LITURGICAL YEAR
We found 128 additional articles filed under liturgical year. They're listed below, most recent first.
- Easter Reflection
03/29/2013 -- How appropriate that one of the lectionary readings for today is Acts 10—Peter in the house of Cornelius. This event is not a retelling of the Easter story itself. - Being Bearers of Palms of Peace and Praise in the Midst of Needs and Conflicts
03/15/2013 -- We can wave palms of peace and praise because we have hope that the worst things are never the last things. As Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the day we celebrate as Palm Sunday, he knew that the week ahead would be physically, emotional... - “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”
03/14/2013 -- Psalm 22 is a lament. Jesus, in his excruciating pain on the cross, uses the opening verse of this psalm of lament. This cry of Jesus, captured for us by the Gospel writers in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, is one of deep despair and abandonment. - Beyond the Golden Rule
03/13/2013 -- Whether Christian or not, we’ve all been taught the Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." Jesus said it in a positive restatement of something in the Jewish oral tradition. It sounds simple, but as we all know, living it out is ver... - Cordialmente Suya: Porque Tanto Amó Dios al Mundo
03/06/2013 -- Desde niña viví en New Jersey y llegué a asociar la llegada de ciertas flores con Pascua y a conectar esto con la resurrección y la nueva vida --tanto es así, que me resultó desconcertante ver que los árboles ciclamor florecen en Nashville a principios de... - Responsively Yours: For God So Loved the World
03/05/2013 -- If "God so loved the world" - what about us? Do we so love the world? - Christ-Bearing People Pressing On Toward the Goal
02/26/2013 -- A little over a year ago, the Dallas Bethlehem Center came to a crossroads in its ability to deliver educational and social services to its constituent community. The center experienced a significant lack of financial support, caused, in part, by the down... - Bearers of the Message of Reconciliation and New Creation
02/25/2013 -- Today is a new day, and we’re trusted to be bearers of this message of reconciliation and hope for all humanity. - Bearing Witness: Being People of One God in Christ Above All Idols
02/09/2013 -- Witness bearing! A term of great significance to the Christian Church, it conjures up many images when we think of the toll that bearing witness for Christ has taken upon Christians throughout the ages. - Being Bearers of Caring Concern
02/08/2013 -- As we go through this Lenten season, let us reflect on what it is to be a woman in Africa. - Being Bearers of Faith Confessing Christ in Word and Deed.
02/07/2013 -- If we believe and confess with our lips that Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead, our sins will be pardoned. - “You are off track. Recalculating.”
02/06/2013 -- Lenten Reflections: Ash Wednesday, 2013 - Baptism and Lay Mystique
01/10/2013 -- We must put to rest the perception that only the ordained are called to ministry. Baptism removes the lay mystique, that feeling among many laypersons that they do not have a definite calling and identity. - A Child Is Born, God Is With Us
12/19/2012 -- What we know, without doubt, is that God is with us. The power of the Christ child, born on Christmas day, is God’s demonstration that love takes risks. - Mary's Song
12/17/2012 -- Mary’s song is an indigenous honor song. She was a young tribal woman who held within her body the promise of new hope and kept within her heart a deep gratitude for God’s sustaining vision of possibility – the possibility of shalom. - Women of the Manger
12/17/2012 -- Use this mini-retreat to take a journey to the manger to renew our faith in the hope, peace, joy and love of Christmas. - The Joy of the Material and Spiritual Practice of Sharing
12/13/2012 -- During this Advent season, as we share material goods with family members, let us also extend our hand to the needy around us. - Creating and Cultivating Space for God to Move In
12/02/2012 -- During the Advent season, as you pause to make space for Spirit to move within you and give birth to something new in you, also consider making space to be present to those with whom you would be in ministry and the unexpected places you will see Christ. - Affirmation of Faith for Everyday Advent
11/27/2012 -- This Affirmation of Faith can be made into an Advent liturgy. - Resurrection Hope: Still Possible Today
04/08/2012 -- The story of Holy Week is a mix of conversations between the closest of companions and the “wide angle” pageantry of festival season in Jerusalem. What do we make of the story’s ending? - Standing by God in a Time of Sorrow
04/06/2012 -- As we continue our journey this Lenten season from the cross of sacrifice and sorrow to the gift of resurrection and salvation, let us not lose hope. - They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love
04/05/2012 -- We are to love others based on Jesus’ sacrificial love for us. Such love will not only bring unbelievers to Christ; it will also keep believers strong and united. - Draw Closer to God
04/01/2012 -- My wish for you and me this Palm Sunday is that we draw closer to God because God’s love and grace is sufficient for all of us to share. - Give Yourself Away
03/25/2012 -- Are we truly followers of the Christ or are we simply admirers of Jesus? - Ramon
03/18/2012 -- Ramon has been in and out of prison for most of his life, mostly for drug-related offenses, both using and selling. He is HIV positive, has mental health issues and has burned most of his bridges with friends or family. - It’s Time to Overturn the Tables
03/11/2012 -- In a Sunday school class I was in years ago we were asked, “Is anger a sin?” The incident described in John 2:13-22, in which Jesus turns over the tables of the moneychangers and those selling goods in the temple, is one of the most often cited examples o... - Getting Our Act Together
03/04/2012 -- Each spring at Alaska Children’s Services a wonderful community event happens. It’s our Spring Banquet and Talent Show. The name of the event is “Get Your Act Together!” It’s a very tongue-in-cheek title that slips by many. - Can a Rainbow Come in the Clouds Without an Ark First?
02/26/2012 -- The last time I saw a bow in the clouds, colorful like a rainbow, was this past January. I was in São Paulo, Brazil, and a summer shower came over us in the streets. Then came the sun. Behind the buildings, there it was: a rainbow. - Coming to Terms With God
02/16/2012 -- Time and change are each the other’s measure. A life span may be two millennia for a sequoia tree or a day for a mayfly. But it is still one life. - Lenten Prayers: Expansive Language Resource
01/20/2012 -- Submit or subscribe to expansive language prayers for Lent 2012 - Eyes to the Vista
12/07/2011 -- Every day, there are those that set out in migration in every corner of our world. They seek a vista of justice, security and sustainability. - Responsively Yours: Traditions in Chocolate and Justice
12/01/2011 -- Sweeten this holiday by sending a message to Hershey's to let the company know that you care about exploitation of workers. - Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and Other Immigrants
12/01/2011 -- The Christmas story is a lesson on God’s greatest commandments of all. - Thoughts on Migrants and Life
11/30/2011 -- This Advent season as we wait with anticipation to see the Christ child, may we celebrate our migrant status by sharing our lives. - The Price of Motherhood
11/27/2011 -- As we think about the anticipation of motherhood for Mary during Advent, we also think of migrant women who face motherhood under very, very difficult circumstances. - Celebrate International Migrants Day, December 18
11/17/2011 -- In this time of Advent, the United Methodist Task Force on Immigration invites United Methodists to lift up the global and local realities of migrants on December 18 in worship and prayer. - Meet Me At the Tomb: An Easter Meditation
04/24/2011 -- For Christians, while the tomb may be a place of sadness, it is also a reminder of God’s amazing love for us. - A Community of Women
04/23/2011 -- It is on this day, this Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, that I truly understand the significance of United Methodist Women and what this bond of community means in my life. - The Gift of Good Friday
04/22/2011 -- Isaiah foretold of God's plan to fix it all. God would have to take on our iniquity. To do so, God had to become a human being who could experience physical death. - Let Us Serve One Another
04/21/2011 -- We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit, just like the disciples, to go out and serve and love others. - A Last Meal
04/20/2011 -- When reflecting on the Last Supper and what's occurring in the world today, how many of our sisters and brothers are having their last meal due to the economy, poverty or unforeseen circumstances like natural disasters? - The Joy That Comes in the Morning
04/19/2011 -- Jesus predicted his death and tells the crowd, "While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." - Carrying Light and Love: The Beginning of Passover
04/18/2011 -- Like Jesus, owned by God and filled with a gentle encouraging spirit, we declare truth and justice to the world. - The Freedom of Humbleness
04/17/2011 -- Jesus came to Jerusalem some 2000 years ago, humble, and mounted on a donkey, with a colt, the foal of a donkey (beast of burden). Luke tells us Jesus wept "as he came near and saw the city" because they "did not recognize the time of [their] visitation f... - Predictions
04/16/2011 -- Just as Jesus was focused on people, United Methodist Women members are focused on women, children and youth. - Let Us Pray
04/15/2011 -- We live in a world where things can be shaken. - Tending the Sheep
04/14/2011 -- During this Lenten season, let us reflect on our responsibility as United Methodist Women. We have been called by God to tend his sheep. - It’s Not Too Late to Save Creation
04/13/2011 -- Jeremiah teaches us that if we do what God calls us to do, through our modern-day environmental prophets, that we can trust God to do all that God can. - Be the Breath of God
04/12/2011 -- All Christians are called to bring new life into God's world by being channels for the breath of God. - Bring Life to the Dead
04/11/2011 -- We have the opportunity to touch spiritually dead people with the saving grace of the Gospel of Christ. - God's Glory Shines Through You
04/10/2011 -- When we have those moments of "little faith" it is important to reflect and do some soul searching to find out why we are where we are in life. - Helping Fulfill God's Promise
04/09/2011 -- When I look at this community and the people who live here I am reminded of Ezekiel 36:8-16 when God promises the mountains that they will no longer be allowed to kill God's people. - Be Fierce and Unrelenting in Your Pursuit of Righteousness
04/08/2011 -- Ezekiel calls us not to be more fierce in our judgment of others but to be fierce and unrelenting in our pursuit of righteousness. - Then End of One Journey Is the Beginning of Another
04/07/2011 -- The scripture readings for this day include both interesting and disturbing images, especially to Westerners, of literally eating the scripture, which is both sweet and sour. It conveys the idea that when we digest God's word we experience both comfort... - As Our Bodies, So Our Spirits
04/06/2011 -- In this season of Lent, it is a time of reflection and review of our journey of faith. What emotional and spiritual blindness has come to your life? - Take Your Blinders Off!
04/05/2011 -- It was not until God opened my eyes to observe the world around me and opened my ears to listen to those with life experiences different from my own that I began to truly understand the suffering of poor people in the United States and across the globe. - Come Out From Behind the Stained Glass Window
04/04/2011 -- Gracious God, help us, as Easter people, walk the streets of our towns and cities where we may meet justice that is "standing afar off." No more stained-glass masquerade—only a humble walk of justice with our fellow human beings. - Don't Just Give Up, Look In
04/03/2011 -- This lent year instead of "giving up," let us look in. Let us replace giving up with something more befitting with deeper meaning. - Out of the Darkness Comes Greater Light
04/02/2011 -- Any journey requires a light to show us the way. - Lent—An Invitation to Grow Closer to Christ
04/01/2011 -- Lent is an important season in my life. It helps shed light on what I think about Jesus Christ, his sacrifice on Calvary for the sins of humanity, the end of his earthly ministry, the tragedy that led to his death, and his supreme anguish on the cross. - Missing the Point
03/31/2011 -- Often we rush into actions then think after we are confronted with the consequences. Saul, a God-chosen leader was dwelling in God's favor but lost touch with his purpose of mission and fell out of God's favor in the end. - Be Consumed
03/30/2011 -- Daw Dannu, a petite woman, carries her backpack full of paraphernalia for 10 days. She traveled 7 days to join the four day Bible Women Seminar in Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar (Burma). - We Are All God's Children
03/29/2011 -- Just as God provided daily manna and water for the Israelites wandering in the desert, Christ provides the source of our daily spiritual water. - Above All Things: Love
03/28/2011 -- As we continue in this season of Lent and are attempting to know Jesus better, perhaps this is an area on which we can focus: Loving one another. - The Odd Ones in God's Mission
03/27/2011 -- When God chooses people to use for mission, the human mind cannot even begin to understand. - Why Did Jesus Have to Go to Samaria?
03/26/2011 -- The reason for Jesus going to Samaria is best summed up in the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:28: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ." - God's Faithful Provision in Our Journey
03/25/2011 -- Whether we are in the wilderness like the Israelites or in the Killing Fields of Cambodia during the Khmer Rogue, whether we are in the slums or plush subdivisions and mansions, God listens to our murmurings. - God's Faithful Provision in the Midst of Most Human Complaints
03/24/2011 -- So many times we find ourselves complaining: How am I going to do this? How are we going to pay our rent? Why is God doing this to me? We, like the Israelites, operate on a short-term memory. - A New Heart and a New Spirit
03/23/2011 -- In this time of Lent, we prepare ourselves for the deepest transformation we can go through as human being or institutions: getting a new heart and new spirit that we may have the fruits of the tree in abundance so nobody will go hungry anymore in our glo... - God's New Creation
03/22/2011 -- As God created heavens and earth very good in the beginning (Genesis 1:31), so God is renewing the heavens and earth for the people to rejoice. God will not destroy the earth to make another universe. - A Child's Eye View
03/21/2011 -- During this Lenten season, help us to see the world through the eyes and hearts of children. - God in the Cloud
03/20/2011 -- A cloud seems to sit over the barrio. It is just there, a cloud of poverty, a cloud of domestic violence, a cloud of drug and alcohol abuse, a cloud of illiteracy, a cloud of hunger—blotting out any reason for hope for generations. - God's Plan
03/19/2011 -- Faith in God and God's vision is easy to talk about, but it is more difficult to just turn loose and know that wherever God leads us is where we need to go and to be. - Speak Up/Speak Out for Justice
03/18/2011 -- Today's reading shows how we can find hope for the future by looking to our past relationship with God and others. - A Makeover in the Making
03/17/2011 -- When we live an honest Lent and allow ourselves to walk that hot dusty August road that exists in every heart, may we too be able to acknowledge the "dead ground," the "moonscapes" of our lives. May we be honest enough to find God's Easter joy of "exubera... - Love to the Least, the Last and the Lost
03/16/2011 -- When we consider those who nurtured us then we can ask how can we as individuals and as Christian communities respond with love to the least, the last and the lost so that we are not a stumbling block for others. - A Homeless Wanderer
03/15/2011 -- Many women are homeless or at risk of being homeless when they come to Emma Norton Residence in St. Paul, Minnesota. - Called Awake and Fed
03/14/2011 -- We recognize what it means to be on a long journey facing loneliness and despair. In the face of every "newcomer" is the reflection of ourselves. Each of us can be the living embodiment of God's love and provide the compassion and care that will sustain o... - Overcoming Temptation
03/13/2011 -- The Temptation of Christ in the desert is a well-known lesson in the Christian faith. Although the story took place more than 2,000 years ago, all of us, and especially our youth, face Satan's temptations daily. - Give Yourself
03/12/2011 -- During this Lenten season, may each of us examine the condition of our own hearts, humbly seek God's mercy, and shower mercy on others through the giving of ourselves to help meet their needs. - And Also Much Cattle
03/11/2011 -- Why does God care for whom he cares? Why for so much of the time does God's job description seem to be to rescue the perishing, care for the dying? Just how does God snatch them in pity from sin and the grave? Why did Jesus weep o'er the erring one, lift ... - Set Apart for the Gospel
03/10/2011 -- Rev. Fahrmeier became "transformed and reminded that God can touch even the most fragile of little souls and transform them." - Ash and Faith: A Reflection on Ash Wednesday
03/09/2011 -- The images associated with Easter and Christmas are visually more pleasing than those associated with Ash Wednesday. The latter is stuck with images of ashes and sackcloth. Aesthetically speaking, ratings drop at these images. We don't give ashes much tho... - This Is What I Am: Baptism as Ordination of All Believers
01/07/2011 -- It is renewal time. It is time to pick up centering tools of grace for our onward journey. Baptism is one such means. Imagine someone unfamiliar with this Christian practice asks you, "What is baptism?" What is your personal understanding of baptism? Can ... - This Unspeakable Gift
12/22/2010 -- We've been dwelling with the story of Mary and Elizabeth at Women's Division this season. In preparation for the worship at Leadership Training Event, we began thinking about the roles of these two women in hearing God's call and participating in working ... - Come and Follow
12/15/2010 -- What does it mean to come and follow? We are all called, set apart, to respond in obedience with the love and grace provided through Jesus Christ. - Above, Through, In: Our Deep Connection
12/15/2010 -- Our desire to connect with family and friends reaches a peak during Advent and the holiday season. - Green Holiday Ideas
12/09/2010 -- We offer ideas for celebrating the holiday season with the Christian call to environmental stewardship in mind. - Toward the Peaceful Kingdom: A Faith Walk
12/02/2010 -- Kindness matters for creating spaces for a peaceable kingdom to take root in our hearts, in our work places and in our communities. - Hope in the Midst of Struggle
12/02/2010 -- Let us focus on one group of people that needs special help during this happy period of Advent: the aged. - Responsively Yours: Thy Kingdom Come
11/30/2010 -- “The Lord’s Prayer” links the coming of God’s kingdom to God’s will being done on earth just as it is done in heaven. But who exactly are we praying will do God’s will on earth? - Being Prepared: A Faith Walk
11/23/2010 -- Once again we stand on the threshold of the Advent season, our expectant hearts excited by the remembrance of the coming of Emmanuel, God with us. - Mutuality Between Hearing & Speaking
05/20/2010 -- The story of Pentecost is one of those moments that knocks the breath out of you, and awakens you to watch people’s faces and listen to what they say. - Palm Sunday: Hospitality and The Holy City
03/26/2010 -- The celebration, music and excitement of Palm Sunday lead us into Holy Week and offer time for reflection on hospitality. - God is Making All Things New
03/19/2010 -- Bishop Hope Morgan Ward shares a story on scripture in a meditation for the Fifth Sunday in Lent. - What is it to be an Ambassador of God Today?
03/12/2010 -- A Lenten reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Lent shares how God puts us to use for mission. - Second Sunday in Lent : February 28th, 2010
03/01/2010 -- The Philippians struggled with a problem we also face every day: how to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in a world that is upside-down and often hostile to our mission and our convictions. - Sojourner, Story and the Savior
02/19/2010 -- A reflection for the First Sunday in Lent, Feb. 21, discussing what true worship is. - Sin, Sackcloth, and the Spirit: Ash Wednesday Reflection
02/16/2010 -- The Lenten journey, which starts on Ash Wednesday signals a lengthened time set apart for spiritual health practices in the days to come. - All Saint’s Day: All Things New
10/27/2009 -- Editor of Response magazine Barbara Wheeler reflects on death and remembrance for All Saint's Day, Nov. 1. - A Reflection on Easter
04/07/2009 -- This is one day on which the cynics are wrong. The barrier of human death is revealed as vulnerable and the love of God shows through in glory and in humility. - What’s So Good About Good Friday?
04/07/2009 -- How do you observe or “celebrate” Good Friday? What makes it a “good” day? - Repetition is Good
04/03/2009 -- Yearly, Christians celebrate the seasons of Christmas and Easter. There are some things we need to repeat, like the Christian year, and the repetition is good. - A New Covenant, a New Community
03/27/2009 -- This Lent my heart has grown “strangely warmed” as I think about United Methodist women across the country building a new community through their loving acts of mercy and justice. - Fourth Sunday in Lent: The Meaning of Grace
03/20/2009 -- By God’s grace I am well loved and cared and I am recovered and claim myself, “I am your precious daughter, O Lord!” What a great gift this is! - Third Week in Lent: Let My Life Be Acceptable to You, Oh Lord
03/12/2009 -- In this third week of Lent we are blessed by The Word that comes from different times, different lives and different histories giving passionate testimony to the greatness and power of God. - Taking Up My Cross: A Lenten Reflection
03/05/2009 -- My cross is to carve out a space to redefine what it means to be free on earth as it is in heaven. - Rainbows & Papayas: A Lenten Reflection
02/25/2009 -- "Where is God?” was a question many people asked as Hurricane Mitch pounded Honduras in 1998. The women unanimously answered, “God was with us during the storm.” - Pilgrimages for Peace: A Lenten Reflection for Ash Wednesday
02/25/2009 -- This Ash Wednesday, as I remember Nicaraguan ministry of presence in the dusty places of Nicaragua, I realize that their trips were Lenten pilgrimages. - Advent One: Are You Awake?
12/16/2008 -- The season of Advent is upon us. Are you awake? - Second Sunday in Advent: Finding Your Peace
12/16/2008 -- How can we begin to consider world peace unless we have peace within ourselves? - Third Sunday in Advent: Hearing & Listening
12/16/2008 -- Are you hearing and listening to the testimony of John the Baptist? - Fourth Sunday in Advent: Remembering the Least of These
12/16/2008 -- As Christians what will our focus be? Will we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, cloth the naked, visit the sick or visit the prisoner? Isn’t this what Christmas is all about? - Branded by Baptism Against Identity Theft
09/22/2008 -- As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not ... - Branded by Baptism Against Identity Theft (Part 2)
09/22/2008 -- And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes thr... - Branded by Baptism Against Identity Theft (Part 3)
09/22/2008 -- The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” - Branded by Baptism Against Identity Theft (Part 4)
09/22/2008 -- Jesus went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed i... - An Advent Journey: Being Re-gifted with Peace and Bread
09/22/2008 -- Prophet Isaiah sees a vision. He sees the transformation of one set of tools into a new set of equipments, tools of war-making instruments made into farming tools. - An Advent Journey: Re-gifted with Shalom
09/22/2008 -- One of the Bible Women leaders in the Philippines, a deaconess, once corrected me when I said an Isaiah passage presents an alternative vision of the world. She said, “It is the original vision of God for us,” and she is right. - An Advent Journey: Re-gifted for a Transformed Journey
09/22/2008 -- Is not Advent all about making way for the birth of Jesus? - An Advent Journey: God’s Signature: “Eternally Yours”
09/22/2008 -- Christmas is a story of people’s long walk home, under the Roman Empire, in order to register their existence and get proper personal identification. - A Rendezvous with God Part 1: Women Putting Out Clay Jars
09/10/2008 -- Wise women know when to keep their jars empty for the falling dew from heaven to fill them. - A Rendezvous with God Part 2: Turning Our Hearts Inward
09/10/2008 -- Ash Wednesday is a call to empty ourselves and put our hearts out for the falling dew of God’s renewal. - Second Week of Lent: Meeting Jesus at Night
08/21/2008 -- Many theologians and even Jesus, himself have said that the God of love and grace, justice and community is found in the margins, in the darkness. - Fourth Week of Lent: “Where He Leads, I Will Follow”
08/21/2008 -- Sometimes the obvious is really not so obvious, and what we want to hear or see may not be what is best for the future. - Fifth Week of Lent: Tell Them They Can Live Again
08/21/2008 -- Young people today are looking death squarely in the face. At no other time in history have young people been so vulnerable to criminal activity, incarceration, sexual abuse, homicide, suicide, unemployment, poverty, lack of health care and homelessness. - Sixth Week of Lent: Encounter Between Two Kingdoms
08/21/2008 -- It was Good Friday. In the wee hours of the day, Jesus stood on trial before Pilate, the Roman governor. - Easter: Focused on the Facts, but Missing the Story?
08/21/2008 -- The presence of the women in the Easter story continues to be a marvel and a wonder to me. Of course, Jesus the Christ has center stage in the narrative; nothing should compete with his role in the story, much less succeed in supplanting him.
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