Carol Penner, Author at Leading in Worship

Pregnant Hope: An Advent sermon about Pregnancy

November 27, 2022

In this sermon I focus on the pregnant Mary, and how the physical act of pregnancy teaches us how to love our nieghbour as ourselves. Remarkably, the phenomenon of fetal microchimerism teaches us about loving another person at a molecular level too. Our bodies from the very inception of life teach us the main messages of what it means to be human. I use artwork to illustrate why thinking about pregnant Mary is important.

The Travellers

November 5, 2022

Now the Lord said to Abram
“Go from your country and your kindred
and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”
A journey; a far journey
to see lands he had never seen,
to meet people he had never known.
Imagine Abram packing his donkey, saying farewell to his family,
leaving behind everything that was dear to him and going forward,
forward into God`s invitation, “to the land that I will show you.”
Abram, the journey-man was the first of a long-line of travellers.
Hagar and Esau unwillingly sent into the wilderness,
Isaac trekking to find a wife.

Remembrance Day Prayer

November 2, 2022

Remember with clear eyes the uncountable cost of war.
Remember with deep sorrow those who killed and were killed.
Remember with grief the blood-stained battlefields.
Remember with horror the destroyed neighbourhoods.
Remember with tears the trail of people fleeing their homeland.
Remember with compassion the bereaved and the wounded.

New School Year Blessings

August 31, 2022

We stand at the threshold of the year…
some of us stand solidly on two feet, ready to take a bold step forward.
Some of us are more tentative–
we have one foot still lingering in the summer break,
reluctant to put that foot forward in the new season.

Thanks for Niagara Bounty

July 29, 2022

God of Grace,
everywhere we look in Niagara, there is bounty.
Orchards brimming with red cherries.
Vineyards heavy with purple grapes.
Fields carpeted in golden grain.
Green vegetables, row on row,
and bushes laden with blueberries.
And the good earth
hiding its white potatoes till harvest.
A feast for the eye and body,
all gifts from your hands.

The Aftermath

July 28, 2022

The deeds are done,
the crimes are committed,
and many people continue to suffer.
How do we make things right
in the aftermath of great wrongs?
How do we do this when the wrongs
took place across centuries and continents,
and are still continuing today?

Evolutionary Prayer

May 16, 2022

We have a long history
and you know it all.
From week one something in us
grasping forbidden things,
walking away from others.
Humanity or our ancestors
ranging for food, shelter, warmth.
Taking it where we could find it,
wresting it away from others.

May Day Congregational Prayer

April 29, 2022

On this May morning
as the very ground around us
is resurrected from winter’s death,
we are filled with thankfulness.
New colours blaze around us:
crowds of golden daffodils,
flotillas of white blossoming trees
and every possible shade of green.

No Taking Sides Prayer

April 28, 2022

God of our side, and God of our enemies’ side,
hear our prayer:
we need your help here on planet earth.
With heavy hearts we confess
the brokenness on our beautiful blue planet.
Hear the sound of gunfire,
see the bomb craters,
taste the bitterness of people hating people,
smell the fear that permeates our lives,
touch the hearts of the wounded.

About Carol Penner

I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.

I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com

Carol Penner

Pregnant Hope: An Advent sermon about Pregnancy

The Travellers

Remembrance Day Prayer

New School Year Blessings

Thanks for Niagara Bounty

The Aftermath

Evolutionary Prayer

May Day Congregational Prayer

No Taking Sides Prayer

About Carol Penner

Recent Posts

Joyful Pentecost Prayer

Pentecost Call to Worship

Hope: An Advent Prayer from the Northern Hemisphere

Thanksgiving Prayer in Times Like These

Peace Prayer for Times Like These

We Are People Confession

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