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Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Lectionary Leanings~~It's not a sprint, it's a marathon

Here we are preachers, in the busiest time of the church year. We have multiple liturgies to plan, extra bulletins to produce, and myriad details to keep track of; meanwhile 'regular' life continues with calls, visit, and even funerals to take care of, and let's not forget maintaining some semblance of normality on the home front. Hopefully we've all eaten our Wheaties, have our running shoes on, and are reading for the long haul.

The complete set of readings for Holy Week can be found here and the readings for Easter, including the Great Vigil are here. Will you be doing a footwashing on Thursday, or perhaps focusing on the institution of the Eucharist? What sort of services and preaching do you have scheduled for Good Friday. Are you doing an Easter Vigil, and how will you celebrate on Sunday?
Where are you finding your inspiration this Holy Week? Please share your thoughts and questions, and let us support one another on the way.

Finally, a prayer to sustain us as we move through the week:

Dear Lord, help us to live this week quietly, easily;
To lean upon your strength restfully, trustfully;
To wait for the unfolding of your will patiently, serenely;
To meet others peacefully, joyously and lovingly;
To face tomorrow courageously, confidently,
and in the knowledge that you will be with us.

Amen

And we're off......



14 comments:

  1. This morning I'm focused on the funeral we're having tomorrow, trying to get the bulletins done so they can be reproduced before my Admin leaves today.
    Then later, Maundy Thursday, because really, it's almost here!

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  2. working on sunrise service sermon over here. My other main responsibility is Good Friday, which is being led by our confirmation class and the youth group from the church five blocks away (my home church here) where I was youth director. I am looking forward to worshiping in that sanctuary again, but there is lots to do before that.
    Oh yes, and my least favorite responsibility of all, children's moment for early service on Easter Sunday. If you have ideas you can share, please do!
    It's a beautiful sunny day and I get to work at home with cats and dog snoozing beside me and lentil soup in the crock pot. Not a bad life! prayers for all of you with your many more responsibilities than I, especially Martha and others with unexpected stuff cropping up.

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  3. Meeting with my lectionary group this morning. I have some ideas for each of the three sermons coming up this week.

    This is my favorite Good Friday sermon that I've preached, I struggle to not just re-preach it every year. I am Judas

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  4. I just remembered that tomorrow morning the Music Director and I need to talk about the April 22 Earth Day service, because I am off on Study Leave next week....and I should probably have some ideas before she get here

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  6. I almost skiped my text study this morning because there's so much to do - but i am so glad I didn't. We shared sjome great insights into Mark's short resurrection story, but the very best paert was the great Easter vidoe one of my collegues showed us. It's from the flods at working preacher and i just have to share it with you. I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch Easter is coming - wait for the reversal!

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    1. Please ignore the above typos - it's the 'folks' at working preacher, not the 'flods' Sorry.

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  7. Tuesday in Holy Week is traditionally the day that Episcopal clergy gather with their bishops, receive holy oil for the coming year, and renew their ordination vows. Every year I groan because, Holy Week, are you kidding? I have too much to do. But I never regret it when I go, and this year it was even more meaningful. Our state senate is voting on whether to repeal the death penalty tomorrow, and we clergy gathered and prayed the stations of the cross downtown in the state capitol in support of abolition before going to the Cathedral for the service. It was very moving, and feels like an important witness to me. And I was surprised by how moved I felt in worship, singing "Veni,sanctus spiritu" and renewing my vows. I think this is exactly what I needed today.

    My seminarian intern is preaching Thursday, so I only have three sermons to write :) I'm being greatly inspired by Marcus Borg's Last Week but I haven't quite gotten my preaching focus yet. Hey, it's only Tuesday.

    Bulletins are coming along...but I have lots of other things to finish up with, and then there's the whole Easter season to think about.

    Ramona, I haven't been to WP yet this week; I will definitely check it out.

    We don't usually have a children's sermon or moment (most Sundays they are in church school until we pass the peace) but what I've started doing on Christmas and other "big days" is to call the kids up front and read the gospel from a children's picture bible instead of the gospel book. The adults like it, too. Desmond Tutu's story bible is great, as is Tomie dePaola's.

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    1. I couldn't find the video on working preacher. It's easiest to go to youtube and enter "easter is coming"

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  8. Maundy Thursday is a good draft at the moment, thanks to Iona's downloadable resources. I am using 'DENIERS, DOUBTERS, BETRAYERS ALL' as the reflection. looking around the web I also found a gospel of Mark written for multiple voices here , and am using part of that for Thursday night reading. no sermon!
    This afternoon is an aged care service, and I am not sure which part of the Easter story to read. We only lead worship at the aged care centre twice a month. On Sunday we used an outline of the whole story from Palm to resurrection, so I may do that today - need to finalize it soon.
    Good Friday, a few options, reuse something form a 3 years ago, do stations of the cross on the PowerPoint [Iona book ‘eggs and ashes’ has stations] or think about what we would say in a eulogy about Jesus.
    and Sunday- who knows, it is only Wednesday, but I do have a working title in my head ‘Jesus live?!’ - in the sense of is it Jesus lives? Or Jesus lives!.
    If I can get a good outline of Friday settled today, I may get Sunday outline done tomorrow. Most years I haven't been able to face thinking about Sunday until after the Good Friday service. This year I haven't got into Lent and Holy week for myself as much as I usually do, but that is making worship prep for the weekend a little easier :)

    Easter Sunday children's time always involves Easter eggs, I ahve bought enough small eggs for the whole congregation to have one, and the children get to give them out. this maybe after the sermon, and how we need to keep telling the story.

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  9. how many year shoul I wait to re-use a Good friday service, there was, and is, no sermon.

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  10. Blessings on your funeral, Martha. Just breathe.

    Rev Dr. Mom - beautiful story of renewing your vows. Thank you.
    We share Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services with a sister church in the area. I love the shared ministry. We are doing a foot-washing for Maundy Thursday and traditional Tenebrae for Good Friday. Easter Sunrise service will be with our Praise Team and breakfast will be waiting following worship.

    Anybody have a GOOD Inter-generational Sunday School activity for Easter morning?

    I am a bit behind on bulletins. My son who was just diagnosed with Crohn's disease is still in a fragile place health-wise and ended up in the Emergency Room tonight with flu complications. My husband is out of town. I am weary.

    But morning will bring new energy, so I best get to bed. God's presence be with you all.

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  11. Blessings on your funeral, Martha. Just breathe.

    Rev Dr. Mom - beautiful story of renewing your vows. Thank you.
    We share Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services with a sister church in the area. I love the shared ministry. We are doing a foot-washing for Maundy Thursday and traditional Tenebrae for Good Friday. Easter Sunrise service will be with our Praise Team and breakfast will be waiting following worship.

    Anybody have a GOOD Inter-generational Sunday School activity for Easter morning?

    I am a bit behind on bulletins. My son who was just diagnosed with Crohn's disease is still in a fragile place health-wise and ended up in the Emergency Room tonight with flu complications. My husband is out of town. I am weary.

    But morning will bring new energy, so I best get to bed. God's presence be with you all.

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  12. Thanks for all the children's moment ideas! Hang in there, bringers-of-the-word!

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