Easter 2000: The Future is Possible
Seekers Church
A Christian Community
In the Tradition of the Church of the Saviour
Easter 2000
The Future is Possible
SILENT REFLECTION
the green of Jesus
is breaking the ground
and the sweet
smell of delicious Jesus
is opening the house and
the dance of Jesus music
has hold of the air and
the world is turning
in the body of Jesus and
the future is possible
“spring song,” by Lucille Clifton.
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Easter begins in despair.
Our life, our love, our hope forever dead,
crushed by boulder, bottled up in a cave.
Who will roll away the stone?
Unison: Easter takes us by surprise.
The obstacles we expect to face are removed.
Where once death and despair laid
locked in time
now the bright light of hope sprouts wings
to fly from emptiness.
It is, at first, too good to be true.
Hallelujah! Christ is risen!
INVOCATION
HYMN
WORD FOR THE CHILDREN
SILENCE
LITANY
Leader: When overtaken by a miracle,
our first reflex is to run.
Voice 1: Be not afraid.
Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified.
Voice 2: He is risen, he is not here:
see the place where they laid him.
Leader: But go your way.
Tell the disciples and Peter
that he goes before you into Galilee.
There you shall see him.
Voice 1: Suddenly the realization dawns.
It may rise as quietly
as the sun creeping over the horizon,
Voice 2: or it may explode like fireworks,
painting the world with dazzle.
Community: We recognize the One who was dead
as he comes to life within us.
Christ is risen, risen indeed!
SILENCE
PRAYERS
COMMON CONFESSION
Leader: This is the Easter season,
A time when we might know that the future is possible.
Voice 1: But so often the spirit has gone out of us,
draining away like the ebbing tide,
and we feel forsaken in the midst of opportunity.
Voice 2: Then the good news breaks upon us
like crashing waters on the shore,
molding and shaping us,
and we long for the peace and quiet
of a gentle summer dawn.
Community: O Holy maker of a future full of possibility,
we would be filled with your spirit
like a field of dancing flowers,
but all this unexpected glory is disturbing,
Forgive us our reluctance to dance.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: All who encounter the Risen One
whether gently aroused by sunrise
or surprised by the sudden burst of joy
will join the Resurrection Procession
one by one, slipping into step,
some of us singing,
some of us silently soaking it in,
and all of us feeling like dancing.
PRAYERS OF THE COMMUNITY
HYMN
THE WORD
FIRST LESSON
SILENCE
GOSPEL LESSON
SERMON
SILENT REFLECTION
OFFERING
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Rejoice in the Good News of the risen Christ.
Join the Resurrection Procession,
sharing the good news that God has a future for us.
Watch for the dawn that God is bringing.
Let yourself be changed by faith!
Worship Resources
Call to Worship: Ruth Duck & Maren Tirabassi, ed., Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship, pg 75.
Litany: Duck & Tirabassi, pg 75.
Assurance: Duck & Tirabassi, pg 76.
