Call to Worship

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Opening Litany:

 

Leader:  Merciful Father, before you formed us in the womb you knew us. You make nothing in vain and you love all that you have made.

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People: You are the God of unfailing compassion, the source of all our lives, the strength of all our days. You did not make us for darkness and death but to see you face to face and to enjoy abundant life.

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Leader: We praise you for with you nothing is wasted or incomplete, and all things are upheld and made whole with your love.

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People: We gather with heavy hearts, for though you are the Giver of Life, in the fallen world we still struggle against the last enemy of death.  Leader: We know that you too know the pain of losing your Son to death, but take heart that his triumph over the grave opens the way to life for us and for our children.

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People:  Help us to comfort one another with the comfort we receive from you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Leader: We gather tonight to ask for healing, comfort and peace. 

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People: We offer you our griefs and our memories, and pray that as we hear your words of Scripture you might guard our hearts with the peace that passes understanding. 

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Leader: We thank you that our children are not lost to you, but are secure in your care where there is no more dying, or tears or pain.

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People: We thank you for giving us every reason to hope that one day we will meet them face to face, and in that long-awaited embrace, know afresh that you are the promise-keeping Lord of life.  Meet with us this hour we pray in Christ’s name.  Amen

 

First Reading                       

        God’s Good Creation                         Genesis 1:26-28, 31

 

Silent Prayer

(During the times of silent prayer, you are invited to light a candle in honor of your loved one.  May the light from the cross remind us of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, who shines in the darkness.)

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Hymn                      I Will Come to You

 

I will come to you in the silence

I will lift you from all your fear
You will hear My voice

I claim you as My choice
Be still, and know I am near

I am hope for all who are hopeless

I am eyes for all who long to see
In the shadows of the night,

I will be your light
Come and rest in Me

Chorus:
 

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me

I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine

I am strength for all the despairing

Healing for the ones who dwell in shame
All the blind will see, the lame will all run free
And all will know My name  (Chorus)

I am the Word that leads all to freedom
I am the peace the world cannot give
I will call your name, embracing all your pain
Stand up, now, walk, and live (Chorus)

 

Second Reading

           Our Lament in Grief                    Lamentations 3:1-33

 

Silent Prayer

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Hymn                  O Hear Our Cry, O Lord                              

 

O hear our cry, O Lord; Now hear us as we pray.

You guide us as a shepherd leads, So keep us in your way.

O come, Lord come, Restore and save us now.

 

Enthroned above all worlds, You shine with Holy light.

Lord, pour Your power upon us all, And save us with Your might.

O come, Lord come, Restore and save us now.

 

O Lord, the God of Hosts, Turn not Your face away.

Our tears have been both food and drink,

Foes mock us night and day.

O come, Lord, come, Restore and save us now.

 

O Lord, our God, return; Bring peace into each home.

So let Your face shine on us all, Restore us as Your own.

O come, Lord, come, Restore and save us now.

 

Third Reading

          God’s Promise of Restoration         Isaiah 65:17-25

 

Silent Prayer

 

Anthem                  All Sad Songs

                  

It’s been all sad songs since you’ve left, I’ve cried and I’ve kept

My sorrow so deep inside, and I’ve swept up all of my pride

Sad songs since you died.

 

It’s been all sad songs since you went away

I’ve been lost and sleeping right through the day

This has cost me all that I had, now the songs are all sad.

 

Something deep inside of me So wanted to believe

But that cost me all that I had Now the songs are all sad.

 

But then Mary came To our house of shame

To proclaim that You were alive again

And the grave was as empty and dark As my broken heart.

 

Something deep inside of me  So wanted to believe

That the grave is as empty and dark As my broken heart

 

I know all sad songs have another verse

It’s the one the heavenly choirs rehearse

For that day when the broken will mend

Sad songs will end

 

Not that we’ll forget, We’ll sing those yet

In a different key, We’ll sing differently

In the music God has arranged

All the sad songs will change.

 

God will wipe away all our tears

And banish the fears we’ve collected for all these years

On that day when the broken will mend The sad songs will end.

 

Something deep inside of me can’t help it but believe

In that day when the broken will mend, the sad songs will end.

In the music God has arranged, all the sad songs will change.

 

Fourth Reading             

           Jesus’ Embrace of Children               Mark 10:13-16

 

Anthem       Healing is in Your Hands         

 

The Lord’s Prayer

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Fifth Reading

The Promise of Resurrection        1 Corinthians 15:50-57

 

Silent Prayer

 

Statement of Faith          The Apostles’ Creed

 

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

Sixth Reading

The Hope of Eternity                        Revelation 21:1-7

 

Hymn                It is Well With My Soul

 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

 

My sin—O the bliss of this glorious thought—

My sin, not in part, but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more:

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my Soul! (It is well…)

 

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll:

The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend

“Even so”—it is well with my soul.

 

(It is well…)

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Benediction

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