Worship Words for Easter 5: living in God

In these days when worship is online rather than in person, it has seemed as if our liturgical language doesn’t always fit the situation we find ourselves in. So RevGalBlogPals is excited to offer you a new feature gathering some words for worship. We hope you will use these in whatever way works for you — to use as is, to edit for your own context or themes, or as inspiration to write your own.

Each week we will post some liturgical pieces, which could be a call to worship or a pastoral prayer or a benediction or some music video ideas or anything in between. Sometimes there may be more or fewer, depending on how our own writing is going each week. But we hope they will be of some help to you. And if you are writing prayers or liturgy, or creating videos or presentations, and you are willing to share, please email them to RevGalBlogPals at gmail dot com.

If you use these pieces in print, please give credit to the authors and a link to this post. If you use them verbally, there is no need for verbal credit but if it’s on a public video, could you please credit the author in the video descriptions. Thanks! (And, of course, if you insert music videos into your online service, please be sure you have the relevant licenses or permissions.)

A call to worship by Joanna Harader:
When we cannot see the path,
Jesus is the way.
When we cannot trust the voices we hear,
Jesus is the truth.
When it feels like death is closing in,
Jesus is the life.
So do not let your hearts be troubled.

A Blessing for Face Masks by Elsa Cook:
O God, bless these face masks.
May the fabric that protects each nose and mouth
be as strong as the fabric that knits together the human family.
May the strings not bind our ears
as we struggle to listen to the fears
of your people. May we feel every bit of sweaty discomfort
as a reminder of our shared humanity
and may that connection give us more courage
to wear these masks upon our faces.
O God, bless these masks
as surely as you bless your people. Amen.

Elsa has also offered other pieces, including beautifully transforming two hymns into prayers, particularly poignant for this season when we can’t sing together. You can find these here.

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession by Joanna Harader:
Holy God, Resurrected and Resurrecting One,
Hear our prayers today as we are separated in body but united in spirit and united by
your Spirit.

We give you thanks for the joy of music, the beauty of creation, the kindness of
friends. We give you thanks for these things in our lives …

We pray your healing presence be with those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit: for
those infected with Covid-19; for those with other physical ailments; for those
struggling with depression, anxiety, and other troubles of the spirit right now. We
lift these people to you in prayer …

We pray your strength, protection, and encouragement be with those working with
the public during this time: medical workers; food service workers; those serving at
food banks, soup kitchens, and shelters; postal and delivery people. We pray for
these people helping our community through their work …

We pray your comfort for those who are grieving: for those who are mourning the
death of a loved one; for those who have lost jobs; for those who have had to cancel
anticipated plans; for students who have lost their concerts, plays, sports seasons,
graduation ceremonies; for grandparents who have temporarily lost the ability to be
physically present with their grandchildren. We offer these names to you in prayer …

God, grant us your wisdom, patience, and compassion as we continue to live as your
church in this world.
Amen.

Here are a few musical ideas:
This week “The Blessing” sung by virtual choirs made up of representatives of churches across various areas has gone viral. Here is the UK version.

If you’re interested in a contemporary Christian music telling of the John 14 story, there’s this:

Or this video of a whole school singing “Don’t Be Afraid” might be a good fit for this week if you’re looking for something more meditative to go where the passing of the peace might normally go.

RevGalBlogPals encourages you to share our blog posts via email or social media. We do not grant permission to cut-and-paste prayers and articles without a link back to the specific post. For permission to use material in paper publications, please email revgalblogpals at gmail dot com. For Worship Words, you may use or adapt what you find here, but please credit the author in printed orders of service/web publications and in public video descriptions if possible.