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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God, come close and speak our names. Remind us that we are fully known and loved. God, thank you… for calling us by name. Come close to us, re-claim us for life. God, thank you… for calling us by name. Come close to us, and never let us go. God, thank you… for calling us […]
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This service might be used in a family home, in a garden, beside the sea or wherever the family chooses. Prayers might be modified to use phraseology more closely matching the beliefs of the family. This service has evolved over the years and may include items written by others. Please notify Worship Words if you […]
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This might be used as a corporate prayer, substituting ‘we’ for I’. It might also be used at a service of affirmation — an induction, ordination, baptism, re-commitment or confirmation, substituting ‘you’ for ‘I’. May I…. Hands at third eye centre: May I see things as they really are, and not as how I want […]
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Loving God, Raise me from earth’s water Just enough for awe Evoked by sights Often not seen Except for kindnesses Offered by others Whose love lifts me To see otherwise overlooked Beauty awaiting my wonder. Grant me grace To savour such sights Of heaven and earth Holding each other In perpetual praise Ancient and present. […]
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This interactive activity has been created for use at baptism services. Leader: I need some children to help me out, 6 to be exact. You will not need to say anything. (Provide as much explanation as necessary until the required number of volunteers stand at the front.) Give each child/volunteer a giant letter to hold, […]
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A drama to be used in worship, inspired by the NRSV text 3 Readers: Storyteller, Peter, Newly baptised person Storyteller: While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been […]
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Written after visiting my first grandchild. Baby smells waft into my nostrils. A pattering heart pulsates in my embrace. Tearlets moisten my eyes. Powerful hope swirls through my core. This is my body. This is my blood. God’s own child rests in my arms. By what name shall this child be called? Hope. Promise. Future. […]
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Written to welcome a newborn grandson, Jim’s beautiful and wise words can be adapted easily for any grandchild. My dear grandson, Jacob – Precious crown of creation swaddled in a blanket, Sleeping deep in heavenly peace – To the Love who is God I give thanks for your birth, And on behalf of this world […]
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This service has been adapted from the closing worship service at the 2014 Cardiff Assembly of the United Reformed Church in Great Britain, where all those gathered had the opportunity to renew their baptism vows. A young adult, who will be referred to as ‘Londiwe,’ approached me, their minister, having had a transformative spiritual experience. As […]
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Holy God, forgive us, for we have forgotten our baptism. You call us to draw near, but we turn away in fear and shame. You call us to love our neighbour, but we allow our distrust and preoccupations to justify our indifference. You call us to love ourselves, but the voices of insecurity and self-criticism […]
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The Holy Spirit propels Philip to the Ethiopian – a dramatisation Acts 8:26-40 (Year B, Easter 5) This might be incorporated into a celebration of baptism or the renewal of baptismal vows. Actors/readers: Philip, Ethiopian, Storyteller (Narrator), Angel, Spirit Complete scripts — ready to download and print (2-sided): Drama, Acts 8, Philip & Ethiopian PDF Drama, […]
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Written on a card available in the Cathedral… This Holy Water Stoup … contains water blessed and set apart to remind us of the new life which God give us in Jesus. Christians are baptised into God’s life in Jesus by having water poured over them symbolising dying and being born again; leaving behind everything […]
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Baptism services often include several children in the congregation, and I want them to be involved and interested. So, I often incorporate into the service a reflection/activity which includes group participation. I ask a group of volunteers, ideally children and youth, to come forward. (The number of volunteers corresponds to the number of letters in […]
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Let us prayerfully focus on this water, as I pour it into the bowl, and as we do, let each of us infuse it with our commitments to share with (this child / name) the unique gifts that God has given us, gifts (this child / name) will need from us as s/he goes along […]
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We are here to praise God for the life of /Name/, our young friend, who in such a short time has brought us so much joy. Through /Name/ we have experienced birth again in a new and more conscious way; in him, God has created the world again, opening us to wonder and possibility that […]
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Our stories lie down in the orchard, their time is not now, but something is coming, something is going away. They rise to the stars, and wait to be told. There are listeners who know how little we know, how much we are feeling. We had to go our own way, a little off course, […]
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Year A: Third Sunday of Easter A Prayer based on Acts 2:14a,36-4 God of new beginnings, Today we remember our baptisms: A day shrouded in an infant’s hidden memory A day chiselled in the sharp memory of a teenager A day gloriously shining in the memory of a new convert. Your promises live in […]
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