Time, Worship Seasons
Advent: The O Antiphons
One tradition of Advent, the four weeks before Christmas Day, has long held a particular mystique for me. It’s called the “O Antiphons.” “Antiphons” are short prayers that are chanted, said, or sung. Ever since the 8th Century CE, Roman Christian brothers and sisters in the Religious Orders (monks and nuns) have said this special…
Read MoreAdvent: The Song of Time
Time can look linear for us, but not for God. Living in the Western half of the globe, I grew up assuming that time flows forward from past to present to future. But especially in the past five years or so, I’ve immersed myself in time as a circle—the continuous circle of the ancient Christian…
Read MoreHome Communion Elk Grove United Methodist Church
GREETING (responsively) The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you And also with you. The risen Christ is with us. Praise the Lord! OPENING PRAYER (all) Almighty and everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being, you created us for yourself, So that our hearts are restless until they…
Read MoreLeading Worship evaluation sheet
Response to “Leading Worship” course November, 2024 Name: Local Church: 1. What I most appreciated (or) found most meaningful was: 2 What I’d like to say to Betsy Schwarzentraub as teacher: 3. What I’d like to tell others about Betsy’s book, Tossed In Time Expanded Edition: 4. After participating in this planning retreat, I’d like…
Read MoreAdvent Devotion Based on John 1:1-5
“In the beginning,” John says—the very beginning, as “when God began to create” in Genesis chapter one, verse one. So here is a new genesis: God’s speaking the Word of Love incarnate, in the One we would come to know in human history as Jesus of Nazareth. But not only Him. God’s love is embodied…
Read MoreHanging of the Greens: Their Origin and Meaning
Excerpts from an article by Tracy L. Meyers The Hanging of the Greens occurs annually at the start of Advent* and is a multisensory communal event. . . . ADVENT = a time of preparation for Christmas and preparing ourselves for a new year living in the presence of God through our relationship with his…
Read MoreElectronic Resources for Advent & Lent Planning Retreat 9/2024
In addition to print book, Tossed in Time Expanded Edition: Steering by the Christian Seasons (includes season themes, questions, and activities) For the Christian Year 1. Dr. Marcia McFee, worship consultant: Worship Design Studio Partnership with the California-Nevada Annual Conference: You Tube uploads from Marcia McFee (317 of them!): https://www.youtube.com/@marciamcfee5248 including The Inn Advent Worship…
Read MoreFlipping Expectations thread for Lent, Year C
1st Sun. 3/9/2025 God is our Refuge. Don’t put God to the test. Week: Testing God Luke 4:1-13 – Jesus tested by devil: We don’t live by bread alone; Worship only God; Don’t put God to the test. Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 – God my refuge, fortress, and dwelling place. God rescues those who know God’s…
Read MoreThe Technology of Time
“From Scrolls to Scrolling” is a fascinating article about the “technology” of Judaism. Ever since the COVID pandemic, I’ve been intrigued by the Christian worship seasons and the reassuring framework they give to help us steer our way through time, so this piece in the latest issue of The Plough immediately caught my eye. J.…
Read MorePost-Pandemic Resilience
These are more than just “tough days.” Ever since emerging from the pandemic, it seems we’ve been ripping away at our own social fabric, with take-no-prisoners politics, arbitrary violence, and Armageddon thinking. If there was ever a time requiring resilience, we could say it is now. “Resilience” is actually something scientists have been studying. They…
Read MoreThis Week In Between
Reign of Christ Sunday is hardly a household phrase, much less its earlier designation (begun in the 1920s), “Christ the King Sunday.” This is a special worship day – the end and climax of the entire Liturgical Year – that points to an important head-and-heart experience for a follower of Jesus. It celebrates the sovereignty…
Read MoreNo Chicken Little
I’ve never been the Chicken Little type of person to cry, “The sky is falling!” But I do believe in taking a sober look around when necessary to reassess the situation, in order to search for some genuinely good news. That’s why now is an essential time to reassess our need for a stronger foundation…
Read MorePentecost Prayer
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that…
Read MoreResurrection and Wild Waves
Okay, I admit it: ever since COVID and writing my book Tossed in Time, I’ve been partial to Matthew’s story of Jesus walking on the stormy water – and Peter’s crazy request to walk on the wild waves with him! (Matthew 14: 22-33) A fisherman by trade, Peter clearly knew those nighttime storms could mean…
Read MoreWeek of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023
I didn’t grow up celebrating a bunch of special Christian days, but I’m finding some of the basics reassuring in these uncertain times. One of those is a hundred-year-old tradition called the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It lasts for eight days, usually Jan. 18-25. That’s this week. Even the phrase “Christian unity” may…
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