Summer 2001: Breath of Summer – Minding the Moment

 

Seekers Church

A Christian Community

In the Tradition of the Church of the Saviour

 

Summer 2001

 Breath of Summer
Minding the Moment

 

REFLECTION

 

Peace is every step.

The shining red sun is my heart.

Each flower smiles with me.

How green, how fresh all that grows.

How cool the wind blows.

Peace is every step.

It turns the endless path to joy.

  Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step, pg ix.

 

 

PRELUDE

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

One:          God calls us this day to a life of joy.

 

Many:         With God,

joy cracks through the bonds of despair.

 

One:          With God,

joy bursts forth in moments of quiet pleasure.

 

Many:        With God,

joy gilds the edges of even ordinary days.

 

All:             This is the day which our God has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 

INVOCATION

 

HYMN

 

SILENCE

 

LITANY OF CALL

One:          God calls us in the midst of our lives:

"Pause a while and hear that I am God."

 

Many:         God calls us from our lofty ambitions,

from our preoccupations

with marvels and matters beyond our scope:

"Let be and learn that I am God."

 

One:          God calls us into shelter —

a place of calm and quiet for our souls:

"Be still and know that I am God."

 

All:             We are like a child

quieted at its mother's breast.

God is with us now and evermore.  Amen.

 

SILENCE

 

PRAYERS

CONFESSION 

One:          God of work and play, God of crowds and solitude,

we confess how hard it is

to let ourselves be simply quiet.

 

Voice 1:     We often feel imprisoned by longer days

demanding more than we can give.

 

Voice 2:     We lose the joys that called us into commitments.

It's easy to forget that saying "no" can sometimes

open doors to re-creation more than saying "yes."

 

All:             Forgive us, Creator of eternity,

giver of time not bound by calendars or clocks.

 

INDIVIDUAL CONFESSIONS

 

ASSURANCE 

One:          "And on the seventh day, God rested." 

Go, and do the same, for God is here

to love and re-create you for the days to come.

Amen.

 

COMMUNITY PRAYERS

 

HYMN

 

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE

SERMON

SILENT REFLECTION

 

OFFERING

OFFERTORY MUSIC

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

 

SHARED REFLECTIONS

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

HYMN

 

BENEDICTION 

One:          Go forth in joy.

Laugh, and share delights.

Be at ease in your struggles,

bold in your loving,

joyful in giving,

and graceful in your praying:

Become a song of God's delight.

Amen.

 

WORSHIP SOURCES

Call to Worship:  Flames of the Spirit, pg 66, #38.

Litany:  Flames of the Spirit, pg 59, #8.