Memorial Day
VISUAL ARTS (PARAMENTS, GENERAL DECORATIONS, SPECIFIC DECORATIONS)
Brim: Creative Overflow in Worship Design
Banner Designs for the Church Year
You may want to gather large rocks for your altar and stack them as a remembrance of those we celebrate and remember today.
…
CALL TO WORSHIP
—Based on Isaiah 51:1-3 (The Message)
Leader: Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God.
People: We want to live right and come closer to God.
Leader: Ponder the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug.
People: On this day we do remember our families, both those from whom we come
and those with whom we have worshiped.
Leader: Yes, ponder Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who bore you.
Think of it! One solitary man when I called him, but once I blessed him, he multiplied.
People: We remember those who have fought to make us a free people, both spiritually and physically.
Leader: Likewise, I God, will comfort Zion, comfort all her mounds of ruins.
People: We remember the lives that have been lost and the communities that have been devastated.
Leader: I’ll transform her dead ground into Eden, her moonscape into the garden of God,
People: We remember that out of the terrible horror of war,
that we have brought justice and compassion to those who were oppressed.
Leader: A place filled with exuberance and laughter, thankful voices, and melodic songs.
People: We remember on this Memorial Day and give thanks for those who have lost their lives for us.
We remember them with exuberance and laughter, thanksgiving, and songs of praise.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
Leader: We come from all over to this sacred place—to honor and remember those from long ago.
All: Comfort us, O God.
Leader: We come from all over to this sacred place—to create holy memories.
All: Revive us, O God.
Leader: We come from all over to this sacred place—to fellowship together.
All: Unite us, O God.
Leader: We come from all over to this sacred place—to encounter you, O God.
All: Still us, O God.
—Abby Prevost
…
INVOCATION
…
MUSIC (HYMNS, SONGS, ANTHEMS)
We Gather Together—to celebrate the end of the Spanish control in the Netherlands in 1626
This is My Song—first two stanzas written between the two World Wars praying for peace; the third harkens back to the Lord’s Prayer
Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life—to end inequality and promote justice as our service people do. Sing especially verses 1,2,6
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
CALL TO CONFESSION
This is a day of remembrance for those who have died, but do we really remember those who are still living who very much need us to protect them? God has said that must confess our sins. So let us offer our prayer of confession.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O God, we are a selfish people, not in the way we believe, but in the way we act. We take for granted that we are free to do as we please and do not count the cost for others. We enjoy our blessings without thinking to be a blessing to others. We take for ourselves while not even thinking what our hoarding is leaving for others less fortunate than us. God, we are sorry and ask for your forgiveness. Give us an awareness of others’ needs amidst the act of getting our needs met. Give us a heart for people who are grieving, hurting, lonely, and looking for relationship in our world. You have given us an example of self-sacrifice in those who have died for their country and especially in your son Jesus Christ who made the ultimate sacrifice for our lives. Forgive us our selfishness and lead us into your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Who can judge us for our sins? Only Christ. And praise God that Christ lived, died and rose for us to live our lives to the fullest. Hear this good news: through Christ Jesus, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
CHILDREN’S SERMON
See the stones on the altar table today? Those stones are there to help us remember the people who have fought bravely for our country so we might have the rights and freedoms that we have today. Now I wonder where we got the idea to use stones to remember things. A lot of countries have stones that are piled together as a special place to remember. (show some pictures of cairns in Ireland and England)
Even in the Bible there are lots of people who put stones on top of each other to make an altar. It was a way to remember what special thing had happened there. In Joshua 4 there is a story about special stones for a special thing that happened that I want to share with you.
Joshua was chosen to lead God’s people into the Promised Land. The land that God had chosen for them to live. There was a specially decorated box that they called the Ark of the Covenant and it had important things in it that God had given them. (If you have a drawing of it you can show it.) There were special people to carry the Ark and all God’s people followed the Ark so they would know where they were going.
One day, God told Joshua to have the people who carried the Ark to walk into the Jordan River. When they did, God pushed back the water so the Ark and all the people following it could walk across and not get hurt. Joshua told twelve leaders in the group to pick up some big rocks that were close to the Ark, and to carry them to the other side of the river. When they got to the other side, they piled up the rocks in their campsite.
And then Joshua said this in Joshua 4:6-7 “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So, these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever.”
Just like today we remember special people who did special things by stacking stones on the altar, God’s people also did that to remember that God was taking care of them all the time. We can remember that God is taking care of us all the time. (You may want to give all the children a small stone to remember that God takes care of them all the time.)
Let’s pray: God, thank you for taking care of us, your people, all the time. Thank you for giving us a way to remember with stones so that when we see them we can remember why they are there. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
O Holy God, your prophets call us to listen and pay attention. So, we ask you to wake us up, to cause us to listen to your word for us today. In Christ’s holy name. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
SCRIPTURE TEXTS/SERMON IDEAS
- Isaiah 51:1-11
- —Elinor Swindle Brown
…
SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS (VIDEOS, TAPED SONGS)
…
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
…
LITANY
Leader: We look to the rock from which we were hewn, God of all ages, and raise our voices to always give you the praise you deserve.
People: We look to the rock from which we were hewn and remember with praise.
Leader: God of all time, we raise our voices to give you the joy we feel in our hearts as we look to our families and friends and those who have and continue to make us happy.
People: We look to the rock from which we were hewn and remember with joy.
Leader: God of time everlasting, we raise our voices in thanksgiving that even though we do not deserve your grace and mercy because our faith is not always strong, you give it to us freely. And for that we are eternally grateful.
People: We look to the rock from which we were hewn and remember with thanksgiving.
Leader: God of freedom, we raise our voices in grateful thanks for those who have fought for our country and for our freedom and democracy. We know that they have sacrificed all that they had and for that we are grateful.
People: We look to the rock from which we were hewn and remember with grateful hearts.
Leader: God of justice, we raise our voices in concern as we look at the disunity that is enveloping our nation—racism, greed, classism, sexism, injustice, and just plain evil. We know that even these things are no match for your need for love, peace, and unity.
People: We look to the rock from which we were hewn and remember with concern and hope.
Leader: God of healing, we raise our voices to lift those who need your healing in their lives: they are sick, they are grieving, they are alone. We name them and intercede on their behalf that you might extend your healing, comforting hands to them in their time of need.
(allow silence for people to name those who need our prayers)
For these named and others unnamed, we ask your blessings and healing to flow down on them like water.
People: We look to the rock from which we were hewn and remember to intercede for others.
Leader: God of all things, we raise our voices to give you all the glory and honor and praise that you so richly deserve.
People: We look to the rock from which we were hewn and remember. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
Fighting for justice does not only mean serving one’s country. It also means giving to those in need to make a world where everyone has enough. We have that opportunity fight for justice. Now is the time to bring God our tithes and offerings.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
OFFERTORY PRAYER
God of justice and compassion, we bring what we have. It is perhaps not all that we have. It is perhaps not as much as we need to give. But we hope what we have brought will be a pleasing offering to you and that it can be used to make the world a place where everyone has enough. In the name of Jesus who brought all that he had, Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown
…
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Now is the time for us to go and serve others.
We have remembered those who lost their lives in the service of their country.
We have remembered where we came from and caught a glimpse of where we need to go.
So, as we go, may God the Creator of all be above us,
May God the Savior of all be in us.
May God the Comforter for all be around us guiding us to do God’s will. Amen.
—Elinor Swindle Brown