Cultivating Beloved Community: Call to Worship, Prayer, and Responsive Liturgy
Rev. Nathan Decker wrote the following Call to Worship, Prayer, and Responsive Liturgy for the Cultivating Beloved Community events held around the conference in August and September 2019. As we begin 2020, we invite you to use them in your local church as well.
Call to Worship:
From across the sands of the desert came the still small Voice.
Gentle Wind, Breath of God, Holy Spirit
The Voice found home in the Prophets, “thus says the Lord.”
Let my people go. Exodus 9:1
Let justice roll down like waters Amos 5:24
and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.
Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Micah 6:8
The Voice came among us in the flesh.
Just as I have loved you, so you should love one another. John 13:34
As we worship today, the Voice grows within us
in our praying, in our singing, in our telling.
Speak, Lord, for we, your people, are listening.
Prayer
Holy God of Noah,
Whose love brought salvation to all from the floods of chaos and hatred:
In the Rainbow you gave your promise to all your creation-
A promise of love for the animals tall and small, spots and stripes, lion and lamb,
A promise of acceptance for the diversity and variety of your creation,
A promise of affirmation, belonging, and grace.
Like light shining through the prism,
Refract us to be the rainbow promise of love to the world.
Refocus our lives around your Gospel message of hope.
Redirect our vision to be the reflection of You, Jesus.
For you are the one who rises
Above the crowd’s violence,
Out of death’s dark tomb,
And to bring the rainbow light of resurrection, Amen.
Responsive Liturgy
We have cause to pause and ask:
Where is God in all of this?
Our world is filled with ill news of hate, cages of control, powers and principalities of evil.
Where is God in all of this?
When a woman is told she can’t possibly preach because she’s not a man.
Where is God in all of this?
When the color of our skin overrules the content of our character.
Where is God in all of this?
When who we are born to love excludes how we are loved.
Where is God in all of this?
But…
There is God in all of this.
We can give the world the Good News,
release to the captives, sight to the blind,
liberty for the oppressed,
the time has come when You will save your people! Isaiah 61:1
There is God in all of this.
Sons and Daughters will prophecy and preach!
The young will see visions, the old will dream dreams! Acts 2:17
There is God in all of this.
All the nations, tribes and peoples: Praise God! Psalm 117:1
There is neither Jew nor Greek;
there is neither slave nor free;
nor is there male and female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28
There is God in all of this.
When our love reflects your love
There is God in all of this.
When our story becomes a part of your story
There is God in all of this.
When we share
There… that’s where God is in all of this. Amen.