Be still Let the sound of nothing absorb you Be still Let time be motionless and free Be still Let clouds roll by in an unending sky Be still Don’t let thoughts intrude – let go Be still Grasp the precious freedom of now Be still This is just us, you and I, in communion […]
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Intercessions arising from Psalm 51: 10 Silence: a diamond symbol (♦) indicates a short pause. One: God we call to mind the places where we live. All: May your people dwell in harmony. ♦ One: We call to mind the concerns of our neighbours. All: May your people dwell in harmony. ♦ One: We call […]
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Written for a service in nature (outside) Ready-to-print WORD doc: Call to worship for a service in nature – Susan Brecht, USA Leader: Creating Spirit, we gather this morning enveloped in the beauty of your creation. We come to release the stress, the anxiety, the burdens, the worries, the struggles of our lives. We come […]
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Inspired by Genesis 32: 22-32 God, thank you for your love which perseveres, touching our lives, not just in an hour of worship but every day. Your persistent love attends the world, day in and day out, year in and year out. Grant us perseverance, like Jacob, to stand steadfast in our convictions, to hold on […]
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Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Proper 14 (19), Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A Scripts ready-to-print Genesis 37 – Joseph story DRAMA WORD Genesis 37 – Joseph story DRAMA PDF Characters Narrator Joseph — to side, out of sight Jacob/Israel — centre stage on chair The Shechem Man Rueben — to side, out of sight Judah — […]
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O Blossoming Love, Creator of all that is Unfold my life… Revealing less of me And more of Thee In my planning Less of me And more of Thee In my worrying Less of me And more of Thee In my hoping Less of me And more of Thee In my creating Less of me […]
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‘Sea Sunday is when we have the opportunity to remember and pray for seafarers, their families and all who support them. It is a day of remembrance, prayer and celebration, and an opportunity to think about and thank those seafarers who work tirelessly throughout the year bringing us goods we often take for granted.’ — […]
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Isaiah 26:9, New Living Translation One: In the night I search for you; All: in the morning I earnestly seek you. One: Holy God at the start of this new day we look again at the works of your hands: may our vision be renewed and our minds refreshed. The stone that was rejected is […]
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Loving God, you are the Creator You have created the world in which we live And you love it You have also created us Our community and our families to live in this world which you love And we continue to alter the world to serve our immediate advantage We are greedy for more, regardless […]
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Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without God. —Matthew 10.29 God does not go around pulling birds out of the air. God is not sitting at a control panel. God does not “plan” your victory or defeat, cancer, your accident, the moment of […]
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Loving God Creator God Accepting God Forgiving God Guiding God Encouraging God Restoring God Transforming God Leading God Blessing God Inspired by a pilgrimage to Iona, Scotland
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A Litany One: Because of the rising of the sun in the morning of each new day All: Our hope is in you, God One: Because of the setting of that same sun in the evening All: Our hope is in you, God One: Because of the stars that extend towards infinity All: Our hope […]
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Adapted from Psalm 107 Give thanks, for God’s goodness overflows into our lives. All redeemed by God declare it so! When we cry out to God, God delivers us from our troubles. God leads us down a path we can navigate. Give thanks, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
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Loving God, Draw everything of me Into the mystery of You Bending the barrenness Of winter’s weary wait Toward Your leading light Hinting at things to come. Let everything of me Be swayed toward You Resisting every wind Of the world’s uprooting Often blowing within Daring to break my resolve To follow Your Christ-love Wherever […]
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A reading for a Pride Day Service Written to be read responsively or by two voices. One: Today, Pride Day, we affirm with joy that we are proud. Many: We are proud to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and questioning. One: We are proud to have survived and thrived despite challenges to our dignity, […]
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World Environment Day (WED) 5 June was set by the United Nations to encourage worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Worship resources for World Environment Day: Earth Day worship resources
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There are two versions of this communion prayer — singular for personal devotion and plural for corporate worship. Version for personal devotion: This time and place is yours I’m your guest You invite me at my worst And at my best You inhabit this thin place And clothe it in your grace This is where […]
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What words do we use at an ordination? Who writes them? Who says them? Who hears them? Resources for ordination services:
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Simon Cross is a ‘writer, journalist, activist and academic, currently investigating ways in which spiritual capital may be said to develop in post secular society, looking particularly at the motivation that underlies participation in activity for the common good.’ Simon currently serves as Chair of PCN Britain — that’s the Progressive Christian Network in Britain. […]
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Gathering Litany for multiple voices Act of Awareness Prayer Gathering Litany Voice 1 Come, from every corner of the earth, Voice 2 from every time and place Voice 1 from south and north Voice 2 from east and west, Voice 3 gather… Voice 4 gather… Voice 5 gather… Voice 6 gather… Voice 1 For the […]
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What words do we use when we share this special meal together? What metaphors bring meaning? Which bring confusion? Which traditional words draw us closer to one another and to the source of our faith? Which create chasms or hurdles? What words express the mystery and wonder of this event central to Christian life? Newest […]
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Psalm 68 – framed and phrased for church worship Easter 7, Year A, New Revised Common Lectionary Sing out to God! God it is who gives the friendless person a home, and leads the prisoner to safety. God it is who brings rain to restore the worn-out land, providing food for the poor. Sing out […]
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What words do we use to celebrate years of worship together? What words do we use when we are an ageing congregation? What words signify the hope of new life in our church? Songs for Church Anniversaries: Prayers and worship resources for Church Anniversaries:
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Welcome! Come! Gather! What words do we use to call people together for worship? Newest ‘Call to Worship’ posts . . . (images link to posts) Call to Worship resources written for young readers Call to Worship – Using the Psalms Alphabetical listing of all other ‘Call to Worship’ resources on Worship Words . . […]
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This communion service was prepared by John Churcher for the Progressive Christian Network in Great Britain. Churcher based the service on various sources including the Methodist Worship Book and the writings of Bishop John Shelby Spong and Marcus Borg. The full communion service is published on the PCN website. Gathering Many names and images are […]
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What words do we share at a funeral or memorial service? With what words do we celebrate life? Who writes them? Who says them? Who hears them? Resources for funerals & memorial services listed alphabetically:
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John van de Laar is a liturgist with 40 years of experience in a wide variety of church, community, and musical settings. He created and edits the website Sacredise which provides ‘theologically deep and experientially inspiring’ worship resources and training for progressive churches. As a minister of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, John served […]
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For the lyrics, music and a power point, click here. Tune: Nun Danket It is our Mother Earth To whom we owe allegiance, For ever since our birth She’s shared from her abundance; The air we need for breath, The plants we need for food, Cycles of life and death, All have our gratitude. From […]
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A responsive prayer of intercession, confession and blessing Silence: a diamond symbol (♦) indicates a short pause. One: God, we call to mind those that we love. All: May your people dwell in peace. ♦ One: We call to mind those that would call us enemies. All: May your people dwell in peace. ♦ One: […]
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‘We Hold the Keys’ was commissioned by the Worship Reference Group of the United Reformed Church and debuted at the 2023 annual conference of the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain, ‘Shaping Worship: Creation’s Climate Crisis – responding in faith’. Lyrics and music by David Williams Ready-to-download: We Hold The Keys lyrics PDF – lyrics […]
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Inspired by Psalm 107 May be read by one voice or responsively Give thanks to God! For God is good! God’s steadfast love lasts forever. God gathers God’s people From east and west, north and south, From the deserts of our weary and aimless wanderings, From the shadows and gloom of our struggles, From the […]
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George declares that he has ‘drunk deeply from life’s love and beauty.’ George has written sing-able hymns with grounded, authentic and original lyrics set to traditional and familiar tunes, all posted on his website, “Singing a New Song” Thanks to George’s generosity, all of his lyrics published on Worship Words and on his website are […]
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Inspired by Michael Rosen His were the hands That shaped the wood That smoothed the knot That summoned the friends And launched the boat His were the hands That touched the blind And opened ears That held the child And cast out fears His were the hands That fingered the coin That plucked the corn […]
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24 April – Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day Worship resources: The Armenian Genocide occurred from 1915 to 1923 when Armenians, as well as Greeks, Assyrian-Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians were subject to torture, starvation, mass murder, lethal human medical experimentation, and exile from their historic homeland, and over 1.5 million lost their lives. The […]
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Luke 24:13 retold: Late in the afternoon on the day of resurrection, two disciples walk from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus about seven miles away. As they walk, they talk about all the things that have happened. Along the way, a stranger joins them and asks, ‘What are you discussing with each other while […]
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Cross Friday not Good, that strange completely unbiblical, not to speak of theologically incorrect, adjective for the Friday. I will not say or write or pray that torture and killing are ‘good’, though Jesus anticipated it, God worked with it, and the Spirit wasn’t nicknamed ‘Comforter’ for nothing. Calling someone ‘martyr’ is not defining a […]
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written for the Reconciling Ministries Network One: As we enter Holy Week, we remember the holy work of Jesus in order to take up that work in our own lives and for our own time. Many: Holy One, we are here in gratitude and hope. May we serve your Kin-dom well. One: We remember that […]
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A responsive prayer of intercession & confession Silence: a diamond symbol (♦) indicates a short pause. One: God, we call to mind those unfairly imprisoned. All: May your people dwell in justice. ♦ One: We call to mind those who need help but cannot get it. All: May your people dwell in justice. ♦ One: […]
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John 20: 24-25 (a version for today) When the other disciples tell Thomas that they have seen Jesus, Thomas replies, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in those very same nail marks, and thrust my hand into his wounded side, I will not believe!’ Let us […]
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What account might Mary Magdelene have spoken if interviewed about that Easter morning visit to the tomb? In this dramatisation, we hear Mary Magdalene’s take on the events of that first Easter morning. This dramatic monologue is written by Nick Stanyon and performed by Jenny Calvert of Lillington Free Church, UK. Click on the link […]
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