Fasting and Feasting Worship Theme

HOOK: Bring canned food to donate to a local food pantry…decorate the space with the canned food; Could also have Communion during this service as a way of feasting…thus Table set with bread/wine for the feasting aspect and maybe a box on the altar in which people could imagine placing the thing(s) from which they might want to fast.

THEME: Fasting and Feasting

SCRIPTURE: -Exodus 34:28; Neh 1:4; Isaiah 58:6; Dan 9:3; Mt 4:2; Lk 2:37; Acts 13:3; Acts 14:23

EXPERIENCE: *this is not mine…it was given to me and I do not know the name of the author

A Lenten Prayer
During Lent, let us…
Fast from judging others;
feast on the Christ within them.
Fast from emphasis on difference;
feast on the unity of life
Fast from apparent darkness;
feast on the reality of light.
Fast from thoughts of illness;
feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent;
feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
feast on optimism.
Fast from complaining;
feast on appreciation.
Fast from worry;
feast on trust in God’s Care.
Fast from unrelenting pressure;
feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from facts that depress;
feast on verities that uplift.
Fast from lethargy;
feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken;
feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow;
feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
feast on prayer that under-girds.

*Questions: (could be used for active discussion or quiet reflection during the service or Lenten journaling)

1. Name something of which she/he is too full or
something for which she/he hungers

2. What are your general reactions to the idea of fasting?

3. In realizing that fasting does not necessarily involve food, what are
something other items from which we can fast? Make a list (tv or at least a favorite show, cell phone, email, facebook/my space, smoking, etc)

4. What does it mean to hunger for God? Does fasting deepen your hunger for God or satiate your hunger? How?
5. Are there times when we hunger for God more than others? What are those times?
6. Does God hunger for us? If yes, in what ways? If no, why not?
7. When do we feast with God?

SENDING: “Do not take away the hunger of my soul or let me fill it with spiritual trifles, ready to hand, sweet to the taste, but good for only a moment’s satisfaction. Deepen my hunger . Enkindle my desire. Come to me in the longing in my heart, for in my emptiness you are present.” (God Hunger, John Kirvan, 33)

-By Becky Jones, Pastor

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year from your friends on the Northwest Ohio Association's Faith Formation Team!

Nature and Nurture Worship Theme

Trash in the Lancaster Theological Seminary's Chapel
from when a similar worship was done.

Hook: Have trash strewn about the worship space. Happy meals, magazines, coffee cups, Styrofoam packaging, etc.

Theme: Nature and Nurture. The theme will be one of environmental stewardship and taking care of the world God has created and has charged us with its care.

Scripture: There are many. The Fund for Christian Ecology has a great list of Scripture passages found in the link provided.

Experience: The experience is one of confession and seeking pardon. Walking into a trashed area will automatically unsettle your worshipers. Allow them to sit in it before cleaning it up (to be done IN worship, not after). Allow the trashed space to serve as a metaphor for our larger world and reality.

Sending: This prayer by William N Richards and James Richardson should be offered in closing:
Father God,
just as children spoil their presents,
so we abuse your good gifts to us.

We dump rubbish in the rivers,
we leave litter on the streets.
Our beaches are contaminated with oil.
The air is filled with fumes and smells.
Noisy machines and radios destroy our peace.
And so many of these things we allow in the name of progress.

Give us a great respect for the world you entrust to us,
so that by our greed and selfishness,
we do no destroy or spoil,
that which we could never have created for ourselves.
(from Prayers Encircling the World: An International Anthology. Westminster John Knox Press, page 80)

Sound and Silence Worship Theme

HOOK: Have as much noise as possible in the space…tv, radio, fan, etc during the opening…it will be difficult for people to hear and this is the point…slowly turn things off, 1 by 1 as you are talking until there is silence.

THEME: Sound and Silence. This theme seeks to help persons understand that God maybe found both in the sound and silence of our lives and that both are needed. Can balance be sought?

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 46.10; Psalm 98.4

EXPERIENCE: Once quiet, then lead centering prayer: “It seems that you must knock very loudly to catch my attention. Something else, someone else, anything else, anyone else has an easier time catching my ear. I am busy about many things when only one thing matters. Please knock again. Here in the silence of the morning/night I am listening. Speak, Divine, your servant is listening” (John Kirvan, God Hunger, 99).

Then for a period of time (30-45-60 minutes depending on length of service), sit in silence with a “break” every 10 minutes using a song or Scripture verse to intertwine both sound and silence in a sacred manner.

SENDING:
God of both sound and silence, fill us with a joyful noise when we are too silent and with your still small voice when life is too loud. Bless us this day and always with a way to find a balance of both sound and silence within our lives. Amen.

-By Becky Jones, Pastor

Lenten Lectionary and Worship Materials from Cathy Lawrence

Websites:

UnitedChurch of Christ- Samuel and Worship Ways

  Textweek.com

Resource and Liturgy Books: Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter by Orbis Books

Wendy Wright, The Rising, Living the Mysteries of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost

Robert E. Stowe, Anne McKinstry, Janet E. Powers, Donna Shaper, ed. Breathing New Life into Lent: A Collection of Creative Worship Resource

Ruth C. Duck, ed. Bread for the Journey, Resources for Worship

Ruth C. Duck, Maren C. Tirabassi, ed. Touch Holiness, Resources for Worship.

Blair Gilmer Meeks, Season of Ash and Fire, Prayers and Liturgies for Lent and Easter.

Maren C. Tirabassi, and Joan Jordan Grant, The Improbable Gift of Blessing, Prayers and Affirmations to Nurture the Spirit.

Maren C. Tirabassi &Maria I. Tirabassi, ed. Before the Amen, Creative Resources for Worship.

Dorothea McEwan, Pat Pinsent, Ianthe Pratt, Veronica Seddon, Ed. Making Liturgy, Creating Rituals for Worship and Life. There are sample liturgies for Maunday Thursday, The oils of suffering, The Seder Meal, and Easter.

Prayers: The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lent, Pamela C. Harris

Edward Hays , Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, A Personal Manual for Prayer and Ritual

Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace

Walter Brueggemann, Great Prayers of the Old Testament—
................................. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth
..……………………Prayers for a Privileged People Praying the Psalms, Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit

Elizabeth Robers & Elias Amidon, Life Prayers from Around the World.

Daily Devotionals Martin and Micah Marty, Our Hope for Years to Come- A page for each day that combines book of phenomenal photography of churches -intermingled with the words of familiar hymns.

Martin and Micah Marty, The Promise of Winter, Places Along the Way- A page for each day that also includes phenomenal photography of winter with scripture and words of reflection.

Martin and Micah Marty, Places Along the Way, Meditations on the Journey of Faith- a page for each day for fellow pilgrims of faith that also includes phenomenal photography, scripture and reflection.

Nouwen, Henri J.M., Show Me the Way

40-Day Journey with Joan Chittister, Beverly Lanzetta, Ed.

40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ron Klug, Ed.

40-Day Journey with Martin Luthe, Gracis M. Grindal, Ed.

40-Day Journey with Kathleen Norris, Kathryn Haueisen, Ed.

40-Day Journey with Parker J. Palmer, Harry F. French, Ed.
Poetry- These also provide great seeds for further meditation:
Ann Weems, Kneeling in Jerusalem

Ann Weems, From Advent’s Alleluia to Easter’s Morning Light

Additional Ideas for Lenten Programming

What Matters to You, Matters to Us, Engaging the Six Vital Themes of Our Faith, Sydney D.Fowler. This great book incorporates the history of the UCC throughout its vital themes.

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew also includes a study guide. You can purchase a CD that includes very old movie clips that depict the life of Jesus. This is great for seniors because the clips are quite dated.

Old and New Worship Theme

The Head of Christ by Warner Sallman

This worship will cover old and new ways to see Jesus.

What you will need: The Head of Christ by Warner Sallman and printouts showing art depicting many cultural depictions of Jesus (this link is a simple Google search of the same name).


Hook: In the center of your worship space, have the painting or printout of "The Head of Christ" by Warner Sallman displayed for all to see. Keep the other pictures hidden to be handed out later.

Theme: Old And New. The assumption is that while our traditions, creeds, and personal theologies of Jesus are truly great things, sometimes they can prevent us from seeing Jesus in new ways.

Scripture: Matthew 13:52 and Mark 2:21-22

Experience: A brief meditation will be given and then the other pictures are to be handed out.

My meditation would look like this but feel free to write your own:

Warner Sallman painted a picture that seems to be in every church. It's a picture of Jesus with light glowing around him. He looks stoic. He's familiar. He looks very white with European features. How does this make you feel? Have you seen it before? 

I do not mean to trash this painting, it's way better than I can do. I think it's a great painting, and when I see it I am reminded of my grandma and her faith she set for me. I do not want to imply that we throw it out, for our Matthew text stated that we are to "bring out the old and the new." I do think that this picture can become TOO comfortable and make Jesus too familiar to us and thus shield us from the radical life and relationship with him that he is inviting us all in. So tonight let's look at some depictions of Jesus that aren't so familiar to us. Let us discuss how these make us feel and what impact it may have on our relationship with Christ.

Questions to help stimulate discussion: Which images affirm your understanding of Jesus and his life? Which images challenge your understanding of Jesus? What about your understanding of Jesus still surprises you, pushes you, invites you out of your comfort zone?


Sending: Offer a prayer about recommitting yourselves to walking the path that Jesus has set before you. Covenant with God to help you continue to see the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus as a radical challenge to journey in faith. Then offer the following benediction:
May you depart knowing the invitation of God, to move
- from comfort to insecurity
- from what we know to what we have yet to discover
- from where we have been to where we have yet to go
- from safety to a place of risk
Go in the example of the saints before you, the Israelites in the wilderness, Paul blind in Damascus waiting for Ananias. Go in the name of Jesus, our Christ, who said ‘follow me’ without saying where he was going just promising transformation and relationship with the Triune God along the way. AMEN.