worship trick 4 [second series] - mucky paws

roddy hamilton has collated bits of liturgy, reflections, prayers from the abbotsford community in clydesdale throughout 2004 - they are gathered together under the heading mucky paws. there are 5 sections so far making up about 50 pages which are avilable to download as word files from the mission resourcing network of the uniting church in australia which is where i came across them. i am making mucky paws worship trick 4 [second series]. here are a couple of pieces to give you a flavour...

the first is an affirmation of faith at the start of the year:

A Word That Is Love

ALL: We believe in a word
that forms on the lips of the creator
and echoes in our souls:
a word that is LOVE.

MEN: We believe in a word
that breaks the silence of evil
and disturbs the noise of ignorance:
a word that is LOVE.

WOMEN: We believe in a word
that brings life out of death
and laughter with the morning:
a word that is LOVE.

MEN: We believe in a word
that tears up the darkness
flooding it with light:
a word that is LOVE.

WOMEN: We believe in a word
that speaks to all loneliness
with self-giving compassion and care:
a word that is LOVE.

ALL: We believe in a word
that speaks to our futures
calling us by name,
to trust anew,
and believe once more
in a word
called LOVE.

the second is a an affirmation for good friday:

Friday Affirmation

We affirm that when God dies it is a time to suspect:
to suspect that darkness can be crushed by sunrise,
that silence can break with song,
that alleluias can be shouted in graveyards,
that love chooses to live.
We affirm that when God dies,
it is time to suspect this is not the end.

We affirm that when God dies it is a time to believe:
to believe laughter will be heard at dawn,
that tombs will be unsealed,
that grave clothes will be folded away,
that love chooses to live.
We affirm that when God dies,
it is time to believe this is not the end.

We affirm that when God dies it is a time to trust:
to trust that the conspiracy belongs to heaven,
that crosses aren’t the last word,
that the last word is always love,
and that love chooses to live.
We affirm that when God dies,
it is time to trust this is not the end.

Comments

[Alex]

Got a link to the Abbotsford site?

http://website.lineone.net/~abbotsford/

[Roddy Hamilton]

I'm kind of gob smacked anyone has found Mucky Paws (I put it together each month from the liturgy we use in Abbotsford Church in Clydebank). This is just to say, arrogantly, if anyone wants stuff like this posted to them each month, just email me. We send it out to whoever may be interested regularly.

[jonny]

roddy thanks for leaving a comment... hope you are ok with me postinbg a couple of pieces. i really like your stuff and thanks for making it available... cheers

[Carl]

I find liturgy hard. It's like trying to insert someone else's words into my mouth, and it sometimes seems dishonest.

[ray]

i have a question concerning the usage of liturgy and when to incorporate it. i was wondering what would be a typical(or as close to typical as possible) assembly time for some of you out there. maybe offer a scedule of a sample assembly/worship gathering for some of you. there may be those other than me who could benefit by this sharing of ideas, so please do.
in all humbleness, thanks.

[jonny]

carl do you sing songs? do you read books? do you watch films? what's the difference?! unless you are going to produce everything yourself (and end up either exhausted or with mediocre stuff) using liturgy/songs/prayers crafted by those with the gift of artistry seems pretty good news to me. i'm only putting these out there - there's no obligation to use anything....

ray i do that a lot via this blog - check back through the worship tricks to see some examples of liturgy.

[Carl]

I know. Gosh, no need to take it so personally. I didn't say "You heathen. Stop putting up liturgy", I merely commented that I don't often find it particularly helpful.

I do sing songs and often have the same problem with them. I don't think books or films fall into the same category.

I'll be going, now.

[jonny]

carl sorry - i hadn't taken it personally - maybe you read more into my reply than was there?... cheers