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Little Faiths

Given the last month has been about seeds and growing faith from the smallest things, today we lived through the cutting comment of Jesus: O ye of little faith. But even with his own words, Jesus makes that positive: from little things, big things grow and the little faith Peter had to step out the boat, even as he doubted, grew and grew, into the Apostle we call The Rock.

We used the contemporary reading below and there were lots of tiny 'faith's printed out on small pieces of paper and people were invited to cover the cross with them, a symbol of what little faiths together can do.

Rock 'n' Roll Easter

Heres a wee litany for Easter. For those who prepare worship this week, sometimes Easter comes before other stuff in holy week. So if you are in taht zone, this might help. If you have the luxury of just travelling day by day then ignore this until Sunday.  Add your own lines instead of the ones before to suit your own situation. At the end of each stanza a couple of rock and roll chords are played if you can get away with that and hopefuly you can. It is Easter afterall!

 

The birds sang
alleluias were freed
the disciples ran
dawn slipped in
the garden woke
the mountains quaked
the tomb rocked
and the stone rolled

light exploded
time held its breath
the women wept
the gardener spoke
the angels danced
the world woke
the tomb rocked
and the stone rolled

the stars rejoiced
the sun bowed
the spirit laughed
the water flowed
the bread broke
the wine shimmered
the tomb rocked
and the stone rolled

Zacchaeus winked
Mary cried
Bartimeaus saw
the leper danced
the prodigal came home
the lost sheep was found
the tomb rocked
and the stone rolled

mustard grew
the cripple walked
poor were blessed
peacemakers made peace
the storm calmed
cheeks were turned
the tomb rocked
and the stone rolled

the time is now
the place is here
the people are us
the word is spoken
the son is alive
the resurrection is true
the tomb rocks
and the stone rolls

The Lenten Ten

We have a wee songs of praise for Lent coming up a week on Sunday and instead of me choosing the hymns, it's pay-back time and I open the invitation to you all. There are other people who have been asked as well and my only control is to choose what we sing from that selection. I won't be there, personally so when the minister's away the church mice shall play or even pray and possibly sing too all the hymns I'll never choose.

So what about some lenten hymns. The choice is handed over to you, along with an explanation if you could (to give context to the hymn in this season). I hear hymns differently in Lent because the context is so different: wilderness, thinner place, leaner time, the light more fragile...

What would you like to choose?

If we can't fit them all in then we'll use then during other weeks too. But together, as a community, what songs must we gather round and be heard singing that speaks into the world (especially as we are going extinct according to today's news headlines - more on that another day)?

Be-attitude

I have this idea of telling the story of Jesus using the style of the beatitudes but it needs some helpful input. I've put a list of bits and bobs from Jesus life and look forward to your help in completeing each beatitude...! I've done the first one but do feel free to complete or add. Hopefully this piece of community liturgy will figure in the service on Sunday.

Blessed are the silenced
for you hear the cry of God

Blessed are you who make room at the table

Blessed are you who seek out the lost sheep

Blessed are you who touch the leper

Blessed are you who welcome home the prodigal

Blessed are you who break bread with the stranger

Blessed are you who baptise those who return

Blessed are you who overturn the tables

Blessed are you who heals on the Sabbath

Blessed are you who eats with tax collectors and sinners

Blessed are you who seeks company with the outcast and unclean

Blessed are you who makes friends with your enemy

Blessed are you who turns the other cheek

Blessed are you who loves your neighbour

 

 

Looking for the blessed

This Sunday we read the beatitudes. They cover a whole lot of people in this world, and all of us at one point in our lives have probably been at least one of them. They are very well known and kind of trip off the tongue too easily. Perhaps we can update them for our own contempoary situations. Want to have a go adding to them?

Blessed are the story-tellers for they speak the language of faith.

Blessed are the famished for they shall be first in the banquet of God

Blessed are the silent for they can hear the pain

Blessed are the Dalits for they shall have thrones in heaven

Water Pourer

A call to worship for Sunday

It is so little to hold all of heaven:
a drop of water
yet it holds the whole story of Jesus
the complete works of God
the entire covenant of creation

a drop
contains the full promise of God
to renew
the whole intent of God
to love
the full longing of God
to transform
and call us
into the world

come
let us worship
not the water
but the one who pours the water
generously -
Jesus Christ

Nice Wee Service

Just a quick blog to say that I thought today's wee service was great. Dinner Party style with lots of sweets being passed around all the time along with some chocolate covered brussel sprouts too but enough of that part.

Things I learned from todays service:

• Presbyterians will sit at the front (if tempted by sweeties)
• You can say more in half-an-hour than an hour
• Kindles make you feel like Jean Luc Picard from the USS Enterprise (make it so) especially when you use it for your notes instead of lots of sheets of  paper

Anything else anyone else learned?

 

Solstice

Happy solstice. Here's a wee bit from our liturgy where we asked people to light candles and take that light into the four corners of the church and push back the darkness.

This is the night of Solstice, the longest night of the year. Now darkness triumphs; and yet, gives way and changes into light. The breath of nature is suspended: all wait while the Empire of Night is brought down by the Infant Light. We watch for the coming of birth, when a Mother again gives birth to the what is more powerful than all the darkness, a new life make of light, one who is bringer of hope and the promise of light. We are awake in the night. We make ritual to bring in the light. We call the child from the womb of darkness.

We have four symbols gathered which we wish to move out to the four corners, symbols of promise, that call on the light;  symbols that we move in faith, trusting that as we move into the darkness, we take the light. The action brings the light.

As these are described they are moved to one of the corners:

Seeds: symbol of new birth, the hope to come of feasting and plenty once more

Swaddling bands: symbol of new birth, and one birth perhaps in particular

Ice candle: symbol of the melting away of the winter and warmth once more

Bible: Prophetic Words: symbol of the long hope, the gathering over time of the light and the promise and hope of its coming, now.

Simply, as and if you feel comfortable, take a candle or candles from the bowl in the centre and move into the darkness and place the light by any or each symbol: and take the light into the darkness: pull the world away from darkness by going there and bringing on the dawn once more.

Then we played the totally fabulous Sarah McLachlan's The First Noel/Mary Mary

Blue Christmas Service

There was a very wonderful moment that just caught me, tonight during our Blue Christmas Service after we had lit our candles. They were scattered across a few low tables, burning away. The music was playing (the stunningly fantastic Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong) and we turned out the overhead light. The only light was that of the candles, our memories...

'Let the light that comes from the memories of these loved ones guide us, and show us, there is nothing that separates us. It is one continuum. We are all in the great link. It is just we are at different places along it'

And so we were able to remember and made the right space for those we need to know are part of our Christmas even though they are gone from it physically.

Prepare ye the way

Six news headlines were printed across daily newspapers. Six people at the front lifted them and opened the newspaper at the appropriate verse. Each newspaper had one word of the phrase: PREPARE - THE - WAY - OF - THE – LORD.

Have you heard the news:

Get the news writers ready.
Rearrange their headlines
with words of hope and expectation

Get the economists excited.
Give them news of upturns and renewal
in people’s values rather than market value

Get the politicians lobbied.
Inform them it is time to measure
their new index of the nation’s gross national happiness

Get the poor prepared.
Invite them to find their place at table
and help themselves to a banquet shared with the rich

Get justice underway.
Get busy crushing the darkness
and countering the now exposed half-truths of those in power

Get the bread of life baked.
Get the wine of truth poured
and bring on the advent of God

Prepare ye
the way of the Lord