Pre-Service Set up

• Helpers to welcome and pass out programs
• Purple strips of paper in the pews
• Packets of seeds with a tag containing Psalm 126:5-6. Place the packets on communion rail as a gift to take home.
• Containers of anointing oil on the communion rail to be used by the prayer helpers
• Tissues at communion rail and in the pews
• Table with 4 purple candles and 1 white Christ candle
• Box of Matches

Feel free to change the music as best fits your setting. In the provided songs, UMH stands for United Methodist Hymnal and FWS stands for The Faith We Sing.

Gathering Music
Quiet music as people arrive

Welcome
ONE:
Welcome. We’re so glad you came.

Why have you come? The reasons for coming are many. There’s so much which is painful in our lives and in our world- so much in need of healing and wholeness. We gather in the midst of suffering to remember- to remember God is good. God is strong. God is near. We are not alone and we have every reason to hold on to hope.

Opening Prayer
ALL:
Merciful God,
In this season of new buds and blooms, we come to you weary and grieving
In this season of fresh fruits and vegetables, we hunger for healing and relief
In this season of sweet spring light, our hearts are veiled in sorrow and shadow
Will this season ever end?

“Yes.” We hear your, “Yes.”
Those who are weary will find rest
Those who mourn will be comforted
Those who hunger will be filled
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.

Strike a match and light the white Christ candle

Lighting the Christ Candle
ONE:
We welcome you O Christ, our Savior, Healer, and Hope.
In the midst of our suffering, help us to worship you in spirit and in truth.

Song
I Want Jesus to Walk With Me (UMH 521)

Scripture: Psalm 126, The Voice Translation
Remember when the Eternal brought back the exiles to Zion?
It was as if we were dreaming—
Our mouths were filled with laughter.
Our tongues were spilling over into song.
The word went out across the prairies and deserts,
Across the hills, over the oceans wide, from nation to nation:
“The Eternal has done remarkable things for them.”
We shook our heads. All of us were stunned—
The Eternal has done remarkable things for us.
We were beyond happy, beyond joyful.

And now, Eternal One, some are held captive and poor.
Release them, and restore our fortunes
As the dry riverbeds of the South
Spring to life when the rains come at last.
Those who walk the fields to sow,
Casting their seed in tears,
Will one day tread those same long rows,
Amazed by what’s appeared.
Those who weep as they walk and plant with sighs
Will return singing with joy, when they bring home the harvest.

Message

Candle Lighting
Instrumental underscore during the candle lighting. Stop underscore at the instructions for the prayer time.

Strike a match and light a purple candle

ONE:
This candle represents our suffering and the suffering of the world.
In the light of God’s love, we claim God’s gift of truth.
There is no need to hide or deny. God welcomes us as we are.

ALL:
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. ~Psalm 86:1

Strike a match and light a purple candle

ONE:
This candle represents our suffering and the suffering of the world.
In the light of God’s love, we claim God’s gift of lament.
We recognize our wounds and cry out to God.
We accept God’s invitation to express every feeling and question.

ALL:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. ~ Psalm 22:1-2

Strike a match and light a purple candle

ONE:
This candle represents our suffering and the suffering of the world.
In the light of God’s love, we claim God’s gift of courage.
Courage to be honest, to seek help, to comfort one another.
Courage to dare to love and dream again.

ALL:
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. ~ Psalm 28:7

Strike a match and light a purple candle

ONE:
This candle represents our suffering and the suffering of the world.
In the light of God’s love, we claim God’s gift of hope.
God is good. God is strong. God is near, leading us to a day without tears and pain, without sin and death. Healing and deliverance are coming; if not now, then on that day.

ALL:
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. ~Psalm 65:5

Song
I Need Thee Every Hour (UMH #397, 1-3)
The song leaders sing the verses, all sing the chorus

Prayer Time
ONE:
You are encouraged to write your burdens and sorrows on the purple strips of paper and then place them on the table with the candles. Following that, make your way to the rail. Persons are available to pray with you as you stand or kneel. Anointing oil is also available. Please take a packet of seeds with you as you return to your seat as a reminder of the good things God is planting in your life today.

Following the instructions, provide an instrumental underscore during the prayer time.

Offer the following prayer after everyone is seated again following the prayer time

ONE:
Jesus, you are full of compassion, you understand our pain. Our suffering changes our experience of you and our experience of everyday life. We are caught in the midst of remembering happier times, grieving what might have been, and navigating a new normal. In our loss we feel cut off- disconnected, adrift, alone.

Root us in your steadfast love. Plant deep within us in your faithful promises.
Hold us, and all who weep this spring throughout the world-
those who mourn, those far from home, those looking for work,
the lonely, the addicted, the abused and their abusers,
the estranged, the oppressed, the enslaved,
the poor, victims and oppressors of war, the sick and dying.

Shelter and sustain us all with your healing and hope, your peace and light.
We love you, we need you, we trust you,
We ask this in your name Jesus, praying as you taught us…

ALL:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen

Song
Change My Heart, O God (CCLI Song # 1565, FWS #2152)

Affirmation: For Grace to Bear Suffering
© 2014 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

ALL:
I pray for the grace to bear my sufferings
As Christ bore his for me
With Dignity, Humility, Forgiveness

I pray for the grace to bear my sufferings
As Christ bore his for me
With Compassion, Truth, Perseverance

I pray for the grace to bear my sufferings
As Christ bore his for me
Knowing my sufferings are not like his
And not like others
Yet shared with the universal longings of all humanity
Real and Painful and Deep
No need for comparison, only companionship

I pray for the grace to bear my sufferings
As Christ bore his for me
As Christ bore his for all
All I will ever suffer
All we all will ever suffer
Will be made known, will be made whole
Through his love and self-giving

In this I believe and trust and follow and hope
In this I am made new
We are made new
Thanks be to God! Hallelujah! Amen!

Passing the Peace

Songs
He Has Made Me Glad (CCLI Song #1493; FWS #2270)
I’m So Glad Jesus Lifted Me (FWS #2151)

ONE:
Following the blessing, you are welcome to stay as long as you like. Persons are available to speak with you further about your situation. If it would be helpful, the pastor would be glad to set an appointment with you. You can reach the pastor at…

Blessing