We launch it joyfully, confident that it will help our community find our voice.
Together we will explore the words and tunes and images,
hearing faithful voices from our own Anabaptist tradition,
and the worldwide Christian community.
As we worship, you will continue forming us into your people.
We dedicate these books to you,
and us to your service.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen
Thank you for the gift of music,
for melodies and harmonies, for voices of every pitch.
Thank you for composers and poets,
for instruments and musicians.
Music is the soundtrack of our lives,
it delights us and helps us express our deepest emotions.
You give each of us a song to sing each week:
we confess that we abandon your score,
giving up your loving notes in favour of our own tune.
We fail to harmonize with those around us.
We want to be part of the work you are composing,
ing a joyful song to the Lord,
sing carols for the birth of a saviour!
Raise your voices in praise to the Lord of hosts,
and give thanks with all your hearts!
Welcome to worship this morning,
it’s a delight to be in the house of God with you this morning!
Let’s pray together;
Thank you, God, for melodies and harmonies,
for voices of every pitch.
Thank you for composers and poets,
for instruments and musicians.
Thank you for ears to hear
and minds to comprehend
I’m another in the long line of admirers.
Eve and Adam admiring the garden,
Abram staring, open-mouthed, at the stars,
Elijah running through a beautiful rain,
and David singing, always singing on the hillsides.
God’s praises being sung through the ages,
praise to a Creator whose work stands the test of time.
This time, it’s my turn.
I close the computer, open the back door
and step into the garden.
My heart is a sounding board
for the night sky, deep with stars.
God breathes and the world answers in a symphony of faithfulness.
Songs of services in chapels, halls and tabernacles,
arias of councils and conferences and conventions,
oratorios of missions and campaigns and committees.
The devoted bursting forth in a hundred million hymns,
harmonious, dissonant, raucous and serene.
The voice of the church exhaling its devotion,
praising Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer and Friend.
Angel voices and the saintly crowd of witnesses
hum along as God’s kingdom call echoes in the world.
For so long we’ve tuned into only one part, ours,
examining it, analyzing it to the nth degree,
arguing over our notes, perfecting them, enjoying them.
God of great gifts:
This morning we give you praise,
we give you glory,
we give you thanks!
With resurrection humming in our hearts,
our minds are tuned to your song of peace!
We joyfully present these gifts to you,
a tangible chorus of thanksgiving,
a harmony of hope for your kingdom come!
Amen.
Thank you for the music all around us.
Each morning we hear it from the moment we open our ears;
the low notes of wind around the eaves,
the whoosh of water as it comes from the tap,
the glug glug as it drains,
the throaty whistle of the boiling kettle,
the metallic tap of the spoon against the cup,
the jazz percussion of our feet on the steps.
The sounds of our day,
so familiar we hardly pay attention.
Thank you for the ability to hear….
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.
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
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