On the Birthstool
Prayers for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 24, 2014 

In the days when the two Hebrew midwives of Exodus nursed mothers on countless birthstools, infant and child mortality was extremely high.   The Egyptians believed in that the birthstool (or birth bricks) would keep the newborn safe.  This liturgy invites us to imagine our feet planted upon the metaphorical bricks in order to birth the renewal of life that is promised by our Creator.

Call to Worship (inspired by Exodus 1:8-2:20, Psalm 138)
One:	Holy One, our contractions are minutes apart.
All:	You stretch out your hand; 
		You deliver.
One:	You coach us through pain as the pangs of birth make way for something new.
All:	You stretch out your hand; 
		You deliver.
One:	“Push!” you say as your new creation appears.
All:	You stretch out your hand; 
		You deliver.
One:	Holy One, fulfill this purpose in us.
		Labor with our hands to create new life. 
All:	You stretch out your hand; 
		You deliver.

Invocation	
Sing God’s presence into your worship space by using one of these hymns: 
the refrain from Be Not Dismayed (TNCH 460), 
the first verse from Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth (TNCH 467),   
or the first verse from Awake, My Soul, Stretch Every Nerve (TNCH 491).

Prayer of Confession (inspired by Exodus 1: 10 and Psalm 138)
Mother God, stand on the birthstool with us.
The pain is too much to bear.
Our world has dealt so “shrewdly” with your people 
that your renewal seems impossible.
Fears of economic uncertainty confront us all 
and seem to limit our choices; 
Fears of immigrants and strangers in our midst 
seem to require walls; 
Fears about changing traditions 
seem to require blocks to new family expressions. 
We lament, Mother God, but we don’t push through the fear.
Let us open ourselves to labor with you.
Stand on the birthstool with us.
Push us to labor in your love, as we pray in the way of our Savior:

The Prayer of Our Savior  

Words of Assurance 
The God of Moses and Miriam, “I AM WHO I AM”,
makes a way for you.
She holds your hand and insists upon life.
You are a channel of her love, now and always. 
Praise be to the God of life who is, now and forever!

Call for the Offering 
	With praise and thanks, we create new life.
	With vigor and sweat, we deliver our love. 
	With care and hope, we stretch out our hands.
	We give our gifts of tithes and offerings to renew the world again.

Dedication of the Offering
Mother God, 
with praise and thanks, 
vigor and sweat, care and hope,
we bless these gifts in your love.
In Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.

On the Birthstool
In this pericope, countless women stand upon two bricks to bring forth new life.  In their labor, there is pain, sweat and tears but these women also stand upon these bricks looking forward to the hope that new life brings. In our worship together, find the posture of these women.  Place two large bricks in your worship space, invite members of the congregation to stand upon the bricks and wonder about the renewal of life that our world needs. You may plan this moment in worship to prepare 
•	expectant parents to share a few words of what new life they are looking forward to
•	members of the mission committee to share the hopes of a particular project or
•	participants in your church’s summer mission trip to share a few words of how the community served will be changed in the future or
•	delegates from your conference’s annual meeting or General Synod 28 to celebrate what will become of the future of the United Church of Christ.
After the congregation hears the Biblical account of the midwives, ask these prepared speakers to make their way toward the bricks to share the “birth pangs” of their individual perspective. Allow these testimonies to serve as the New Testimony to the Ancient Testimony in Exodus before the sermon is heard.  You may also allow these testimonies to serve as the sermon itself.

Benediction(inspired by Psalm 138, Romans 12:1-8)
One:	We go into the world as parents of your love.
All:	We will be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
One:	We will not think more highly of ourselves than we ought.
All:	We will go to remember we can’t do it alone.
One:	We stretch out our hands.
All:	Our Midwife God delivers.

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.