Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb God named me.
Is. 49:1
It's Tuesday in Holy Week...how go your preparations? The texts for this day may be found here and the preachers I know are all over the week in terms of which service they are preparing for today.
Are you looking at Maundy Thursday? Good Friday? Saturday? or are you already crafting your words for the Great Festival Day?
Share in the comments where you are and where you are going...or hope to be going. In the end, the news is good!
I just made a big pot of Starbucks' Kenya, and I have seedless grapes in black and green. Come on down.
Arrrgh... just wrote a really long comment, which vanished into the ether. Poof!
ReplyDeleteHere's where I'm at:
Maundy Thursday: Bulletin done, meditation (1 Corinthians) a seed in my head. Thinking about Jesus' words in "Superstar": "For all you care, this wine could be my blood... for all you care, this bread could be my body."
Good Friday: Our first service here in many years. Seven Last Words According to the Gospel of Matthew:
26:42
26:45-46
26:50
26:52-56
26:63-64
27:11
27:46
I got the idea because I read something somewhere complaining that the traditional seven last words combine versions of Jesus that are theologically incompatible.
Easter Sunday--Sunrise. Another first. All in my head so far.
Easter Sunday-- main service. All in my head.
Oh yeah, and newsletter.
And you, gals and pals?
Fresh donuts for everyone; I got a variety, so take your pick!
ReplyDeleteI have a story I love for my Easter Day sermon. In our school chapel, we often sing (though not in Lent) a simple song: "Allelu, allelu, allelu, alleluia, praise ye the Lord." One of my friends told me that her 5 y.o. son insisted to her one day that the last part is "crazy the Lord"! And that really is the theme of my sermon: how crazy the Lord is, by human standards, to love us so greatly...and exactly as we are, not the "post-Lenten discipline that was going to make me better" self or the "in my fantasies" self or any other way. Each one of us, exactly where we stand right now.
Clergy renewal of vows today. I will confess that I am not looking forward to it, because the last two years the planners have used it as an opportunity to put together an incredibly long (over 2 hours last year!) and ostentatious liturgy that has left me annoyed rather than nourished. So, I pray that it will be more focused this year and that my attitude will improve.
My dad is starting hospice care this week, and those worries are certainly shaping my experience as well :-(
Magdalene, what a list! Interesting about the traditional 7 words being incompatible.
ReplyDeleteBetsy, praying for your preparation about our crazy Lord, your renewal service, and especially your father and those who care for him.
Oh Betsy prayers to you...
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy the "crazy the Lord" theme!
Well now I'm still in pjs and robe... how awful am I? So MaryBeth I'll be right over for some coffee!!
The week seems muddled. I am muddled... as if I'm moving thru cotton candy. Perhaps it is the cool, cloudy weather...
Easter? I can't get my heart or my head there... *sigh* better hurry up though.
My bulletin for Friday and Sunday are done. The Thursday potluck/service is sketched out. Meditation/sermon ideas for all are flowing (see <a href="http://ministerialmutterings.blogspot.com> here to find those beginnings</a>).
ReplyDeleteAnd the funeral for Thursday AM is practically written.
Now to re-read Borg/Crossan's chapter on Good Friday for Book study tonight. And really hope that tomorrow's Council meeting will be shorter than usual.
[word verf is "aliten" must be some way to describe how much we try to cram into this week]
oops! forgot a piece of punctuation so the link did not work:
ReplyDeletehere it is again
I still have to write my homily for TONIGHT not to mention Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My seminarian is preaching tomorrow. I can't complain b/c I am the one who insists on a service every day of Holy Week. But it is definitely a marathon.
ReplyDeleteAnd last night I had to fire our sexton/maintenance guy. We had cause and it really needed to happen, but could the timing be any worse than Holy Week? Ugh. It went ok, but I'm sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop b/c this guy has some "issues." I've been doing damage control all morning.
I am grateful for the Book of Common Prayer because the liturgies are beautiful and I don't have to create them from scratch! And my awesome parish admin has the many bulletins under control, tbtG. Now on to homilies!
Also praying that my daughter who is due on May 2 doesn't go into labor this week...three years ago my first granddaughter was born on Easter Sunday, a week before her due date.
This morning, I was dismayed to learn the news about Greg Mortenson, since our Junior Youth have been engaged in studying "Three Cups of Tea" and raising funds for Pennies for Peace. Aargh!!! What a disillusionment. Do not put your faith in princes, or authors, right?
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, my bulletins/worship plans for MT and Sunrise are done, now to tackle Easter!
Got a draft of my Good Friday sermon done. Friday is also Earth Day and I'm reusing and old title "Son of God, Son of Woman, Child of Earth."
ReplyDeleteThis supply preacher unexpectedly has an Easter invitation, so I'm working on Sunday's stuff already.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, waiting illnesses (yes, plural) to work their way through the household. Preacher hubby has one, Older Daughter has both, younger daughter has one, and I'm well so far. My hopes are not high for the end of the week. We're also supposed to be hosting my family for the holiday weekend, but they may not come due to the Germ Alert Level Orange around here.
My prayers for all of you with just as much going on at home and lots more at the church.
I've been avoiding visiting here because I have so little done on my Easter plans. I've got a good start on the Good Friday sermon, and I decided not to preach another on Maundy Thursday after all. Easter, though, I'm not very far on. Is it wrong that I have absolutely no attraction to the gospel this year? I'm not much of a Paul preacher, but Colossians is sticking out to me, even the optional Jeremiah sounds better than Matthew this time. Not sure what that's about. Not sure what I'm going to do either. Gonna work for a couple of hours trying to figure it out then come back.
ReplyDeleteOh, RDM, really? Rats!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd, sorry for the illnesses and distractions. Onward!
I just brought in some Godiva chocolate...if there were ever a time for it, it may be now.
OK. I'm finding a little more direction. I think I'm NOT going to preach on the gospel on Sunday. I'm just so much more drawn to the language and the images in Colossians and Jeremiah. As I'm starting to muse about these texts it's feeling like more of a 2nd Sunday of Easter sermon, but I think that's a good thing. I'm going to have a little more "Jesus is raised from the dead - - so what" to my sermon instead of just "Jesus is raised from the dead." I tihnk many years I make the second Sunday of Easter my "application" sermon, which means C&E folks rarely get that part of the message from me - - the part when they are made a part of the resurrection and especially resurrection LIVING, too.
ReplyDeleteThinking about being hidden in Christ, grace in the wilderness, and setting my mind on things of God.
I haven't been around for a while, but I would really like to get back into engaging in this community, especially since I'm getting more parishioners/community members following me on twitter and I'm not sure I want them to know how much help I solicit on twitter! They might think I cheat too much in my ministry and on my sermons! (Just kidding...sort of)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have a draft of my meditation for Good Friday (Freudian slip of the fingers...I originally typed 'Goof Friday') posted here. I covet your feedback if you have a second!
I have posted the Order of Worship for our Maundy Thursday combined potluck worship. It is here in case it may be helpful to anyone....
ReplyDeleteAfter writing the Easter bulletin, I am actually doing the thing I planned to do this afternoon, which is writing my meditation for Easter Sunrise. I astound me!
ReplyDeleteI'm using John for sunrise and Matthew for the regular service, and I'm taking very different approaches, so it seemed important to get at least one of them finished or at least well underway before the heavier days later in the week.
i have successfully scripted my children's sermon for Easter (because the timing is tight--normally I don't exactly write those down...). That means everything is now ready for Sunday, but not a single thing is ready for Thursday or Friday.
ReplyDeleteto which I say: well, crap. I have no earthly idea what I'm going to do about that, and Thursday is a mere 2 days away. uh oh.
Teri, I've been known to do that, too, start with the farthest away thing. Sometimes that is a brilliant plan...
ReplyDeleteHi Gals and pals,
ReplyDeleteAlmost finished this afternoon's Aged Care service - all except the reading and sermon. The sermon has a title: People of the cross, people of the empty tomb - and that is all I have. 5 minutes to cover the entire Easter story.
Thursday evening, I have a communion liturgy, from Thom Shum [http://lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.com/] also using some of his material for Good Friday and Easter Sunday this year.
Thursday, Matthew’s gospel – John doesn’t have the last supper. Friday and Sunday – John’s gospel. Sunrise – no idea at all. I don’t usually get anything done for Sunday until after Saturday, but this year not even an idea as to where I am heading. Aiming for minimal preaching Thursday and Friday.
Here it is already Wedensday morning. Time to put something down on paper.
So far, I've managed to get the Stations of the Cross set up and meditations finished (for both adults and children), Maundy Thursday ready to go, Good Friday ready to go, Easter Vigil, ready to go, all that's left is Easter Sunday....I feel oh, so competent....However, Easter Sunday is leaving me feeling stressed...I'm baptizing my granddaughter and will have a church full of marginally churched in-laws. "Crazy the Lord" sounds perfect!
ReplyDeletehi, I'm struggling through a Good Friday sermon, need someone to carry our wooden cross that night, too, and need to write a reader's theatre and do a short meditation for HOly Saturday. also find a few people to help me read.
ReplyDeleteNo sermon on Maundy Thursday, assigned "Woman, behold your son" last word during the community GF service, going to preach a little (very little) during the reading of the gospel on GF night, no Saturday service (decorating, dontcha know) and then Easter... bulletins taking shape. Trying to tease out directions for sunrise early service and second service. Using The Three Trees for children's service. (that's right, we have Easter children's services... not just for Christmas anymore!) ;)
ReplyDeleteI feel like my Maundy Thursday is underway - nothing yet for Saturday Vigil. I went to the Mass of Collegiality yeaterday - got hands and head anointed - very meaningful. It was fun to have lunch with people I never allowed myself to imagine would actually be colleagues one day.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to the RevGals during this Holy Week! Good to hear what's stirring for you in these days. I've been holed up in my studio for a while, immersed in the texts for these days, and have finished a new series of images and reflections that I've posted at The Painted Prayerbook.
ReplyDeleteI've also been offering daily reflections at the Sanctuary of Women blog and would love to have your company there. This week we're focusing on the women of Holy Week and Easter, and I find myself drawn all over again to the ways that the stories of these women intertwine with (and help make possible) the story of Easter.
Sending you prayers, energy, and good cheer from here in Florida, where there's always some orange blossom honey waiting for you if you stop by...
I am all over the place on sermon for Easter (Good Friday is ready at least in my head).
ReplyDeleteI too am disinterested in Gospel this year and have thought about two short sermonettes Jeremiah first, followed by John - neither longer than 5-7 minutes and separated by a few hymns and prayer.
I think I have my Easter sermon plan ready to go, and I hope to even get to writing it this afternoon. I'm working backwards as I know some others are. The plan is Easter sermon, Easter bulletin, Good Friday sermon, last minute Maundy Thursday organization. However, to follow that plan, I need to be able to get to the Maundy Thursday stuff before the MT service. Hmmm.... Good Friday sermon might get pushed to the end of the line, Thursday night. The Easter early service (not all the way at sunrise, none of us have a need to get up that early) is mostly organized by the music director, but I do need to write up/adapt a telling of the whole Palm/Passion/Resurrection story that be accompanied by children playing drums (clip-clopping drum beats for the donkey feet, marching for soldiers, slow stumbling walk with cross, sad feet walking to tomb, excited running away), the idea is for the whole story to end with a heartbeat sound on the drums with the empty tomb as the "heart" of God's love for us, our call to carry that heartbeat forward in our lives.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've been distracted for an hour so I need to get back to that Easter sermon.
Thursday morning and my husband is at the doctor after being ill during the night, so not much sleep for either of us. Thursday evening service is done, except for music. Planning on recorded music rather than singing, but in a change of computers, I can't find my music on the computer, which means finding the CD's.
ReplyDeleteI envy those of you who are far more advanced.
Any ideas for an outside sunrise service, we meet on a sporting oval near the bush, so no musician, projectors etc.
well, can I check into this illustrious circle if I'm just preaching once this week?
ReplyDeleteThursday is all music, Friday is all prayer, and Sunrise is one I've done before with scriptures, songs and sharing communion. None of them have a sermon.
Sunday Sermon = Ah, I KNEW you would ask! Got a title "If not here, where?" but no idea wehre I'm going with it. I used to like an old sermon, now not so much... Well, I'm hoping to make an outline tonight. Tomorrow, I have a very weirdly scheduled dentist appointment, so want to get as much done as I can tonight. We'll see.
Thinking of you all with more rigorous schedules this week.
Pastor Julia, I am really curious about your children's Easter services - plural? wow! When are they held? Are they a replacement for worship with the whole congregation - or an addition? What do they include? Maybe not this week - way too late! - but maybe next week, could you share a description of these services? I bet I am not the only curious one.
ReplyDelete