Seeking resurrection in a world of chaos
Prayers add spice and hope to weekly worship
Resurrection feels far off at this moment and yet it will come. It always comes. The worst thing is never the last thing. There will always be more and as I look at what exists in my archives, it’s clear that the entire Easter season needs some prayers.
So I wrote only a few months ago in my last newsletter. It doesn’t really feel like much has changed. There has been a whole season and a whole bunch of protests as we try to resist the destructive powers in this world, but I am not sure that any of us are yet seeing that fruit. We are still waiting to see what will be come. That new life will sprout. That hope will bloom. But. But. It doesn’t feel like it has happened yet. How do we proclaim our faith in uncertain times? How do we lean into this promise without it becoming completely detached from our actual experience?
Last Minute Holy Week Planning
Before the work of resurrection can begin, we wander through the city to grapple with the full human experience in resistance, betrayal, devotion, grief, and even death. If you are still pulling together bulletins for these holy days, you might find something in my archives that might finish the job. Here is everything I’ve written on the blog for Holy Week over the years:
Easter Season Apocalypses
I am wondering what it would be like to read through the Revelation to John this Easter Season. Year C is the year that leads us through several chunks of this text and I remember preaching my way through this text years ago in the last church I served. It didn’t feel like the whole world was shifting then, as it does now. I wonder what it would be like to use John’s hope to speak to our own.
In that curiosity, I wrote a series of prayers wandering through Revelation for this year. You’ll find that collection here. Please note that there are still some prayers in draft form that will appear in the next few days. There will be prayers for each week. To these prayers, I might add:
Revelation! from Spacious Faith
Apocalypse 2017 by Stephen Price
Opening Prayer for Easter 3c
Opening Prayer for Easter 6c
Everyday Apocalypses by Michelle Torigan
Easter Prayers from enfleshed
Prayers in the hope of the resurrection
My spiritual director shared this blessing in song with me a few months ago and I’ve been sharing it with all of my directees. It has become an almost daily balm in the hellscape of this moment. I pray it will be for you too as you dare to proclaim the impossible, amazing promise of our faith again. May that promise live in you, now and always. Thank you for your work, dear pastor.
What a wonderful collection and Stephen will be so pleased to be heard-again. He has been teaching recovery from trauma in Myanmar and, of course, his funding was USAID.