Rowena introduced her
theme with a poem which I think is worth printing in full.
Call to Worship:
Reaching for Rainbows – Ann Weems
Adaptedhttp://www.amazon.com/Reaching-Rainbows-Resources-Creative-Worship/dp/066424355X#reader_066424355X
(Rearranged to reduce
size)
I keep reaching for rainbows.
Thinking that one of God’s good mornings
I will wake up with
rainbow ribbons in my hair, With my hurts painted over in hues that only angel wings
could brush, With black obliterated and chaos hurled beyond the rainbow and my vision.
But I keep reaching for rainbows...The world created in a myriad of colours:
The hungry fed, The dying held, The maimed walking, The angry stroked, The violent calmed,
The oppressed freed, The oppressors changed, And every tear wiped away.
I keep reaching for
rainbows,
But instead of
colours in the storm, Grey and black infiltrate and dirty the sky, And I hear human
voices wailing in the darkness ...Just the same I know the promise of the rainbow. I keep thinking I’ll
turn the corner one day And find a litany of rainbows Flung across the sky. Hosannaing back and
forth Through all the ages
and Out into eternity
forever amen!
Every tear wiped away
– It’s God’s promise –
When we become rainbows to each other. Amen.
Rowena then followed
this with a prayer of Adoration, seamlessly continuing the theme of God’s
goodness overcoming the darkness that humans carry with Prayers of
Adoration:
Let us pray:
God of storms and
rainbows, God of rain and sunshine, God of all creation we worship and adore
you. We gaze in wonder at the beauty of your creation and marvel at
stormy skies transformed with the vibrant colours of a rainbow. Like Noah
and his family, we praise you for this everlasting sign of your love and care
for the whole creation in your desire to preserve and not destroy life. And
at Jesus’ baptism, the sky again revealed your love when you identified him
with the same Spirit who empowers and strengthens each of us. For all
these assurances of your love for us and for the whole creation, we praise and
worship you, O God, in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus
Christ, our Saviour and Lord, Amen. from www.liturgiesonline.com.au
We had been each
given a slip of paper on which was printed a rainbow and on each band of the
rainbow, sins of which we are all sometimes guilty.
At this point we were
invited to make personal confession and take that piece of paper with our
confession and offer it to God. We placed those confessions in a bowl and then
took another Rainbow printed paper where the bands of which were overprinted
with the words: love, creativity, joy, peace, faith and wisdom, all
characteristics which grow from the good the Spirit can infuse into us.
Interestingly the
first slip of paper was just that…paper, which could disintegrate quickly. The
second piece with the solid virtues which can sustain a life of light was
laminated to protect it from weathering. The symbolism of the exercise was
clear.
Also clear, was
readiness of the members of the congregation to accept the opportunity to lay
their burdens at the feet of the only one who can relieve us of the sin that is
the result of our flawed humanity
Rowena then exhorted
us, in the coming week: “to focus on the good things on this card and look to
how you can bring them more into your daily living.” Then:
So, in this way, the
time of confession and lifting of burdens was to go with us, even as we
proceeded with the rest of the service and our lives after the service.
In her Reflection,
Rowena offered:
We enter and
the cross, we cling to the signs of God’s covenantal love. Seasons of the Spirit
– SeasonsFusionLent * Easter 2018 copyright (c) Wood Lake Publishing Inc.2017
Rowena offered many
wise and helpful words but space does not allow me to pass all of them on. Let
me finish with
In the amazing cosmic
moment when sunlight and raindrops interact in just the right balance, like a
prism, to create this thing of beauty, God says, “remember.....” remember my
promise! Seasons of the Spirit –
SeasonsFusionLent * Easter 2018 copyright (c) Wood Lake Publishing Inc.2017
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