Palm Sunday and Easter Resources
Holy Week commemorates the final week before Jesus' death and resurrection. We offer here resources for Sunday worship services on Palm Sunday and Easter. Worship liturgies for
Maundy Thursday and Good Friday can be found on the
UFMCC Intranet.
Go to www.ufmcc.com
click on the button to go to the Intranet. The user name is
"ufmcc" (all small
letters, no quotes) and the password is "charisma" (again,
all small letters, no quotes).
The resources are in the "Celebrative Worship" section.
The exact url is: http://secure.ufmcc.com/intranet/worship5.htm
We apologize for the lateness of this kit; we have been working hard to get more materials from local MCCs into our resources and this has caused some significant delays. Because our church leaders are so busy with ministry, they simply haven't been able to get us the material they are using in their local churches in a timely way. Rather than leave you without resources, we've had to step in to fill the gap. We will be looking for new ways to distribute material without causing delays to you.
Many thanks to Mr. Roi Hudson-Anaya (Manager of the UFMCC Resource Center and Director of Celebration at Good Samaritan MCC in Whittier, CA) and the Rev. Judy Dahl (Director of Global Outreach,
UFMCC) for their work in writing this kit.
PALM SUNDAY
Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 118:1-4, 23-24)
One: We thank you, Adonai, for your goodness!
Your love is everlasting!
Many: This is our God's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
One: Let all the Church proclaim it:
Your love is everlasting!
Many: This is our God's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
One: Let the priesthood of believers celebrate it:
Your love is everlasting!
Many: This is our God's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
One: Let all who revere our God sing it:
Your love is everlasting!
Many: This is our God's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
Let us celebrate with joy!
Invocation:
Hallelujah, redeem us, you who stands quietly at the doors of our hearts while we celebrate with singing and dancing in your presence. Hallelujah, redeem us, our Messiah. Hallelujah, redeem us and reveal to us the paths that lead to justice, freedom, and peace. Amen.
Readings:
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark: 11:1-11
Call to Confession:
Let us confess how much we are like the people of Jerusalem at that first Palm Sunday.
Confession:
Tender and compassionate Savior,
We confess that we are more concerned with how you will serve our needs than with how you might use us to serve the needs of others.
We confess that we are often as fickle as the people of Jerusalem who traded in their palm branches for a cross
We confess that we would much prefer to have the bright sunshine of Easter and it's joyous celebrations without the quiet sadness of Good Friday with its images of pain and loneliness.
Forgive us for our indifference to those who still must endure sadness, loneliness, and rejection and help us to take up our crosses and follow you to where they are. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon:
When we claim for ourselves and offer to others the everlasting love of God we find forgiveness and wholeness. This is the promise and mystery of God's grace.
Commission and Blessing:
One: May the Sovereign God grant you grace and peace.
Through Jesus may you experience joy and freedom.
Many: We carry with us the gifts of God's grace and peace.
We celebrate the freedom to love as Jesus loved.
One: May you be the voice of the Spirit in your world today.
Let the good news of this Gospel be on your tongue this week.
Many: We are not ashamed to proclaim our love for our Sovereign.
We desire to share the message of God's love with our world.
One: Live the good news that you have received.
May your daily life be a sacrifice of praise to the Eternal One.
Many: We are here to partake of the goodness of God.
We go forth from here to live a life of service and praise.
Suggested music for Palm Sunday
Hosanna, Loud Hosanna
All Glory, Laud and Honor
Tell Me The Stories of Jesus
I Will Enter His Gates (He Has Made Me Glad)
Our God Reigns
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates
*On Wings of Morning
*Sing Praise and Hallelujah!
*Ours Is A Singing Faith
*Hear The Songs of Thanks We Raise
*O God, Whose Glory Shines Afar
*A Singing Faith, Jane Parker Huber, The Westminster Press
EASTER
Call to Worship:
One: We gather together to hear the others singing "Alleluia". We listen like the end of a breeze. We yearn to bring the sound of Your life beside us.
Many: Yes! We open ourselves in vulnerable, jubilant praise for the miracles we have heard and touched.
One: We will seek after You, our living, loving, laughing, beloved God. For this day, you have once again lifted us and welcomed the human community to deeper freedom and stronger dreams.
Many: We pull back the stones from our eyes and our faces radiate with the colors of hope and the softness of peace.
One: We are ready and eager and stand on the edge of our lives... to see Your wonder. We see such brilliance and awe-some-ness as we move towards You...
Many: We pant like hunting gazelles, eager to draw closer still to Your presence... we thirst after your passion and follow Your beauty.
One: Thank you for our human spirits which desire something more... which call us ever closer, deeper, wider, freer...
Many: Thank you for the blessings of this life, this day, these dreams, and for the miracle of new life, and Your willingness to share it all.
Scripture Readings:
Hebrew Text: Isaiah 25:6-9
Gospel: Mark 16: 1-8
Contemporary Scripture:
This story comes from an article which was published in National Geographic several years ago which provided a penetrating picture.
"After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three little chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies.
When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast, because she had been willing to die; those under the cover of her wings would live."
Scripture:
‘God will cover you with feathers, and under those wings you will find refuge.'" (Psalm 91:4)
Confession:
From the midst of the ashes of our lives, we turn to You oh God and lift our hands and voices. We plant new life in the soil of our lives and trust the rain of our tears and the sun of our spirits to join You in creating a more loving, tender world. May we know the blessing of forgiveness and share it in turn. May our time together bless the earth, each other, our own lives, and You. Alleluia!
