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Text of the page (random words):
on is to share inspire and encourage share this print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x like loading leave a comment posted in other another thing and also with you posted on march 27 2017 7 comments since you and i are talking via the internet i know that we can t see each other but i hope we can see eye to eye metaphorically on this issue when it comes to the worship service different styles abound we all have our preferences but here s something that really annoys me in any service when the preacher joyfully proclaims the peace of christ be with you i am annoyed if while we are returning the just as joyous and also with you the preacher is busy gathering notes and notebooks and moving on to the next thing in the service what i think look at me granted the preacher cannot look at each of us at the same time but they can look at the congregation they can graciously receive god s peace from us when we first started at edgewood presbyterian i loved how pastor sid glowed and obviously enjoyed this holy moment and after he retired i did not let too many sundays pass before i took young pastor joe aside and confronted him on his rush to prepare for the next moment in worship joe we are talking to you this not some pointless call and response we are heaping peace all over you please pause and accept it i think he was stunned 1 that i criticized him and 2 that i was right to this day joe knows when i m in church because at this point in the service he s looking right at me and glowing the peace of christ be with you we are not christians alone my mission is to share inspire and encourage share this print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x like loading 7 comments posted in other tagged peace worship another thing what s in a name posted on march 18 2017 1 comment while we are talking about these sermons i d like to share what my church edgewood presbyterian church pcusa calls this ministry awhile back at a worship committee meeting the discussion turned to inclusive language using non gender words for god people centered language broad descriptions of family and other expressions for the biggest possible definition of we for all our awareness we then noted that calling these children s sermons is not inclusive as if this part of worship is just for kids or even larger as if this is the only part for children we brainstormed and struggled and finally decided to name this part of worship the sermon from the steps and name the adult sermon the sermon from the pulpit there doesn t seem to be any confusion during worship pastor joe says and now i invite kids young and old to come down front for the sermon from the steps we have not banned the words children s sermon and we support calling things by their obvious name but we think sermon from the steps and sermon from the pulpit are truer names for our sermons and reflect our belief that we are all children of god and that we all belong together in worship as you review your use of inclusive language we encourage you not to forget the kids i found this post from the unitarian universalist association helpful fran while it seems the name should be sermon on the steps to call the other one sermon on the pulpit made us giggle we are not christians alone my mission is to share inspire and encourage share this print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x like loading 1 comment posted in other tagged children of god children s ministry children s sermons inclusive language sermons advent and christmas 2016 posted on november 12 2016 1 comment for advent and christmas 2016 revised common lectionary year a narrative lectionary year 3 greetings during the past few advents we have highlighted tools we use to prepare for the mystery of christmas the creche the chrismon tree and the wreath this year we will partner with our missions ministry and focus on the advent calendar whereas with a traditional advent calendar doors are opened and a treat is received our advent calendar will invite the people to bring an item each week for missions we are still processing the details so edits will be made to this post over the next few weeks and your comments are always welcome do not hesitate to adjust this series to fit your lectionary focus and the needs of your community editor s note my church has switched lectionary edgewood presbyterian is spending this year exploring the narrative lectionary created in 2010 by luther seminary the narrative lectionary is a four year cycle and uses fewer but bigger chunks of text each week progressing september to may from creation to the early church for more information click here this is why you will notice both rcl and nl texts listed each week fortunately they kinda line up thematically for advent the basic outline christ the king sunday november 20 rc lectionary colossians 1 11 20 n lectionary jeremiah 31 31 34 since we will be asking the people to bring items each week we will use this sunday prior to advent to introduce the series advent 1 november 27 rc lectionary matthew 24 36 44 n lectionary daniel 6 6 27 focus word peace missions item honey for a local food pantry alas due to health code regulations this must be store bought processed honey and not neighbor artisan honey advent 2 december 4 rc lectionary isaiah 11 1 10 romans 15 4 13 n lectionary joel 2 12 13 28 29 focus word hope missions item pajamas for first light womens shelter advent 3 december 11 rc lectionary isaiah 35 1 10 psalm 146 5 10 n lectionary isaiah 61 1 11 focus word comfort missions item socks for mens firehouse shelter advent 4 december 18 rc lectionary matthew 1 18 25 n lectionary luke 1 26 49 focus word greetings missions item chocolate kisses and hugs like hershey s christmas eve december 24 rc and n lectionary luke 2 1 14 15 20 focus word go forth missions item gas cards often those in need stop by the church asking for assistance gas cards will be a way to help without handing out cash gas cards can also be donated to children s hospital ronald mcdonald house to assist those supporting sick family members and now the sermons christ the king sunday november 20 rc lectionary colossians 1 11 20 n lectionary jeremiah 31 31 34 good morning often times when we gather we talk about the church calendar we talk about the special seasons and the special days of the church year we have the season of lent right before the season of easter and after pentecost during the green growing season of summer and fall we have the special days of communion sunday and all saints today on the church calendar is called christ the king sunday today we celebrate the glory of the lord and we also look forward to a new church year christ the king sunday is the last sunday on the church calendar that means next sunday begins a new church year with the season of advent and advent is the time when we prepare for the mystery of christmas talking about calendars and advent well i m sure you have heard those two words together one of the many ways we mark advent and prepare for christmas is with an advent calendar there are many different kinds of advent calendars some have pictures some have stories and some have candy or toys but they all count down the days to the mystery of christmas advent calendars have been used around the world for just over 100 years on traditional advent calendars a door is opened each day doors are a symbol for welcome and sharing and new opportunity this year at epc we celebrate christ the king sunday by opening the door to a new church year and a new kind of advent calendar starting next week for our advent calendar instead of counting days we will count weeks and instead of us getting something we will give items for missions each week we will bring an item to the church gather our items read the bible story and then the items will be delivered to those in need we will count down to and prepare for the mystery of christmas by following christ s example of welcome and sharing by sharing god s love with our community and so what we will bring for next sunday for the first sunday of advent we will collect honey as you celebrate thanksgiving this week get a jar of store bought processed honey and next week we will collect them for the food pantry at ipc and we will see how honey is a sweet way to share god s love will you pray with me this is an echo prayer the leader says a line and the people repeat it dear christ the king thank you for the special days and seasons of the church year thank you for many ways to share your love we love you you love us amen advent 1 november 27 keep calm and advent on rc lectionary matthew 24 36 44 n lectionary daniel 6 6 27 focus word peace missions item honey for a local food pantry alas due to health code regulations this must be store bought processed commercial honey and not neighbor artisan honey inspiration in his advent book like a cat asleep on a chair my friend wayne mclaughlin reflects on the clause by c k williams this entity i call my mind this hive of restlessness good morning happy new year today we start a new church year with the season of advent advent is the time we prepare for the mystery of christmas some people use an advent calendar to count down the days to christmas they open doors on the calendar to see a picture or to read a story or to get a treat we are using the advent calendar idea to count down the four weeks to christmas but instead of us opening a door each week to get a treat we are opening our hearts and giving gifts to those in need today for the first week of advent we are giving jars of honey to the ipc food pantry honey is made by bees bees are very busy always moving always working always buzzing sometimes i feel like our world is a great big beehive all the people are buzzing with activity just like bees we race through the days doing this taking care of that we don t slow down we don t stop narrative lectionary our bible story today is about the prophet daniel he s the one who ends up in the lions den and how does daniel get through daniel stays calm daniel stays calm and trusts god rclectionary our bible story today from the gospel of matthew reminds us to be ready for god but not worry about god we are to keep calm and trust god at this time of year the world seems particularly busy and crazy but for us at church advent is a time to be particularly calm we are called to pause from the buzzing here and there of the world around us during advent we prepare for the mystery of christmas calmly quietly peacefully bees move quickly but honey when we pour honey it moves sweetly and slowly our gift to the food pantry gives us a touch of peace while giving others a touch of god s love through the sweetness of his creation sharing peace is what advent is all about this is how we prepare for the mystery of christmas today starts the first week of advent we have opened our hearts and given our first gift next week for the second week of advent we ask you to bring pajamas for the guests at first light women s shelter and through this season remember keep calm and advent on will you pray with me this is an echo prayer the leader says a line and the people repeat it dear lord thank you for bees who are quick thank you for honey which is slow help me open my heart to be calm and to share your peace amen note usually at this point we have a special advent song this year we are opting for the organist to match the weeks and play one two three then four verses of the twelve days of christmas but very slowly and in a minor key this will sound familiar but very different and perfect for the advent mood advent 2 december 4 rc lectionary isaiah 11 1 10 romans 15 4 13 n lectionary joel 2 12 13 28 29 focus word hope missions item pajamas for first light women s shelter good morning we are in the season of advent advent is the time we prepare for the mystery of christmas some people use an advent calendar to count down the days to christmas they open doors on the calendar to see a picture or to read a story or to get a treat we are using the advent calendar idea to count down the four weeks to christmas but instead of us opening a door each week to get a treat we are opening our hearts and giving gifts to those in need last sunday for the first week of advent our gifts of honey went to the ipc food pantry today starts the second week of advent and today we have brought pajamas for the guests at first light women s shelter narrative lectionary our bible story today is from the prophet joel rc lectionary our bible story today is from the prophet isaiah we hear words of hope for our future but hope is not a weak word that means we wish hope is a strong word that means we know during advent we renew our hope renew our knowledge that our future is beautiful and abounding in god s love pajamas are an odd gift to connect to hope but let s think about it we don t have to have pajamas a t shirt and shorts work just fine so giving pajamas goes beyond the practical beyond what is needed pajamas are special and giving something special is a way of expressing hope first light women s shelter is a place for women who do not have a home by giving pajamas to the guests at first light we are wrapping them in a coat of love love love we are renewing their hope their knowledge that their future is beautiful and always abounding in god s love sharing hope and peace is what advent is all about this is how we prepare for the mystery of christmas today starts the second week of advent we have opened our hearts and given our second gift next week for the third week of advent we ask you to bring socks for the guests at the men s firehouse shelter and through this season remember keep calm express hope and advent on will you pray with me this is an echo prayer the leader says a line and the people repeat it dear lord thank you for pajamas to keep all your children warm help me open my heart to be calm to express hope and to share your peace amen note usually at this point we have a special advent song this year we are opting for the organist to match the weeks and play one two three then four verses of the twelve days of christmas but very slowly and in a minor key this will sound familiar but very different and perfect for the advent mood advent 3 december 11 rc lectionary isaiah 35 1 10 psalm 146 5 10 n lectionary isaiah 61 1 11 focus word comfort missions item socks for men s firehouse shelter editor s note for this sunday an alternate revised common lectionary is the annunciation which falls on week 4 in the narrative lectionary this gets a bit tricky but you may want to switch my sermons aroun...