Carol Penner, Author at Leading in Worship

Light: A Christmas Eve Reader’s Theatre

December 10, 2009

We are people of the light…

we say, “Let there be light!” And behold!

Lamplight, headlight, spotlight,

flashlight, floodlight, footlight,

searchlight, stoplight, streetlight,

windows cascading light,

skyscraper towers of light,

satellites that compete with starlight,

screens of all kinds lit with light,

light sabres, lighthouses and light bulbs;

halogen, incandescent, fluorescent!

We dodge deep darkness with twinkly lights.

Prayer for People Living in Poverty

December 5, 2009

We say a prayer of thanks today for those among us

in our community, in our country,

who are living in poverty.

Thank you for the courage of people with no money,

for their resourcefulness and ingenuity,

for the way they show that loving relationships do not depend on income,

for their joy and laughter in difficult circumstances

and for the willingness of those who live with little

to share with anyone who asks,

for they understand the spirit of Christmas.

We ask for help for those among us suffering because of poverty;

Prayer for Peace in Afghanistan

November 28, 2009

As we wait for the anniversary of your birth, Lord Jesus,

we are waiting for peace in Afghanistan.

We have created a war that goes on and on;

military operations come and go,

bombs get dropped or planted,

hospitals fill up and empty,

graveyards in Afghanistan and around the world

are visited by those who mourn.

And we have not found peace.

Saviour, where is your relief?

We need your strength and consolation.

We need release from fear and sin.

Prayer for Sick Children

November 27, 2009

Something is not right.

The fever that won’t break,

the lump that we never noticed before,

the appetite that’s disappeared,

the weight put on, or off,

the persistent headache,

the seizure, the flushed face,

the voice crying, “It hurts.”

Parents flocking to doctors,

holding babies, hugging toddlers,

arms around adolescents,

hanging on to the hands of teenagers….

Singing Your Song Call to Worship

November 26, 2009

Thank you God for your song, which we are invited to sing.

Thank you for all the parts you’ve made for the song;

soprano, alto, tenor, bass.

Thank you for the children’s part and the senior’s part,

thank you for the youth part and the part for middle agers,

thank you for the crazy baby descant

that we all love to hear each Sunday morning.

We are singing your song today:

help us to sing true and clear,

listening for your voice in our ears,

hearing you in the voices all around us. Amen.

Tender Mercy Call to Worship

November 25, 2009

God of grace, by your tender mercy the dawn from on high breaks upon us. Your son, giving light to all sitting in darkness and

Living Streams Call to Worship

November 23, 2009

Isaiah 43:19 and
Lord, we have come to worship;
old and young, rich and poor, happy and discontent,
at peace and restless, more or less full of faith, we come.
We come curious about this “new thing” that you can do…
can you find a way through financial difficulties?
can you find a way through loneliness and family tension?
can you find a way through sickness and grief?
can you find a way through every violence?
We need living streams in the wasteland parts of our lives.
In this hour of worship,…

Unbreakable Love Prayer

November 13, 2009

Thank you, God, for your love which does not break down;

and for Jesus Christ who extended love to the lowest and the least.

Thank you for that love which continues to rise from the dead,

breaking out of places where we see only death and destruction.

Love’s new life breaking out in a thousand thousand places,

who knows how–a tide of love, working through all people of good will,

working through your church.

And in spite of all that, we still break down.
We break promises we’ve made, we break trust with those we love.
We confess that there is brokenness in many families,
and we need your help.
We confess that our communities fail vulnerable people,
and that there are people we pass by on the street…

We Come Together Call to Worship

November 13, 2009

Glorious God, we come together as your people.

We come as a praising people, singing your goodness;

we come as a hungry people, longing to be fed;

we come as a praying people, bringing our needs, our joys;

we come as a journeying people, looking for direction.

In this hour of worship,

empower us for faithful living.

We pray this in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.

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

Light: A Christmas Eve Reader’s Theatre

Prayer for People Living in Poverty

Prayer for Peace in Afghanistan

Prayer for Sick Children

Singing Your Song Call to Worship

Tender Mercy Call to Worship

Living Streams Call to Worship

Unbreakable Love Prayer

We Come Together Call to Worship

About Carol Penner

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