This drama might be used for Thanksgiving (USA or Canada) or Harvest (UK). It is easily adapted for First Sunday in Lent, Year C, when the Deuteronomy passage appears in the Revised Standard Lectionary. Parts: Priest, Narrators 1&2, Israelites 1,2,3,4. Parts may be combined if fewer actors are available. The full script may be downloaded […]
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What gives us life? What sustains us? Using water as the focus, we gather and bless one another. Set up a large bowl in the centre of the worship space, or in the centre of each table. small glasses (or communion cups) partially filled with water — at each place or on a tray at […]
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Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. The text used comes primarily from the New Revised Version of the Bible. Storyteller (leader/narrator): Today’s Hebrew Bible reading is taken from the book of Genesis. We are reading from chapter 45, beginning with the first verse. Before we hear today’s reading, here is a recap … Today’s […]
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Storyteller (narrator): Today’s New Testament reading is a story of Jesus being moved from judgment to mercy. We are reading from Matthew chapter 15, beginning with verse 21. Mathew writes: Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region, came out and […]
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1 Timothy 6-12, 17-19 Luke 16:19-31 – the story of Lazarus and the rich man 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C This might be used as a way to enliven the scripture or as a sermon starter Script: We have two stories this morning. The first is from classical literature. See if you recognize it. […]
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What words can express the horrors of war? The atrocity of dropping an atom bomb on Hiroshima? Nagasaki? The complicity of citizens? The heart-wrenching desire to set things more right. The craving for forgiveness and atonement? Spirit of Peace, hear our prayer. ‘U.S. airman Matthew McGunigle photographed the Hiroshima blast. After the war, he entered […]
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Appropriate for sharing with the dying, at a funeral, crematorium service or at a memorial service O my God, fill our souls with holy joy, courage and strength to serve you. Enkindle your love in us and then walk with us along the next stretch of the road before us. We do […]
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This service of blessing and exorcism was created in direct response to a request of a terrorised and frightened neighbour at Mfanefile, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. It has been used, with slight modifications, in other homes in Mfanefile, South Africa; Plumtree, Zimbabwe; and London, United Kingdom. Home dwellers consider their residence to be ‘haunted’ or […]
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Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak… Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ —Genesis 32.24, 26 The angels you’ll have to wrestle with most often are no strangers: they’re your anger, fear, […]
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Based on Genesis 32.22-31 God, we come with praise and gratitude. Thank you for your word, for speaking to us anew today. In faith and trust, we open our ears and minds to you. We know you are with us in the rush of life. God, you see us as we truly are, with our […]
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Based on Genesis 1:1-2:4, The Message by Eugene Peterson -Arranged by Scott Ward, USA Lectionary: Trinity Sunday Year A, Epiphany Year B (Genesis 1:1-5), Easter Vigil Years A,B,C Downloads: full scripts, ready-to-print: (horizontal versions are easy for readers to hold) Heaven and Earth Choral Reading, Scott Ward WORD Heaven and Earth Choral Reading, Scott Ward PDF Heaven […]
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May be read responsively by many voices or with two voices. One: Every part of this earth is sacred, Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore. Every mist in the dark woods, All: Every clearing and humming insect is holy. One: The rocky crest, the juices of the meadow, the beasts and all the people, […]
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Inspired by Psalm 105 Lectionary for Year A: Proper 12, 14, 17 and 20 We remember your wonderful works and we give thanks We sing praises, we tell of your strength, your faithfulness, your holiness, and we ask, how do we bring glory to you? Your judgements are over all the earth. You are mindful […]
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What will it take to renew the earth? It will take people! What will it take to renew the earth? It will take…Prophet people who dare to lay bare the fallacies that bind and choke us even when we cannot hear their words or dream their dreams; It will take… Parent people who look […]
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This ready-to-use Café Church worship service weaves together scripture, a blessing liturgy, reflection, conversation & communion. It has been designed for worship around tables, but is easily adaptable to a more traditional setting. This complete service includes everything you need — an Order of Service to handout, leader script sheets, reader printouts, song suggestions, a […]
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Written for a Longest Night (21 December) service in Colorado, USA God is with us in our suffering, loving us, walking with us, comforting us. I do not believe God is the cause or author of such suffering, I do not believe God “allows” bad things to happen. I can’t imagine why God would “allow” […]
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Words to help us face the situation in Syria…
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Our faith is not a revelation of some particular individual or of any one group. Rather, it is a correlation of the most empowering truths found in religious texts and the discoveries of science. We start with the simple proposition that God, known to many by many names and traditions, is an immediate Presence not […]
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Written for the national holiday, Independence Day, in the United States of America Trust that you are not alone as we pray. We call to mind all that is good in our nation, all that is in harmony with your grace. We give you thanks for the gifts you give us, celebrate the work of […]
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Independence Day for Jamacia for Ghana for the United States of America breaking away from oppression forgive us for the ways we keep others back down, under, behind, invisible breaking away from tyranny forgive us for the ways we claim privilege, power, prestige forgive us when we walk through an open gate and close it […]
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Proper 13 (usually 9th Sunday after Pentecost), Year A Genesis 32: 22-32 Sermon Drama Wrestle with God, receive the blessing Adapted by Ana Gobledale, UK Downloads of full text, ready-to-print and use: DRAMA Genesis 32, 22-32, Jacob wrestles PDF DRAMA Genesis 32, 22-32, Jacob wrestles WORD Interviewer: The scripture passage recounts Jacob’s saga, his trials […]
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Praise the Divine Gardener! Inspired by Psalm 148 Praise the Eternal One, the Divine Gardener. Who plants the sun, the moon, the stars in the heavens. Who creates earth, the amazing garden upon which we live. Who loosens rocks into teeming, incubating soil. Who spreads the seeds of life in the seas, land, and skies […]
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Preparation: Bag with telephone inside. The telephone should be easily recognizable, as a telephone, by the children. Gather the children around. I like to face the children, with my back to the congregation. I either sit on the floor or on a child’s small chair. The children either sit on the floor around me or […]
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Originally written for an Order of St. Luke Healing Service in Melbourne, Australia Gracious God, loving parent, you watch over us like a mother with her children. You have created a world for us with a richness, a beauty beyond description. As another spring blossoms around us, we are awed again by the splendour of the […]
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Refreshing words, by Lawrence Moore, UK Preparation: a bowl of water (to represent baptism) and towel Affirmation I go into today with the gift of the God who calls me, the Christ who walks beside me, and the Spirit who empowers me. I refresh my body with the water of all life. (Wash hands, face […]
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God, help me to figure out what I need, and hear my prayer when I am bold enough to ask for it. Amen. Matthew 9:20-22 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, […]
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Luke 12:13-21 ‘The Rich Fool’ Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year C God of Life, Creator of the earth and all that is in it, we lift our prayers of thanks to you For the beauty of the earth that surrounds us, For spring flowers that dazzle us and summer’s greenery that delights us, For […]
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Tune: Sursum Corda 10.10.10.10. (How Like a Gentle Spirit) (Use freely, with attribution) One truck delivers us our wine and bread Another swerves and leaves our children dead One driver sings a hymn of love and life Another chants a call to holy strife One phone is used to set a bomb alight Another used […]
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God is not a she, God is not a he, God is not an it or a maybe. God is a moving, loving, doing, knowing, growing mystery. From The Song of Three Children, libretto copyright © Brian Wren, 1986, copied from the article “Taking the Next Step in Inclusive Language” by Pamela Payne Allen which […]
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Inside hopelessness darkness Nothing more, impossible to be less silence, deafening Only fears and despair Echoing off cavern walls I’ve been there, lived there Have you? A hole so deep, so cold No one to hear the screams Hopeless Alone Exhausted longer the stay deeper it becomes The darkness becomes thick Suffocating hopes Choking out […]
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2nd Sunday of Advent, Year C Luke 3:1-6 A Whimsical Encounter — This can serve as the message/sermon. This drama involves two people. One person starts out as if doing the regular reading of the passage. This might be the worship leader or the Minister, the person designated to “preach.” The second person arrives […]
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Originally written for the fifth Sunday of Lent – Year A Eternal One, thank you for this opportunity to worship together. Please help everyone here today, to learn something new about you… We pray for peace throughout the world and for everyone’s heart to be filled with love, so that we can all live together […]
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And they all understood No missed messages No mixed messages Confusion moves to clarity Discord moves to harmony Cacophony moves to melody Agitation transformed by peace Individualism transformed by community Nationalism transformed by neighbour-sighting Flags waving to declare identity move to tabletops holding a common cup Strangers move into relationship And they all understand Message […]
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You breathe in. You breathe out. You breathe fire, the making of stars, the winds of creation. You breathe a Word that goes out and lays hands on people to heal and bless. You breathe God in. and God out. You speak grace in tongues you can’t know. Look at us, walking around, glowing embers. […]
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Mother Father God, creator and sustainer, we thank you for nurturing us like a mother. We praise you that your care and protection surround us like a father. On this Fathering Sunday, we remember all the people who have nurtured us, especially the important men in our lives, those who have seen, not just with […]
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Holy God, Today we pray for the people of (area effected by bombings)… For parents whose children will never return, For children, youth and young adults whose safe world has been shattered, For first responders who arrived on the scene To care for the injured, the traumatised, the deceased. Gracious God, We give thanks for courage and […]
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The script is based on the text in the New Revised Version of the Bible, adapted by Ana Gobledale. Ready-to-print script: (for folding into a booklet) WORD Acts 2, 1-21 DRAMA Pentecost PDF Acts 2, 1-21 DRAMA Pentecost Actors/Readers: Storyteller, Peter, Disciple 1, Jew 1, Jew 2, Disciples (all congregation) PROPS: Paper flames: […]
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May you greet each day as a gift And look for the treasure within it. May the story of your life hold meaning, For you and for those who will follow. May you have time enough to say all that needs to be said; To do all that needs to be done. May your relationships […]
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Spirit of God, come among us on this Pentecost day. Make this day a re-birth-day for your people. Make us passionate in our faith, strong in our commitment, courageous beyond our imagining, and willing to love, and keep on loving, without reservation, we pray. Send your holy wind among us, not as a gentle breeze […]
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This ready-to-use Café Church Harvest worship service weaves together scripture, drama, reflection, conversation & communion. It has been designed for worship around tables, but is easily adaptable to a more traditional setting. This service includes everything you need — an Order of Service to handout, leader script sheets, reader printouts, song suggestions, a list of […]
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