Rewards of Welcome
Prayers for the Third Sunday of Pentecost
June 29, 2014 
Genesis 22:1-14 and Psalm 13  •  
Romans 6:12-23  •  
Matthew 10:40-42 

The Ishan people of Nigeria name a child through the process of a paternal elder throwing the child into the air. As the child is thrown, a name is called out. If the community accepts the name, the attendees call out approval. Otherwise, the elder tries again. The elder passes the child around to allow the community to confer community pet names on the child. 

As you consider the Gospel Lesson for this Sunday, keep this ritual in mind as you ponder:
  As Pentecost people, who or what needs our welcome?
	What are the rewards of welcome?
	Are the rewards different for the “welcomer” (giver) and the “little one” (receiver)?
	  How is the act of welcoming different/similar to the act of naming?	

Call to Worship* (inspired by Matthew 10:40-42)

For the visually inspired:	Set up a screen and projector for a slideshow of images of welcome.  Invite members of your church family to send photos from their travels, family gatherings or wanderings in creation.  Invite the musician to play a familiar song of welcome during the slideshow, such as We Gather Together (TNCH 421), Blessed Be the Tie that Binds (TNCH 393) or De Colores (TNCH 402).

For the dramatically inclined:	Invite two people to mime the Gospel Lesson where one is the “welcomer” and the other is “the little one.”  Set up a small table with a pitcher of cold water and a stack of cups in the front of the sanctuary.  After the prelude or welcoming music, “the little one” enters from the rear of the worship space.  The “welcomer” sees her from the front of the sanctuary (where he may be seated) and moves to offer her water.   

For the thoughtfully engaged:	As the people gather, invite the ushers or greeters to welcome the congregation by asking the meaning of their names.  Have baby name dictionaries available for those that don’t know the meaning of their name.  Allow this to be the conversation shared among the community as they enter into worship.  

No matter if you are visually inspired, dramatically inclined or thoughtfully engaged, the worship leader moves immediately into the invocation after the last slide or the cool water is offered.

Invocation	
	Holy One, we welcome your prophets and messengers.
	We welcome those that know that they are gifted and those that want to be.
	Let us find your reward in the welcome we hear together.
	Satisfy our thirst to feel your love here and now.

Prayer of Confession (inspired by Matthew 10:40-42, Psalm 13)
	Welcoming One, who knows us each by name,	
	We call ourselves righteous.  We name ourselves as your disciples.
We believe that we’ve been sent to offer your welcome, 
but we haven’t asked the names of those pains and sorrows.
We haven’t considered those pleas and protests. 
We have only heard our own answers. 
Welcoming One, forgive us.  
Forgive us for the cup of water we didn’t offer.
Forgive us for the name we didn’t ask.
Forgive us for the generosity we didn’t share.
Cool our tempers by speaking our names
So that we know that we are prophets of your welcome.
Trust in us to offer the hope that we have found in you. Amen.
	
Words of Assurance 

Holy One, who is still speaking through our words,
Help us to hear your assurance in the peace we share together.
You will always welcome us by name.  Amen.

Rewards of Welcome*

For the passing of the peace:	Focus this welcome in the name of Christ so that the gathered greet each other and share something about themselves.  In the invitation to pass the peace, you will want to offer a prompt to focus that conversation.  If your focus is outward, you may ask: As you welcome each other in Christ’s name, who hasn’t felt God’s welcome from our church family?  If your focus is inward, you may ask:  May the peace of Christ be in your name!  As we welcome each other by name, you’re invited to share the meaning of your name with those around you.  Be prepared that the passing of the peace will be longer than usual.  

For the prayers of the people:	This short passage in Matthew begs for us to use our own voices.  In the pastoral prayer, allow for the gathered to welcome the many names of their prayers.  Craft the pastoral prayer so that there is space to name God, to name the unwelcomed, to name the thirsty and even to name ourselves.  If your church family is talkative, be sure to be succinct in the prompt.

For a ritual action:	Gather colorful strips of cloth and black markers before worship.  Arrange them on a table (or on the same table as the water if you’re dramatically inclined). During the first hymn, invite the gathered to write the rewards of welcome they have felt. Each person should have the opportunity to write on one piece of cloth.  In the prayers of the people or in dedicating the offering, in the spirit of the Ishan people of Nigeria, read each strip of cloth, throw it in the air and invite the gathered to reply while it is in the air: None of these will their reward.  You may also allow for the congregation to be silent if that reward doesn’t suit them.  Close the ritual by passing the strips of cloth around the congregation so that each person may offer their own personal names for each reward.  

For another ritual action:	Whether or not you were dramatically inclined in the beginning of worship, you may want to use the water and cups to offer a congregational blessing.  Invite the gathered to embody the gospel message by offering each other a cup of cool water.  You may recruit 3 or 4 individuals to lead this ritual as you might serve communion by intinction. In doing so, the worshipper has the experience of receiving the water and walking away with a paper cup of refreshment.  Alternatively, you may ask the gathered to serve each other where there are no hosts.  To do so, prompt the gathered to offer a cup of cool water by saying: Here you are little one.  The receiver replies by saying: I will not lose this reward.  There will be awkwardness as each worshipper tries to understand if they are supposed to give or receive.  As a leader of this ritual, your task is to let them figure it out and be sure that everyone is able to both give and receive.        

Invitation to the Offering
We know the reward of God’s welcome.  
The Holy Spirit has blown through us so that we sing of God’s steadfast love continually.
Now, gathered here as prophets of welcome, we respond to what God has done.
We give our gifts of tithes and offerings in the certain hope that 
God’s welcome will continue in the ministry we offer.

Dedication Prayer
Welcoming One, bless these gifts with your Spirit
Transform these gifts into the balm that your world needs.
In these gifts, may we welcome in a new world of love. Amen.

Benediction
Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, 
Quench our thirst for love,
Satisfy our need to be known,
Assure us that we are indeed prophets of welcome.
Let us go to proclaim this peace in God’s name.

*It will be too overwhelming for any congregation to engage in all of these suggestions.  You are encouraged to choose one or two that best reflect your congregation’s yearnings.

Written by the Rev. Elsa A. Peters, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, presently serving as Pastor and Teacher of the First Congregational UCC in South Portland, ME, an Open and Affirming congregation where God is still speaking. She wonders about ministry and liturgy at: http://impossiblethingswithgod.blogspot.com/.

Copyright 2014 Local Church Ministries, Faith Formation Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.