord hurls down hail like pebbles. Who can withstand this icy blast?
God sends the Word and melts them; stirs up breezes, and the waters flow.
God has revealed The word to Jacob and laws and decrees to Israel. Praise the LORD.
Trinity Parish – lift a song of praise to the heavens. Delight in what the Lord has brought you. Sing so that all of Vermilion County hears. Fill all the hollers of Parke County with a toe tapping tune of joy.
Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp,
With your voice, through your hands.
Invitation
A poem by Mary Oliver
Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy
and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles
for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,
or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air
as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine
and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude--
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,
do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.
It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.
— from Red Bird: Poems by Mary Oliver
published by Beacon Press
Join in Song… (#554 in blue hymnal)
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise.
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
God's banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished
As forward we travel from light into light.
His law he enforces, the stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a Song let us raise
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving:
"To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!"
Isaiah 55:10-13 a reading form the Word of God
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
Join in Song… (#442 in blue hymnal)
The Church’s One Foundation
The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her and for her life He died.
Elect from every nation, Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses, partakes one Holy Food,
And to one Hope she presses, with every grace endued.
’Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious shall be the Church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won,
With all her sons and daughters who, by the Master’s Hand
Led through the deathly waters, repose in Eden land.
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee:
There, past the border mountains, where in sweet vales the Bride
With Thee by living fountains forever shall abide! Amen
The Church On A Snowy Day
A single snow flake falls,
One perfect feathered crystal of water
dancing down the endless black of sky, it appears out of Nothing,
formed in perfect symmetry.
and lands on the sidewalk.
next to a red scarf dropped on the path.
There is another falling, landing flake
– from another corner of the sky,
doing another perfect dance of falling.
Across the street a flake falls.
One catches in the branch of the mighty limbed oak.
Sleep arrives while the single flake hangs in the tree.
During the hushed night,
absorbed in slumber…everyone dreaming, unaware, uninvolved,
flakes fall from the sky – each one coming to rest here and there.
When I wake this one and that one and the other one are, together, one blanket
covering everything.
Every corner, every branch, every inch of side walk. Even the mighty oak is covered.
The world is transformed into a seamless sight by
Single perfect snowflakes landing where they will, finally able to rest, as
one
blanket.
Wendy H. Olson, February 2, 2014
This is how I see it, out my window on a Sabbath morning, when we will not be together, but are very much together;
When we will not hear each other’s voices, but are very much heard;
Will not feel each other’s embrace, but are very much held.
God beyond the limits of Time. Space. Obstructions. Limited only by Love.
John 15: 9-14 a reading form the Word of God
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Pray for Oneanother
You may use this prayer guide as you pray for one another.
Pause wherever you feel led to. Add the names of those know.
As you pray, imagine your sisters and brothers of the Parish, who are also praying with you...maybe not beside you in the same place, but with you in the same grace.
God of righteousness - spread your wings over the earth,
enfold in a blanket of mercy, the suffering and those out in the cold
Reach into the places where tragedy rules,
Especially in the violence in Syria and the Congo and the tensions of Ukraine.
And those ….(add those you know who suffer)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Guide the leaders of families and communities and churches and nations and circles of friends –
in grace teach us, your people, to be Your heart, your love abundant.
Like snow in the wind, may we become a growing drift of love reaching higher than we can see over.
Build your church to be, by the Holy Spirit, a refuge in the storm and hope in darkness.
By your light, may we see that we can be light.
And those ….(add those you know who lead and influence others)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge In the shadow of your wings.
Merciful God, be with us all this day – wherever we are.
We know that we are all dying, but we lift to you those who feel closer to death, because of sickness, pain, fear, weakness, poverty or loneliness.
May they know health and wholeness and the truth of eternal Life.
And those ….(add those you know who are in need of healing)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Gracious and Holy One, we give thanks for all the blessings of this life;
being found, air and water, food and shelter, song and prayer…
And ….(add what your are thankful for)
Precious is your love, O God.
May we take refuge In the shadow of your wings.
Amen.
Matthew 28:1-7 a reading form the Word of God
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
The prayer Jesus taught…
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever.
Amen.
Where ever you are, where ever you go, who ever you are with…
May the love of God warm you
The grace of Christ blanket you
The presence of the Spirit shape you Amen.
Worshiping in the beauty of the Earth, a photo & word story with commentary by Pastor Mark
Welcome... as followers of Christ, we are on a journey. Ours happens to have quite a few turns and changes in scenery! Some of them are behind us and have shaped who we are. Others are ahead of us and make us stretch our necks in anticipation of what is around the next corner. We invite you to explore these pages and share the road with us - we would love to share it with you!
As Ministers of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA), we embrace life, breathe deeply of the Spirit and marvel daily at the wonder of God. Have a look around.
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Then Jesus said "pick up your cross and follow me."