14.04.27 Easter 2A/Earth Day English

Song:  We worship Christ (Patrick Matsikenyiri, Mozambique)* 

Call to Worship
Song:  For the beauty of the earth (ADORO TE DEVOTE, from Missa Gaia)
Prayer of Confession
Song of Praise:  Themba Amen (Sunrise Hospice, Themba, South Africa)*

Prayer of the Day

Gospel Acclamation (William Ramirez, El Salvador)

Gospel Reading: Luke 24:13-35

Sermon
Song:  Christ in the stranger’s guise (John Bell, THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL, Irish)
Affirmation: Thanksgiving

Prayer Song:  Peace before us (based on a Navajo prayer / David Haas)*
Silent Meditation
Prayers of the People
Announcements

Offerings (regular and food)

Song:  Blue green hills of earth (Kim Oler, from Missa Gaia)
Prayer of Thanksgiving

Songs:  You rose up (Cameroon, adapted by EM)

Touch the earth lightly (Shirley Erena Murray / TENDERNESS, Colin Gibson)

*seasonal for Easter

Forces:
Soprano
Tenor/guitar

Tenor/bass guitar

April 27, 2014, 2014

2^nd Sunday of Easter

Please stand, all who are able.

Song

One:  We worship Christ!

All:  //We worship Christ!//

There is no one who will ever be like him.

One:  There is no one who will ever be like him.

All:  There is no one who will ever be like him.

One:  Christ is alive!

All:  //Christ is alive!//

There is no one who will ever be like him.

One:  There is no one who will ever be like him.

All:  There is no one who will ever be like him.

One:  Christ conquered death!

All:  //Christ conquered death!//

There is no one who will ever be like him.

One:  There is no one who will ever be like him.

All:  There is no one who will ever be like him.

One:  Hallelujah!

All:  //Hallelujah!//

There is no one who will ever be like him.

Call to Worship

One:  Your life is breaking out, O God,

throughout creation;

in all creatures and things,

in every moment and place,

in every person and interaction,

All:  Glory to God for the life that is eternal!

One:  Your life is breaking out, O God,

throughout our lives;

in every dread and dream,

in all our abilities and weaknesses,

in each breath and heartbeat

All:  Glory to God for the life that is eternal!

One:  Your life is breaking out, O God,

and it calls us to respond;

to each new birth and possibility,

to every opportunity and invitation,

if we will only recognise & receive it.

All:  Glory to God for the life that is eternal!

Glory to God for the life that comes to us now!

Glory to God for the life that resurrects even

dead things, dead people and dead situations.

Glory to God!

Amen.

Please be seated

Song

//For the beauty of the earth,

sing, oh sing today.

Of the sky and of our birth,

sing, oh sing always.

Nature, human and divine,

all around us lies.

Source of all to thee we raise

grateful hymns of praise.//

Prayer of Confession

NOT ON PPT

When we were dead in our sins, God made us alive with Christ.

Through our baptism, we were buried with Christ, so too are we raised with him by the power of God – so that we too may live a new life.

One:  Do you accept God’s call to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever guise they present themselves?

All:  We do.

One:    Do you truly and earnestly recognize your human limits and brokenness and desire to grow in grace?

All:  We do.

One:  Do you accept Jesus as the symbol of unconditional grace, the source of your freedom to act – to act boldly – in this world?

All:  We do.

—Silent reflection—

One:  Merciful God, we pray that as we confront our weakness and limitations, we will continually be confronted by your grace.

All:  Strengthen us when we doubt;

challenge us when we become too self-assured.

One:  Let us struggle for justice and meaning and love;

and be filled and surrounded by your spirit.

All:  And, O God, we pray especially that you will at all times

remind us that we are each others',

and that all of us are yours.

Amen.

Please stand, all who are able.

Song of Praise

Amen!

Prayer of the Day

NOT ON PPT

You alone know, O God, the depth of the longing in our hearts;

the intensity of the thirst in our souls,

And in answer, you have come to us,

lived among us,

taught and healed us,

demonstrated what the good life looks like;

Then died, to reveal the value of this life you offer.

You alone know, O God, what we need to satisfy our need,

to lead us to the life we instinctively seek,

And in answer, you have opened the door to life for us,

constantly whispered to us of your love and grace,

gently nudged us in the direction of our best life.

And so , now, as you come to us again,

as your life is proclaimed to us again,

we praise you Risen and Living One,

for the truly good life we find in you.

Amen.

Gospel Acclamation

All + Todos/as:  //Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya.//

//Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya.//

Uno/a + One:  The boundless universe belongs to Jesus.

Christ is the King of all creation.

All + Todos/as:  //Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya.//

//Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya.//

Gospel Reading

Luke 24:13-35

Now on that same day two of Jesus’s disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Reader:  The gospel of Jesus Christ.

All:  Thanks be to God!

Sermon

Please stand, all who are able.

Song

1.  From heaven to here and from here to heaven

is a distance less than tissue thin,

and it’s trod by the one who, in the stranger’s guise,

is made known whenever welcomed in.

So, come, O Christ, in the stranger’s guise,

known both through scriptures and through broken bread.

Your new world come and on the earth your will be done

by the people you’ve loved and you’ve led.

2.  The folk who journey on the road with Christ

are the ones who’ve left their selves behind.

Their song is taught them by the deaf and mute;

their horizon is shown by the blind.

So, come, O Christ, in the stranger’s guise,

known both through scriptures and through broken bread.

Your new world come and on the earth your will be done

by the people you’ve loved and you’ve led.

3.  The love that’s shared along the royal road

is a love not found when standing still.

It lives and grows wherever faith is known

as a movement grounded in God’s will.

So, come, O Christ, in the stranger’s guise,

known both through scriptures and through broken bread.

Your new world come and on the earth your will be done

by the people you’ve loved and you’ve led.

4.  From heaven to here and from here to heaven

is a distance less than tissue thin,

and it’s trod by those who meet the risen Christ

as a stranger to be welcomed in.

So, come, O Christ, in the stranger’s guise,

known both through scriptures and through broken bread.

Your new world come and on the earth your will be done

by the people you’ve loved and you’ve led.

Affirmation: Thanksgiving

One:  For the gift of the universe in all its vastness:
All:  For the enormous, for the tiny,
For refreshment, for a challenge,
For gentle beauty, for fierce beauty,
For all the variety of place and season… we give thanks.

One:  For the inheritance in our world, from generations past:
All:  For landscape,
For craft and skill,
For breed and variety in livestock and crops,
For wildlife untamed,
For fertility maintained… we give thanks.

One:  For our existence in this fragile, green planet:
All:  For air,
For space,
For moisture,
For food… we give thanks.

One:  For those who represent us all in caring for this planet:
All:  For gardeners,
For foresters,
For scientists,
For farmers… we give thanks.

One:  For the breaking of bread,
For the filling of the cup,
For the presence of the sacred in earthly things…
All:  We give thanks and praise.

Please be seated

Prayer Song

Peace before us,

peace behind us,

peace under our feet.

Peace within us,

peace over us,

let all around us be peace.

Christ before us,

Christ behind us,

Christ under our feet.

Christ within us,

Christ over us,

let all around us be Christ.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Silent Meditation

Prayers of the People

News of the People

Not on ppt:

Welcome cards

Service concludes with bilingual celebration

Offerings

(regular and food)

Offertory Song

1.  For the earth forever turning,

for the land, for skies and sea,

to our God we sing returning

home to our blue green hills of earth.

2.  For the mountains, hills and pastures

in their silent majesty,

for the stars, for all the heavens,

sing we our joyful praise to Thee.

3.  For the sun, for rain and thunder,

for the seasons’ harmony,

for our lives, for all creation,

sing we our joyful praise to Thee.

4.  For the earth forever turning,

for the land which gives us birth,

to our God we sing returning

home to our blue green hills of earth.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Please stand, all who are able.

Song

///You rose up that we may have love,///

Hallelujah, forevermore.

///You rose up that we may have peace,///

Hallelujah, forevermore.

///You rose up that we may have joy,///

Hallelujah, forevermore.

///You rose up that we may have life,///

Hallelujah, forevermore.

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1. Touch the earth lightly,
use the earth gently,
nourish the life of the world in our care:
gift of great wonder,
ours to surrender,
trust for the children tomorrow will bear.

2. We who endanger,
who create hunger,
agents of death for all creatures that live,
we who would foster
clouds of disaster,
God of our planet, forestall and forgive!

3. Let there be greening,
birth from the burning,
water that blesses and air that is sweet,
health in God’s garden,
hope in God’s children,
regeneration that peace will complete

4. God of all living,
God of all loving,
God of the seedling, the snow, and the sun,
teach us, deflect us,
Christ reconnect us,
using us gently and making us one.