Service of Blessing
"The Gift of Life"
The Gathering
Music for Meditation
Statement of Welcome
Call to Worship:
"O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures…These all look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take their breath away, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground."—Psalm 104, NRSV
|
*Congregational Hymn: "O Master to All Children Dear"
|
HS 347
|
*Invocation
*Response
A Celebration of Life
Reflection on the Blessing of ___________
If this is a blessing service for a baby with older siblings an opportunity can be provided here to recognize the other children in the family and the blessing they are.
Responsive Reading
|
First Reader:
|
in the beginning
there is a child
and that child continues in us all
|
ALL:
|
we are that child
and when we accept this
discovery
the child develops
and teaches us
up through time
|
Second Reader:
|
the child is father and mother of
us all
this is both fact
and the beginning of wisdom
each new birth is the introduction
within the universe
of a brand-new source
of creative energy
genetic history coupled with creative possibility
it is in this crack
that seeds split and send forth tender shoots
that yesterday opens to tomorrow…
|
Third Reader:
|
consider
the childish world of dreams
where images lunge
and grow and move
in kaleidoscopic wonder
where ought and should
become perhaps and maybe
where shadows leap and dance
where alligators smile
and everything is possible
fancy is king
and fantasy leads
imperceptibly
but surely
into the real of tomorrow
|
First Reader:
|
the child is in us all
and the child in us
has long since died
it is just too hard to dream
and dreaming leads to wispy sometimes
and besides
we have been proudly taught
concrete reason is the mature alternative
and dreaming is a childish thing…
|
ALL:
|
the child is parent of us all
|
Fourth Reader:
|
can we then deny
or allow a child to be denied
the power of affection
the risk of love
the need to understand
and to be
understood
|
Fifth Reader:
|
can we then deny
urgent demands for nourishment
the chance to know
the wonders of the universe
through experience and education
to have a name
to call some particular place a home
to have a chance
|
ALL:
|
the child is
parent of us all
I celebrate
the child in me
and out of me
for it is written
after all
"a little child shall lead them"
|
C
adapted from Joe Pearson, "Reflections on the Year of the Child," Children: Of Such Is the Kingdom, Herald House, 1979.)
Source: Worship Resources for the Sacraments, edited by Judy Judd.
|
|
|
A Celebration of _________through slides and music
Celebrate the life of this child through a short series of slides set to music.
Confession and Affirmation
Statement to ___________from parents
The parents, individually or one parent representing both, express the hopes and dreams they have for the life of their child through a statement addressed to the child.
The Word
The Story of Jesus Blessing the Children
Children in the congregation are invited to gather to hear the story presentation. They may then remain in a group to share in the sacrament of blessing together.
Reflections on the Sacrament of Blessing
|
Congregational Hymn: "The Vision of a Life to Be"
|
HS 349
|
The Sacrament of Blessing
_________will be blessed by____________
Response to the Word
Time of Congregational Sharing
What hopes and wishes would you extend to __________?
On what occasions have you perceived or experienced life as a gift?
Offertory
The Sending Forth
|
*Congregational Hymn: "Of All the Spirit’s Gifts to Me"
OR: "Spirit of Truth, of Life, of Power"
*Prayer of Benediction
*Response
*Postlude
|
SP 12
HS 426
|
