Open The Door, A Little Wider

 Open the Door, A Little Wider

  For the wanderers, the herders, and the tricksters

  For twelve sons of one father and 4 women

  For their quarreling, headstrong, frustrating children 

  For their tenacious, faithful, welcoming children 

Open the door a little wider

  For the family of faith

  For their nearest neighbors

  For outcasts who joined them

  For faithful who wanted a deeper connection

  For the neighbors a little farther away

    For the neighbors a long way off.

Open the door a little wider

  For those who share our customs and our food

  For those who drifted from the traditions

  For those who were left out or left behind

  For those who never knew the customs

  For those who never ate the way we did and do

Open the door a little wider

  For the ones who made the rules

  For those who adjusted the rules

  For those who called the rules into question

  For those who could not follow ALL the rules

  For those broke the rules and came back.

  For those who never knew the rules but wanted a deeper connection 

Open the door a little wider

  For the old and young, 

and the days in-between 

  For the men and women

and those who are both and neither

  For those who fit in.

and those who have not found their place

  For the seekers,

and for the sought

  For the lost

and for the found

Open the door a little wider

  For everyone made in the image of god

  For every soul looking for a place to belong

  For everyone should be welcome here

Stations of the Cross: Token Supplies

GOOD FRIDAY

(trick or treat style of stations of the cross)

Need 40 of each

coin

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R4MSQI?

psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

rooster

https://anwo.com/store/chicken-rooster-toy-mini-good-luck-miniature.htm

wooden coin w crown of thorns on one side

https://stampmore.com/products/crown-of-thorns-stamp

  You may have to search “crown of thorns”

  Circles can be found https://24hourcrafts.com

wood cross

https://24hourcrafts.com

nail

https://www.amazon.com/1lb-Hardened-Steel-Flooring-Nails/dp/B005THULOE/

ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527484003&sr=8-4&keywords=tremont+nails

red glass stone

https://www.michaels.com

Search “red gem”

SQUARE of white fabric

https://www.michaels.com

Search “white cloth” I used a 4x4 square

Need some background noise/music

Music on loop five songs make sure no commercials

Good Friday Stations of the Cross

  In each basket,
is a token to take.
  A physical reminder
of the Good News.
  That God’s Love
is bigger than death.
  Come and Go
as you please.
  We look forward

to seeing you again. 

=====

Matthew 26.14-16, 47-54
        Silver Coin
Judas got paid the price of a cheap slave. Jesus’
love would pay any price to welcome you to the
Kingdom.

Matthew 26.33-35, 69-75
        Rooster
Each morning brings an opportunity to decide how
we will respond to Christ’s love. We show that
response through our words and actions.

Mark 15.16-20
        Crown of Thorns
Crowns of Gold for Kings. Wreaths of Laurel are for
the champions. This loop of thorn vines is for the
leader of the oppressed.

John 19.17-22
        Cross
Here all the possibilities of human activity meet.
Here our deepest cruelty and failures meet our
highest caring and fulfillment.

Luke 23. 39-43
        Nail
The carpenter holds the house together with nails.
With these nails God will build not a house but a
Kingdom.

Mark 15.33-39
        Red Stone
Each drop a hope. Each drop a mercy. Each drop a
forgiving. Each drop an act of love.

Matthew 27.57-60
        White Cloth
In strips of cloth he was laid in a manger. In a sheet
of cloth he was laid in a tomb. Beginning and Ending
and Beginning Again.

Benediction
Go knowing that God our Creator loves you. That
Christ our redeemer welcomes you. That the Holy
Spirit is with you and within you.
AMEN
=====

Easter Sunrise

Easter Sunrise 2009
Leader in plain text
People in bold text

For a year and more we had followed him.

We learned from him.
We ate with him.

One of our own turned him over to the 
authorities.

We ran away.
We looked for places to hide.

In one day our whole world changed.

We were warned.
We were not ready.

He was the one we thought would save us.

We had no idea.
We were wrong AND right.

His burial was not finished so spices were gathered

We knew our duty
We knew what had to be done

A heavy stone had been rolled in front of the tomb

We knew where the tomb was
We had seen the stone 

The stone had been moved, and the tomb was empty.

We don't know what to do.
We never expected any of this.

An angel greeted us and instructed us.

We had made a mistake.
We were looking for the living among the dead.

For our sins he died.
By his death we were set free
and eternal life is ours to claim.

Christ has died
Christ has died
Christ has risen
Christ has risen
Christ will come again.
Christ will come again.
AMEN

KOG: Dandelion Poof

The kingdom of Heaven is like a Dandelion poof. Though it is one of the smallest of seeds, those seeds are blown on the wind to wherever they can take root. Roots that grow as deep as they can, and can only be removed by digging. Roots that if left alone will always spout anew. In the shallowest and roughest of places they grow and prosper. In the most manicured and precise of lawns they take root and prosper. As they prosper they send out other seeds on the wind throughout the earth.

Matthew 13:31–32, Mark 4:30–32, and Luke 13:18–19

KOG: Writer

The kingdom of God is like a writer. Whose publisher put her book on shelves in every bookshop, grocery store, and market that would take it.

Some people read the cover and never took it off the shelf.

Some people read the cover and took the book home, where it sat on their shelf and was never read.

Some people took the book home, read it from cover to cover wrote a little review for their social media but never really changed anything.

One group took the book home, read it thoroughly, marked it up, shared it with their friends, and used it to make life better for those around them.

Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:1-15.

Share a Cookie

Six years ago I shared a message of Cookies and Good News at my moms funeral. Today I remind everybody to not be greedy with their cookies.

Who will you share a cookie with today?

Will it be someone who shared a cookie with you before?

Will it be someone who liked the cookie you gave them last time?
Will it be a recipe you have never tried before?
Will it have flavors from other places?
Cookies are Good News
Go share your cookies with your world.