Call to Worship for Today's Service ...

Our worship services began with our organist/pianist playing the hymn "O God, our help in ages past" in the background as I shared the following Call to Worship/Act of Remembrance that ended in the lighting of the Christ Candle in the front of our Sanctuary:

Call to Worship/Lighting of the Christ Candle:

One: It happened on a Tuesday. The sky was clear and blue. The smoke was thick, dark and ominous. Images are now forever etched in our minds, losses forged into our souls, and fear made real.

ALL: O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.

One: We remember the moment. We remember flames, explosions, falling debris, tumbling towers, wailing sirens, crying voices, and the still silence of death.

ALL: our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

One: They say the world changed, yet in our world of violence this moment is far from unique … the change is in us … realizing violence can happen here and not just somewhere else.

ALL: Under the shelter of thy throne, they saints have dwelt secure.

One: We remember the dead. Those who died that day, and the soldiers and civilians who have died since. We remember the dead and we continue our prayers for the living …

ALL: sufficient is thy arm alone, and our defence is sure.

One: We pray for peace in a world rife with violence and strife. We pray for Shalom in a world enveloped in darkness. We pray for Salaam in a world filled with fear …

ALL: O God our help in ages part, our hope for years to come.

One: It happened on a Tuesday. The sky was clear and blue. The world changed because for the first time we came to see it as it is …

ALL: be thou our guard while troubles last and our eternal home.

One: Be with us in our memories O God, and send us forth as a people touched by our past, but motivated by our future to recreate what is into a place of abundant Shalom …

(Lighting of the Christ Candle)

One: We light this candle remembering the words of the prophets who boldly and audiciously proclaim their sure and certain hope that the light will shine in the darkness: (Isaiah 9:2-3)

One: As this light glows we pause to remember … we remember the dead, the broken, the wounded … and we remember the Living

Observation of a Moment of Silence in Remembrance:

*Hymn: Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. VU 684