Pentecost Year A
Summer Season Year A - inclusive of the stories of the Patriarchs.
Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Call to Worship
Our ancient Hebrew brothers and sisters
were thirsty.
Parched lips
and dry souls.
Their voices carried in the wilderness
cries of despair….
cries that were heard.
Even today
the people of God are thirsty.
Dry lips
and parched souls.
Voices carry into the wilderness and beyond
desperation…
cries that are heard.
Come, children of God, come
into the presence of the living God
who listens
who hears.
Prayer of Confession and Assurance
With Abraham
We have ventured forth in faith
and missed opportunities for fear.
With Sarah
We have given generously in love
and ruthlessly destroyed for greed.
With Jacob
We have gifted our children with our visions
and shackled them with our pain.
Forgive us for the ways we have failed you and each other.
Inspire us to live the love you offer.
The God of Abraham and Sarah
knows our selfishness and our shortsightedness.
The God of Abraham and Sarah
who built a nation on human pillars
is building even today.
God has loved you, loves you know, and will love you always.
Thanks be to God.
Fall Season Year A - inclusive of the Moses stories.
Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Prayer of Confession
The Pharaoh decrees death to the foreigner.
The power of fear and hate rage surround us.
In the face of evil
Forgive us our complacency.
The burning bush flickers beside us.
The presence of God invites us.
In the presence of the holy
Forgive us our lack of notice.
The Red Sea waters stand at attention.
The threshold of grace is breath-taking.
In the company of grace
Forgive us our reticence to embrace.
Invitation to Pardon
Hungry bellies and grumbling souls
are not the final word.
Manna and quail and water
fill the bellies and calm the souls.
The gifts of God reign
o’er the people of God.
Come for all things are ready.
top of the page
Based upon the Parables. Copyright Katherine Hawker, 2002.
As sabers rattle in lands both close and distant
we confess that we are in pain,
fear has taken root in the souls of our being.
Even as we turn to the parables ,
familiar stories that we thought we loved,
we find troubling stories offering ever more questions .
Lord have mercy,
lord have mercy,
have mercy upon us.
We are loathe to take account of the many ways
in which we unwittingly profit
from the machinery of war and greed.
Still we read the parables of Jesus
which fly in the face of social convention
offending those who dare to listen.
Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
have mercy upon us.
Believing that we are insignificant,
and at the same time fearful that we might become so,
we are timid to use our voices to speak truth to a world of war.
Now the parables of Jesus offer a new vision;
now the servants dine and the masters serve,
now the last becomes and the first becomes last.
Lord have mercy,
lord have mercy,
have mercy upon us.
Hear the good news of the Story
that no sheep is unworthy of rescue,
no coin too small to be missed.
Hear the good news
that love is stronger than hate
and that this power is alive within you
now and forever.
Amen.
Call to Worship
Based upon Matthew 9:9-13. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
(Beginning with a reading of the text)
Jesus calls
even today
tax collectors and Pharisees
high achievers and impish children.
Jesus calls
even today.
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost A
Call to Worship
Based upon Matthew 10:40. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Jesus said:
"Whoever welcomes you
welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me
welcomes the one who sent me."
Let us welcome a stranger.
Let us welcome God.
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost A
Call to Worship
Based upon Matthew 11:15-17. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Let anyone with ears listen!
To what will we compare this generation?
Children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'(Mt 11:15-17)
God's flute plays in our souls. Will we dance?
God's voice weeps in our hearts. Will we mourn?
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost A
Call to Worship
Based upon Matthew 13:31ff. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
The kingdom of God is here, and coming.
A mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;
it is the smallest of all the seeds,
but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree,
so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.
The kingdom of God is here, and coming.
Yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour
until all was leavened.
The kingdom of God is here, and coming.
Treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid;
then joyfully sells all he has and buys the field.
The kingdom of God is here, and coming.
A merchant in search of fine pearls;
on finding one of great value,
sells all of his possessions and buys the pearl.
The kingdom of God is here, and coming.
Let all who have ears, hear.
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost A
Call to Worship
Based upon Genesis 32. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Wrestling
Struggling, resisting
Powers beyond understanding
Embracing, reconciling
Sacred
Let us wrestle
Let us worship
that which is sacred.
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost A
Call to Worship
Reflection upon Genesis 45. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1999. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Broken hearts
scattered
yet never lost.
Voices calling
from deep beyond
inviting wholeness.
Tears molding pieces
together again.
Hearts for God.
Hearts of God.