That Friday, oh so long ago,
Why do we call it ‘Good’?
It tells a wretched tale of woe,
Of thorns and cross of wood.
Welcome! One thing is for certain. We are all welcome. This is the Jesus way. He called people to him; he asked people to come to him; he welcomed them; he got cranky with his disciples when they tried to prevent anyone, anyone at all coming to him. He ate with outcasts, those despised; he befriended tax collectors, those regarded as thieves; he encouraged children, usually ignored in adult community, to sit on his knees; he had meals with the elite and the riffraff; he conversed publicly with women although that was taboo; unlike the religious leaders of his day, he sought the company of all kinds and types of people, to affirm them, to challenge them, to call them to an abundant way of life. So we are all welcome. This is the Jesus way.
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Seeker of justice, turner of the tables
One who made sure that the poor were fed
Land for the landless, home for the homeless
And baskets filled with fish and bread.
Amazing Grace; it gives us birth,
To each and everyone;
This precious gift of life to live;
This race for us to run.
Celebrate our life together, giving birth in many ways;
Father-Mother Love is with us, leading to a better day.
Equal partners ‘round the table, family groups of every kind
show us how to nurture kindness, new creation’s joy to find.
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Call of the songbird rising to Heaven,
Movement of bird wings rainbows enshrining,
Color of sunset painting the evening,
Scent of the forest fragrance displaying
We are the stewards of this wondrous earth
With all its teeming life of priceless worth;
In all creation God is thus revealed
In birds and beasts, in forests and each field;
Praise God for visions great and small,
Praise God who calls us one and all,
Praise God whose Spirit gives new sight,
Praise God who fills our lives with light. Amen
From beginning to each ending
God is within.
Human and divine keep blending;
God is within.
As wind that dances lightly round the clouds,
As sighs that come from loving’s warm caress,
As rising air that lofts the soaring bird
God’s Spirit can empower what we express.
Within our life we have two homes,
Known in our minds, and in our bones.
To one who often will return.
For one our spirits ever yearn.
For one our spirits ever yearn.
To our winters Jesus brings
Light and warmth and dancing,
Melting frozen lives and hearts,
Freeing and enhancing.
As the old year passes
we look back, reflect:
times of joy and promise,
times we’d best forget.
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God’s dearest work of art
we long have called the heart,
The depth within from which begin
the prayers that we impart.
Prophetic wind gust through our cobwebbed minds,
With cleansing rain caress our dormant seed.
Let night transform our barren thoughts
And silence heal our every need.
1. Ancient stars would shed their light,
Shining bright, both day and night;
Heralding some wondrous birth
Of some god’s descent to earth;
