for Year C Proper 15:
One: For all the saints, who from their labor rest,
All: Who Thee by faith before the world confessed.
One: By faith, Noah built an ark to save his household.
All: And by faith, Abraham obeyed, living in tents in an unknown land.
One: By faith, Moses led the people out of Egypt,
All: And by faith the saints of our own church have been Christ's hands in our community.
One: We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses!
All: We pray that we may also run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Amen.
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship for 3 January 2010:
One: For all the saints, who from their labor rest,
All: Who Thee by faith before the world confessed.
One: By faith, Noah built an ark to save his household.
All: And by faith, Abraham obeyed, living in tents in an unknown land.
One: By faith, Moses led the people out of Egypt,
All: And by faith the saints of our own church have been Christ's hands in our community.
One: We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses!
All: We pray that we may also run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Amen.
First Sunday After Christmas
L: We are beloved of God.
P: Let us clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
L: If any of us has a complaint against someone else, God asks that we forgive;
P: Let us clothe ourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
L: So that the peace of Christ may rule in our hearts.
P: Let us be thankful.
All: With gratitude in our hearts we sing psalms and hymns to God. Amen.
from Colossians 3:12-18
Call to Worship for 3 January 2010:
L: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
P: The Word became flesh and lived among us.
L: Even in this new year, God continues to live among us.
P: God guides us along a marvelous way; God herself is our shelter by day and a starry flame through the night.
L: Through God, we are redeemed and find new life for a new year.
All: Sing aloud with gladness! Proclaim the Lord and give praise!
taken from the Wisdom of Solomon, chapter 10 and John, chapter 1
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship for January 10, 2010
(First Sunday after Epiphany)
(First Sunday after Epiphany)
L: Worship the LORD in holy splendor.
P: And in God’s temple all say, “Glory!”
L: The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
P: And in God’s temple all say, “Glory!”
L: May the Holy Spirit descend on us like a dove.
P: May the LORD give us strength and bless us with peace.
All: And in God’s temple all will say, “Glory!”
from Psalm 29 and John 3:22
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship for January 17, 2010
(Second Sunday after Epiphany)
(Second Sunday after Epiphany)
L: Your steadfast love, O God, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds!
P: How precious is your steadfast love!
L: All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
P: And yet, for Zion’s sake, let us not keep silent;
L: For Jerusalem’s sake, let us not rest;
All: Let us make righteousness shine out like the dawn!
from Psalm 36:5-7 and Isaiah 62:1
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship for January 24, 2010
(Third Sunday after Epiphany)
L: Spirit of God— In You we are united.
P: When one member suffers, all suffer together with him.
L: In You we drink of one Spirit.
P: When one member is honored, all rejoice together with her.
L: In You we are connected.
P: When disaster strikes, all are touched and grieve.
All: Bless us that we might be your hands in our world today.
inspired by I Corinthians 12:26
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Alternate Call to Worship for 24 January 2010:
(Third Sunday after Epiphany)
L: Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth!
P: Break forth, O mountains, into singing!
L: For God cares for the birds of the air,
P: And the lilies of the field,
L: Even more, God cares for us.
P: The Lord comforts us, and will have compassion on those who suffer.
All: Let us break forth into singing! Amen!
from Isaiah 49:13 and Matthew 6:26 & 28
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Additional Call to Worship for Third Sunday after Epiphany (2013):
One: Spirit of God-- in You we were all baptized into one body
All: When one member suffers, all suffer together with him.
One: In You we are connected as one body.
All: When one member is honored, all rejoice together with her.
One: People from all religions, races, sexual orientations, and abilities,
All: People of all different economic situations, who speak different languages,
One: In You we break bread together, pray together, and do your work together.
All: In You, we all drink of one Spirit.
inspired by I Corinthians 12
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call for the Third Sunday after Epiphany
One: God's Spirit is upon us.
All: God anoints us to bring good news to the poor.
One: God sends us to proclaim release to the captives
All: And recovery of sight to the blind.
One: God sends us to let the oppressed go free.
All: Let us proclaim the year of the God's reign here on earth!
from Luke 4:18-19
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship – 31 January 2010 (based on Psalms):
(Fourth Sunday after Epiphany)
L: In you, O Lord, we take refuge;
(Fourth Sunday after Epiphany)
L: In you, O Lord, we take refuge;
P: Let us never be put to shame.
L: Be for us a rock of refuge, a strong fortress.
P: Incline your ear to us and save us.
L: Rescue us, O God, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel
All: For you, O God, are our hope and our trust.
from Psalm 71:1-5
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship – 31 January 2010 (based on I Corinthians):
(Fourth Sunday after Epiphany)
L: Love is patient; love is kind;
L: Love is patient; love is kind;
P: Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
L: It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
P: It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
L: It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
P: Love never ends.
All: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
from I Corinthians 13:4-8
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship for 7 March 2010:
(Third Sunday in Lent)
Leader: O God, you are our God, our souls thirst for you.
Leader: O God, you are our God, our souls thirst for you.
People: Because your steadfast love is better than life, our lips will praise you.
Leader: We will bless you as long as we live;
People: We will lift up our hands and call on your name.
Leader: Our soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
People: And our mouths praise you with joyful lips.
All: O God, you are our God. We open our mouths in your praise!
Psalm 63:1-5
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Litany for 14 March 2010:
(Fourth Sunday in Lent)
L: If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:
L: If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:
P: Everything old passes away;
Everything becomes new!
L: The brother who was dead has come to life;
P: The one who was lost has been found.
All: Be glad in the LORD and rejoice. Shout for joy!
from this week’s lectionary scripture
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Worship for 21 March 2010:
(Fifth Sunday in Lent)
L: Let our mouths be filled with laughter,
L: Let our mouths be filled with laughter,
P: Our tongues with shouts of joy.
L: For God makes us a way in our wilderness,
P: And gives us rivers in our desert places.
L: God turns our weeping into shouts of joy.
All: The Lord has done great things! Amen.
drawn from Isaiah 43 and Psalm 126
Call to Worship – 28 March 2010:
(Palm Sunday)
L: This is the day that the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
P: O give thanks, for God is good;
L: God’s steadfast love endures forever!
P: This is the day that the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
L: Open the gates of righteousness,
P: That we may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
All: This is the day that the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Psalm 118:1, 19-24
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates Fifth Sunday in Easter
Call to Worship for May 2nd, 2010:
L: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens!
P: Praise God, all you shining stars!
L: Praise God, you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens!
P: All peoples, old and young, men and women alike,
L: Together, let us praise the Lord.
All: We praise the name of the Lord, for God’s name alone is exalted; God’s glory is above earth and heaven!
from Psalm 148:1-13
from Psalm 148:1-13
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Sixth Sunday in Easter
Litany for 9 May 2010:
L: Let the people praise God.
P: Let all the people praise God.
L: May God be gracious to us and bless us
P: And make his face to shine upon us.
L: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy
P: Let the people praise God.
All: Let all the people praise God.
from Psalm 67
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Seventh Sunday in Easter
Call to Worship for May 16th 2010:
L: Let us join hands and rejoice in the Lord,
P: Let us give thanks to God’s holy name!
L: The heavens proclaim God’s righteousness;
P: And all the peoples behold God’s glory.
L: Light dawns for those who are just,
P: And joy for the upright in heart.
All: Let people from all the coasts join together and be glad!
from Psalm 97
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Pentecost
Call to Worship for 23 May 2010:
L: O LORD, how manifold are your works!
P: May the glory of the LORD endure forever.
L: God sends a sound like the rush of a violent wind.
P: Let us sing to the LORD as long as we live
L: God fills the people with the Holy Spirit.
P: May the glory of the LORD endure forever.
L: God causes the people to speak in many languages
All: O LORD, how manifold are your works!
from Psalm 104:33-35 and Acts 2:2-4
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
First Sunday after Pentecost
Call to Worship for 30 May 2010:
(Proper 4 or Trinity?)
L: O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
L: O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
P: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
L: The moon and the stars that you have established
P: When I look at the sheep and the oxen and the beasts of the field,
L: The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
All: O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
From Psalm 8:1-9
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Third Sunday after Pentecost
Litany for 6 June 2010:
(Proper 5)
L: Let us praise the LORD as long as we live;
L: Let us praise the LORD as long as we live;
P: And sing praises to God all our lives long.
L: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob;
P: God opens the eyes of the blind.
L: We will praise the LORD as long as we live.
P: The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down.
All: We will praise the LORD as long as we live.
Psalm 146:1-5
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 6 - Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Call to Worship for 13 June 2010:
L: Give ear to our words, O LORD; give heed to our sighing.
P: Listen to the sound of our cry, our King and God, for to you we pray.
L: We confess our transgressions and acknowledge our sins to you, O God.
P: You forgive the guilt of our sins. You are a hiding place for us.
L: You preserve us from trouble and surround us with glad cries of deliverance.
All: Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
from Psalms 5:1-8 and 32:1-7
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 7
Litany for 20 June 2010
L: We praise you, God, with the harp
P: O God, you are our joy!
L: Our souls thirst for God, for the living God.
P: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so our souls long for you, O God.
L: Send out your light and your truth; let them lead us.
P: Let them bring us to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
All: We praise you, God. You are our joy.
Psalm 42 and 43
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 7 - Alternate:
One: In Christ Jesus we are all children of God through our faith.
All: All of us are one in Christ.
One: In Christ, no longer are we divided.
All: There is no longer Black or White, Israeli or Palestinian.
One: No longer is there male and female, gay and straight.
All: All are Abraham's offspring, heirs to God's promise.
All are children of God.
from Galations 3:24-29
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 18
Call to Worship for September 5, 2010
L: O LORD, you have searched us and known us.
P: You know when we sit down and when we rise up;
L: You discern our thoughts from far away.
P: Even before a word is on our tongues, O LORD, you know it completely.
L: For it was you who formed our inward parts;
P: You knit us together in our mothers' wombs.
All: We praise you, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
from Psalm 139:2-14
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 19
Call to Worship for September 12, 2010L: Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love;
P: Teach us wisdom in our inmost hearts.
L: Let us hear joy and gladness;
P: Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us.
L: Hear our prayer, O God, Immortal and Invisible.
All: To You be honor and glory forever. Amen.
Psalm 51:1-10 and Timothy 1:17
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 20
Call to Worship for 19 September 2010
L: God mourns the hurt of poor people.
P: God raises the poor from the dust.
All: WE are called to to share and to bring healing.
L: God cries out when there are people in need.
P: God lifts up the needy.
All: WE are called to reach out and to comfort. Praise the Lord!
from Jeremiah 8:21 and Psalm 113
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 21
Call to Worship for 26 September 2010:
L: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob!
P: Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
L: Who executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
P: Happy are those whose hope is in the LORD their God!
L: Who sets the prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind.
P: Who lifts up those who are bowed down and watches over the strangers
ALL: The LORD will reign forever, for all generations. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 146:5-9
L: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob!
P: Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
L: Who executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
P: Happy are those whose hope is in the LORD their God!
L: Who sets the prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind.
P: Who lifts up those who are bowed down and watches over the strangers
ALL: The LORD will reign forever, for all generations. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 146:5-9
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 22 - 3 Oct 2010
L: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
P: God’s mercies never come to an end;
L: They are new every morning;
L: They are new every morning;
P: Great is your faithfulness.
All: Grace, mercy, and peace from God. Amen.
All: Grace, mercy, and peace from God. Amen.
Lamentation 3:22-26, 2 Timothy 1:2
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 27
Call to Celebration for 9 Nov 1986
L: Sing praise to Yahweh!
P: Sing to the nations of God's mighty works.
L: For our Creator does not forget the nations. God does not ignore our cries when we are in pain.
P: Yahweh hears the hopes of the poor and of those who suffer. Our Yahweh is a Just God.
L: God's righteousness endures forever.
All: Rejoice! Sing praise to God, for God is good!
Psalm 9:11-12
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Invocation
Invocation
O God, our loving Creator, you have cared for us and affirmed our very existence. The love you give us supports us and comforts us in times of need. Because you have loved us, we are freed to show love in our world. We pray that you may continue to teach us to love those in need in our community and our world. Thank you God, for your special love. In your Son's name we pray. Amen. Invocation by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 28
Call to Celebration 14th of November, 2010:
L: O sing to Yahweh a new song,
P: For Yahweh has done marvelous things!
L: Make a joyful noise, all the earth;
P: Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
L: Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
P: Let the hills sing together for joy;
L: With the lyre and the sound of melody,
P: With trumpets and the sound of the horn,
All: O sing to Yahweh a new song!
Psalm 98
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 28
Call to Celebration for 16 Nov 1986
L: Praise to Yahweh, God of all gods, for Yahweh is just.
P: Yahweh does not make mockery of justice, God does not favor wicked ways.
L: Yahweh extends justice to the weak and orphaned, and is fair to the wretched and destitute.
P: Our loving God rescues the weak and the needy.
L: Give praise to Yahweh, God of all Nations!
All: Let us sing God's justice in our world! Let us celebrate God's holy name!
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Invocation
O God, our Creator and our Redeemer, we gather in your presence to celebrate the love you give us. We see you present each day in our communities, healing, reconciling, and supporting those in need. We pray that we would stand with you, in order that your strength and loving justice may flow through us to neighbors in our community and beyond. For this is the example you have given us in your Son Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Invocation by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Proper 29 (And Thanksgiving Sunday)
Proper 29 (And Thanksgiving Sunday)
Call to Worship 21 November 2010
L: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
P: Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
P: Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
L: Though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
P: Though the waters of the sea roar and foam;
P: Though the waters of the sea roar and foam;
ALL: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
L: God makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
P: God breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
ALL: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1-9
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates Proper 29
Call to Celebration for 23 Nov 1986 (Thanksgiving Sunday - not lectionary)
L: Every good and perfect gift comes from you, O God of all peoples and of all nations.
P: We, your children, join all your creation in praising you, and give you thanks.
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Invocation
Eternal God, Maker of all things, we gather this morning in celebration of all you have given us. We thank you for this world our home, for its bounty and its beauty. As we draw near the day of Thanksgiving, we remember those less fortunate than we, and we pray that we might be open to share with them the love and the bounty you have given to us. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.
Invocation by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Invocation by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Thanksgiving Introit
L: For the heritage of our ancestors which enriches all humanity,
P: We praise and thank you, O God of all creation.
L: For your truth revealed to them, though many may not have known you.
P: We are greatful to you, Yahweh.
L: For being with them in their pilgrimages to their new homeland, having come freely or against their choice, to give them courage or hope to overcome untold hardships and dehumanizing sufferings, so that we might live a better life.
P: We are debtors. Thank you, O Redeemer and Sustainer God.
L: For the challenge before us to share our gifts and our heritage, so future generations may be blessed as we have been.
P: We thank you for the grace by which you enable us to fulfill your will in our lives.
L: For these and many more, Creator God, we thank you.
P: Amen.
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
Call to Celebration by K.K. Hudson-Bates
