To forgive — Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Matthew 18:21-35 To forgive you will pass through the sea. You will leave much behind: what is owed, obligations, the heavy chains of your master anger. Just leave them. You will be tempted to turn back and fight but that is the slavery you are escaping, the lie of superior and inferior, the cruel economy […]

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Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day – 24 April

The Armenian Genocide began on April 24, 1915. ‘This was the first genocide of the 20th century, perpetrated by the Ottoman Government against members of their own nation. The genocide erased approximately 75% of the world’s Armenian population—approximately 1.5 million people.’ (source: VA News) ‘The wide-scale extermination and subsequent lack of accountability inspired Polish lawyer […]

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Stand in Wonder, Easter hymn — Jim Burklo, USA

Tune: Christ the Lord is Risen Today – Easter Hymn 7.7.7.7. At the dawn new life surprises, Alleluia From the darkness light arises, Alleluia See the stone is rolled away, Alleluia On this resurrection day, Alleluia Over death God’s love prevails, Alleluia Over all of our travails, Alleluia By no cross is it restrained, Alleluia […]

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Easter

What words express the mystery of the unknowable?  the beliefs that defy the rules of nature?  our faith? our doubt? What words enable the wordless to speak?  the deaf to understand? Dare we speak truth into this mystery?  exasperation?  doubt?  solid faith? Explore these Worship Words resources to find words for your worship experience on […]

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Grief Interrupted, prayer — David Long-Higgins, USA

A Grief Interrupted — an Easter Pondering, Plea, and Prayer Loving God, is it true That grief must always win Bearing down heavy In weight of what was Sucking out life’s breath At every turn of memory?   Must the upper hand always Be given to grief’s will and way Bringing tender tears In relentless […]

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Cafe Church, Open Table service — Standing firm in our faith

Open Table Worship Using inclusive language and imagery for intimate worship settings at which everyone is welcome and valued Theme:  Stand firm in our faith A complete worship service weaving together scripture, drama, reflection, conversation & communion Compiled & written by Ana Gobledale for Open Table This service is designed for a congregation gathered around […]

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Easter morning celebration — Cara Heafey, UK

This morning we celebrate that hope lives, that new life pushes up though the soil, green and strong, that warmth and light return with the sun as a new day dawns. This morning we celebrate that there is no darkness that love cannot reach, no tomb that love cannot break open, no depths from which […]

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Benediction of Questions — Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson, USA

Who are we? We are God’s beloved. Where are we going? To lunch, to the park, to our homes, to work and to school: out into God’s world. With what do we venture forth? With the illumination of hope, with the strength of community, with the love of Christ. With whom will we share it? […]

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Surprising Risings – David Long-Higgins, USA

Surprising Risings -An Ongoing Easter Prayer Resurrecting God, Continue Your surprising Rising against all odds Of everything that cages Or resists Your power To bear beauty and hope Resilience and relief. Let yesterday’s awe At Your amazing arrival Give way to the new bud Of today’s beginnings Ready to burst forth In something yet unseen By […]

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The Restlessness of Grief — Cara Heafey

Reflection for Easter Eve, ‘Holy’ Saturday The worst has happened. The disciples have fled. The cross stands bare. The tomb is sealed. Mary, dazed and exhausted by sorrow, fuggy with tears, makes her way to the grave. She doesn’t know what else to do with herself. Such is the restlessness of grief; when the wound […]

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Our dying, words of preparation — Cara Heafey

As we look back over the days we have lived May our hearts be filled with gratitude. We give thanks for each person and each moment that shaped our journey. Each brought us gifts; albeit some more welcome than others. We, too, have shaped the lives of others, in ways we may never know We […]

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We remember – the erasing of populations

This litany of remembrance and confession arises from an Armenian Genocide Remembrance Service in Dublin, Ireland.  Each year, sadly, current cases of  ethnic or racial cleansing and other atrocities are added. In our Modern Time…is it forgotten? Will the horrors of human devastation ever lead to peace? We persist in remembering, lest we forget.  We […]

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Contributors – Hymnists

Sing a joyful noise! Hymnists sharing their music through Worship Words, are committed to inclusive language and progressive theology.  Their work is copyright-free and available for free use in worship. Please acknowledge the artist.   Photo: Music Tree tapestry by Karen Ingleton, UK    

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Peter’s Easter, dramatic reading — Tod Gobledale, UK

Luke 24:36-38   (a version for today) While the disciples discuss the resurrection news, Jesus stands among them and says, ‘Peace be with you.’ Startled and terrified, they think they are seeing a ghost.  Jesus asks, ‘Why are you frightened and, why do doubts arise in your hearts?’ We join fearful Peter now to listen to […]

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Christening in Alabaster — Jim Burklo

Arising from Matthew 26: 6-13, Mark 14: 3-9, Luke 7: 36-50, John 12: 1-8 At a party, when a woman, without giving notice, anoints Jesus with perfumed oil, his fellow guests object to its expense, which could have been put to use serving the poor. But in that extravagant act, Jesus is made Christ, the […]

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Psalm for Lent — Duncan Wilson, UK

‘Shout as loud as you can’, says God. ‘Remind my people about their sins! Every day they come to worship, eager for my ways, wanting to follow my laws. It gives them pleasure, so they say. But then they complain, asking why they should fast when it produces no favours, as though I am ignoring […]

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Acceptance – Mary Magdalene monologue — Gobledales, UK

Meditation of Mary Magdalene By Tod& Ana Gobledale Those men, those disciples, they are not going to listen, I can tell you that now. They have always been suspicious of me. Right from the start, they wonder what Jesus thinks, getting mixed up with someone like me. I know what they will say, mark my […]

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Let there be light, Watched Word -- John Potter, UK

Psalm 19 Renewed — Duncan Wilson, UK

For a single voice or responsive reading The heavens are telling us about God’s glory! the whole universe shows us God’s handiwork. One day tells it to another, and night by night repeats it to the next and this without using words or signs or the sound of any voice. Yet their message has gone […]

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Vigil Against Gun Violence, Good Friday

Prepared by Washington Park United Church of Christ, Denver, Colorado Background “The Good Friday Vigil Against Gun Violence emerged out of what Denver experienced as the Summer of Violence in 1993, when there was a high incidence of gun deaths in the metro region. The staff of Washington Park United Church of Christ thought it […]

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Lenten feast & fast — Jim Burklo, USA

For Lent: Feast on simple pleasures, and fast from all that gets our bodies and souls out of balance. Feast on kindness, and fast from sarcasm. Feast on compassion, and fast from holding grudges. Feast on patience, and fast from anxiety. Feast on peace, and fast from stirring up needless conflict. Feast on acceptance, and […]

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World Day of Prayer 2024 – by Women of Palestine

World Day of Prayer is a global, ecumenical movement of Christian women joined together to observe a common day of prayer each year on the first Friday of March. There will be an in-person service near you. 2024 Theme:  I Beg You…Bear with One Another in Love, written by  Palestinian Christian women.  The resources include […]

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Africa Environment Day & Wangari Maathai Day, 3 March

The Africa Union combined Wangari Maathai Day and Africa Environment Day, in 2012.  Wangari Maathai Day ‘recognises the work and life of the late Professor Wangari Maathai who dedicated her life to promoting environmental conservation and sustainable development in Africa and was the first African Woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (2004), ‘for […]

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Red leaf floating on lake

Letting Go, moving into death – Cara Heafey

Our bodies are so fragile Our time here is so brief Our lives are but a single drop in the ocean of eternity And yet… We are known We are loved We are held May our fears about our death be transformed And may all our suffering be transfigured. May we discover, within ourselves, a […]

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Psalm 22 Renewed – Duncan Wilson, UK

To be read by a single voice or responsively If you are seeking to honour our God, bring your praise! Rejoice wherever you gather together, and as God’s children, show your appreciation. For God does not ignore the humble or push the downtrodden to one side. God sees how things are for them and answers […]

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Call to Journey together — Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson, USA

Come, people of God, Let us journey together! Through the uncertainty of the wilderness, Through the uncertainty of our questions, God goes with us: Around us, among us, and within us. Come, people of God: With our doubts, With our questions, With your apprehension and fears. Come, people of God! Let us seek, not a […]

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Black History Month

What words do we use to lift up the history of oppression, current struggles and future hopes? How is our language in worship shaped by race? What colours do we see as we speak the words of our faith? Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. -Psalm […]

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Lengthening Love, Lenten Prayer — David Long-Higgins, USA

O Holy One, Lengthen Your love In these Lenten days Increasing Your Light In every evolution Of the human heart In its daily discovery Of a gravitational pull To You who centres Everything and everyone Even as You radiate Into spaces cosmic And otherwise unknown Except by You. Let it illumine Every hidden corner Longingly […]

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Fat Tuesday Word Jazz – Jim Burklo, USA

Twixt twelve and thirty years, who was Jesus, we ask? The Bible says nothing worth taking to task. A square or a rounder? – we’re all left to wonder How hearty he partied, how much did he blunder? ‘Twas the night before forty long days and dark nights When Jesus went wandering way out of […]

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Racial Justice Sunday

Racial Justice Sunday UK is observed on the second Sunday of February. What is God’s dream? What is our dream today? What is God’s hope? What is our hope? What are we willing to change in our lives to make these dreams and hopes come true? How hard are we willing to persist and push […]

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LGBT+ worship resources

In honour of LGBT+ History Month… The resources listed below have been written specifically for worshipping communities intentionally created to provide safe and meaningful worship for the LGBT+ community and friends. Editor’s Note:  A primary purpose behind Worship Words is to provide worship resources usable by all people, providing inclusive language and religious imagery.  My […]

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Psalm 147, Call to Worship — Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson, USA

Adapted from Psalm 147 Praise God! Hallelujah! What joy to sing praises to God. God is gracious. God heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds. God numbers the stars, giving each a name. Downtrodden, oppressed, rejected, ignored? God will lift you up even as your oppressors experience the natural consequences of their injustice. Let us […]

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14 Questions: Stations of the Cross – Jim Burklo, USA

A tool to use while walking through Lent: the Stations of the Cross, responding to 14 questions from Jesus Ideas for using this tool during Lent: Idea: engage with the questions by contemplating them as Stations of the Cross.  Participants might be invited to write their reflections on papers and put them in baskets or […]

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Psalm 111, Call to Worship — Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson, UK

adapted from various translations Praise the Eternal One! Hallelujah! I will give thanks to God with my whole heart. Right here as this gathered community, let us voice our praise. God is gracious and merciful, full of loving compassion. The works of God are faithful and just. God liberates humanity — indeed all creation! God […]

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Holocaust Memorial Day, Yom HaShoah — 27 January

…lest we forget Observances around the World Different countries observe Holocaust Memorial Day on different days. Many countries have adopted 27 January, the date designated by the United Nations as International Holocaust Memorial Day. Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp, was liberated by Soviet troops on 27 January in 1945. The UK has adopted this date, […]

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Our Urgent Prayer – EcoCongregationScotland

Sustaining God, we pray with urgency for the leaders of our species and those with concern for our common home. Give to those who make decisions a freedom from the burdens of a past which have pushed us to this cliff-edge. Give a dawning vision of your offer of healing greater than the blocked horizon […]

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Breaking down barriers, prayer — Martin Johnstone, Scotland

God, who in Jesus, broke down all barriers, between people of different races rich and poor, male and female, Jew and Gentile, between heaven and earth, we worship you. God, at this time of heavy responsibility, as decisions about future relationships with our neighbouring nations are being taken, we pray for our leaders: that they […]

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On Children — Kahlil Gibran

While the reference to the Archer is masculine, it is easy to alter the text through omission and parallel word usage at the time of reading, informing the listeners of any changes. Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not […]

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