Thanksgiving 1999: Extravagant Gratitude
Seekers Church
A Christian Community
In the Tradition of the Church of the Saviour
Thanksgiving 1999
Extravagant Gratitude
SILENT REFLECTION
So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.
From Welcome Morning by Anne Sexton.
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Come and hear what God has done.
Community: Come away from the confusion,
from the pushing and pulling,
from the narrow focus of work and worry.
Come and celebrate the good news of the risen Christ!
INVOCATION
HYMN
WORD FOR THE CHILDREN
SILENCE
LITANY
Leader: Come and hear what God has done —
Community: God has listened to all our prayer.
Voice 1: When we pass through the torrent of deep troubles,
God turns the sea to dry land.
Voice 2: When we are tangled in the web of life,
God does not let our feet slip.
Voice 1: When we are tested as silver is tried,
God keeps us in the land of the living.
Voice 2: When we go through fire and water,
God brings us to a spacious place.
Community: Come and hear what God has done —
God surrounds us with steadfast love.
SILENCE
PRAYERS
COMMON CONFESSION
Leader: Alice Walker wrote: "But one day when I was sitting quiet and feeling like a motherless child, which I was, it come to me: that feeling of being part of everything, not separate at all. I knew that if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed. And I laughed and cried and I run all around the house. I knew just what it was. In fact, when it happen, you can’t miss it…I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple somewhere and don’t notice it."
Community: Every day, we walk by the color purple,
or green, or yellow, or blue,
and we don’t notice it.
Leader: Every day, we refuse to hear
the sound of laughter,
or footsteps, or birdsong,
or weeping.
Community: Every day, God’s extravagant gifts
surround us
and fill us
and connect us
with every one and every thing,
and we don’t notice it.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: Come and hear what God has done:
Even when we don’t notice,
God’s extravagant gifts continue
to surround us
and fill us
and connect us
with every one and every thing,
Showering our lives with grace.
PRAYERS OF THE COMMUNITY
HYMN
THE WORD
FIRST LESSON
SILENCE
GOSPEL LESSON
SERMON
SILENT REFLECTION
OFFERING
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Go forth into the gift-laden world.
Beauty is before you.
Beauty is behind you.
Beauty is above you.
Beauty is below you.
Praise to the Creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Praise! Praise! Praise! Amen.
==
LITURGY RESOURCES
Confession: Based on The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Litany: Based on An Improbable Gift of Blessing by Maren C. Tirabassi and Joan Jordan Grant, pg 192-93.
