Graduation
VISUAL ARTS (PARAMENTS, GENERAL DECORATIONS, SPECIFIC DECORATIONS)
Brim: Creative Overflow in Worship Design
Banner Designs for the Church Year
- Have pictures of the graduates on a screen to scroll while the church community is gathering. The pictures might be especially meaningful if some of them are of them at different ages in the church (Christmas program, VBS, camps, etc.)
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: We come to celebrate those who have passed through their school years and are now graduating.
All: At their baptism we promised to share with them the good news of the gospel and we have taught them through Christian education activities as they have also been taught to read, write and other important lessons in their schools.
Leader: We come to be with these graduates and recognize this important milestone in their lives.
All: At their baptism we promised to surround them with love and compassion and today we want to show them that love and compassion as we wrap them in God’s love as they move on their faith journey.
Leader: We come to tell stories of their faith, their growth, their wisdom.
All: At their baptism we promised to support them through prayer, fellowship and direction. We plan to continue to pray for them. We are here to fellowship and worship with them. We will continue to give them direction no matter where they go from here.
Leader: We are here to thank God for these graduates and the gifts they have given and will continue to give to this church.
All: Hallelujah! Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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INVOCATION
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MUSIC (HYMNS, SONGS, ANTHEMS)
- God of the Sparrow
- Lord, When I Came Into This Life
- God of Our Life
- I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry
- May God Support You All Your Days
—William Warren
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CALL TO CONFESSION
Like a teen who has stayed out past our curfew, we are sorry for our wrongdoing and need to face the consequences in order to go forward. God, like a loving parent, calls us into relationship and asks that we say we are sorry and mean it. God says that if we are genuine in our repentance that our sins will be forgiven. Let us confess our sins to our Loving Parent.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of the ages, we stand before you confessing our sins in community because we know that we have all sinned and fallen short of what you expect of us and truthfully what we expect of ourselves. From the moment we selfishly grabbed a toy from another child’s arms to last week when we did not take the opportunity to help another person, we have been sinners. We have not been kind to others, we have chosen ourselves over a family member, and we say we will do the right thing and then choose the wrong. Forgive us Lord. Cleanse us from the grime of sin, so we can shine as your children once again. Wash off the grit of hate, greed, injustice, and fear. Give us a peace to accept what you have offered us, and show us how to give that peace to others. In the name of the perfect one, Jesus Christ. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Since we all sin, we cannot condemn each other. Only Jesus Christ can do that. But he came to earth, lived, died, and rose for us. Friends, believe this good news! Through Jesus Christ we are forgiven by God and can come back into relationship with the triune God. Thanks be to God! Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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CHILDREN’S SERMON
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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
God, you have given us heads to think; let us meditate and discern your word for us. You have given us hearts to feel; let us learn new ways to be loving. You have given us hands and feet to do and go. Let us take this wisdom that we hear and this love that we feel to be of service to others. Open us up to your word. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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SCRIPTURE TEXTS/SERMON IDEAS
- 1 Timothy 4:6-16
- Psalm 25:4-10
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS (VIDEOS, TAPED SONGS)
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PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Pastor: _____, _____, and _____,
we rejoice that you have been and are
a part of this Christian fellowship.
In this community of faith you have been
nurtured as you have heard the good news
of God’s saving love through teachers and
youth leaders and all the many people who
love you here. God has blessed you and made you
a blessing in our life together.
All: You have helped to deepen our joy and lighten
our sorrow. As you leave us to go to college
or to fulfill your call and to offer your gifts
for the sake of God’s love in the world, we will miss your love
and presence. Yet we rejoice that you will bless others
as you have blessed us.
Pastor: Faithful God, keep, preserve, and protect _____,
_____ and _____, all their days. By the power of your
Holy Spirit, may they be salt of the earth and light
for the world, always secure in the faith that binds us
forever in the body of Christ.
All: Amen.
—William Warren
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LITANY
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INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
What have we done with our gifts in the past to support these graduates and others in this church community? We have sent them to camps, purchased them Sunday school material, sponsored their mission trips. We have supplied the food pantry, donated to the clothes closet, and provided fellowship to those who don’t have much. Let us give generously and see what else God can do with the gifts we give back.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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OFFERTORY PRAYER
O God, we sometimes forget that the offering we take up every Sundays is more than just a plate of money that we have to pass to our neighbor. It is ministry and service, it is care and outreach, it is celebration and maintenance. We give these gifts knowing that you will multiply them and use them for justice and kindness and peace. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
As always at the end of our service, we are being sent out into the world, not to keep our light under a basket, but to let it shine for all to see.
These graduates may be going to different places to worship in different churches, but we know that they will let their lights shine there.
So go, knowing that God our loving parent, God our example and God our comfort, go with us wherever we go. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
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OTHER HELPS (COMMISSION, COMMUNION, BLESSINGS)
One of the things that can be done in this service is to give the graduates a blessing time. This time might include giving them a blanket that says that can remember that they are wrapped in God’s love and wrapped in the love of their church.
—Elinor Swindle Brown