FUSION: For the Many Ways
We Worship, Learn, and
Serve Together
Pentecost 2
The resources in SeasonsFUSION support congregational life as we worship, live, learn, and grow as disciples, and as communities of faith. The resources are designed for time together, as well as apart that is holistic, for all ages, and invites us into creativity. At the heart of all this, is the assumption that SeasonsFUSION will serve as a starting point for your congregation to plan and adapt what will work best for you.
Begin with
“About Pentecost 2 2017” on p. 1 offers an introduction to the themes, mood, and movement of the seasons. You might copy/reproduce this page and distribute it to congregational members through the bulletin, church paper, or e-mail list.
“Connecting with the Art – Season of Creation, Pentecost 2” by Margaret Kyle on pp. 4–5 introduces the two art posters for the season, and offers ways to engage with the images – in worship and learning settings, as well as for personal devotions. Permission is given to print the images on, or in, your church bulletins, and can be found in the Images to Project and Print folder on the Season of Creation, Pentecost 2 CD and in the web version of SeasonsFUSION.
“Building Community during Pentecost 2” and “Nurturing Leadership during Pentecost 2” on pp. 6–11 offer suggestions to build community within and beyond the group that gathers for worship, and to nurture church leadership.
· Song “Know That God Is Good” (p. 14) is a sung refrain, which could be used in many ways throughout the seasons as a response to readings and prayers.
· “Meet the Writers” (p. 15) introduces the primary writers for Pentecost 2.
The resources you will find included for each week:
· Planning is a weekly calendar page that lists liturgical and ecumenical observances for the week, as well as including the lectionary readings.
· Biblical background offers a brief commentary on the readings for the day and the theme direction.
· Reflecting on the word offers reflective and thought-provoking questions. You may find this page useful for adult studies, youth discussion, lay worship teams, young adults preparing alternative worship, sermon seeds for clergy, and so on.
· Focus for worship, learning, and serving considers what is going on in the lives of those who will gather on this day, and how the theme might intersect and connect with our lives.
· Worship outline – three pages of worship resources designed with all ages in mind; providing a wide variety of different experiences each week.
· Information about saints and interfaith days
· Poetry and prose titles are listed below.
· Bible story for use in church, and for growing faith and discipleship at home. The story for each week is designed to work across all ages. An audio is also available in MP3 format in the Audio Stories folder on the Season of Creation, Pentecost 2 CD and in the web version of SeasonsFUSION.
· Stations These activities are designed to affirm and foster the way we live, learn, and grow as disciples, and can be used in a variety of ways. You might choose one, two, or more to set up in or around the worship space, so people remain within the worship space; this is especially suitable for congregations where there are fewer children and young people. Some will want to offer them for children, youth, and others who leave worship for 20 minutes, usually during the sermon time; these will best be set up in a space away from the worship area. They can also be used in mid-week settings, or the ideas adapted for use in the worship.
· Extra resource sheets can be found in the Extra Resources folder on the Season of Creation, Pentecost 2 CD and in the web version of SeasonsFUSION.
· Children’s activity leaflets – with a story, activity, and something to create. The leaflets might be used by the very young in church time and/or as a take-home; provide a story, activity, and something to create for church school; or provide ideas for one of the stations. It could be posted to the church website for downloading, mailed, or taken to families when visiting.
On the weekly poetry and prose pages
“We All Stood Together” Merle Feld 85
“A Story about The Story” Rabbi Adam Morris 97
“Finding Meaning in Exodus” Tim Scorer 109
“Making It Personal” Rabbi Adam Morris 121
“Wearing Our Faith” Adele Halliday 145
“Providing Sanctuary” Adele Halliday 157
“Fair Trade and Microcredit” Adele Halliday 169
“Jesus the Homeless” Adele Halliday 181
Before the season begins gather a planning team to decide which resources to use. As you explore the weekly scriptures, you will note themes that apply to your church; plan to use or adapt some of the worship resources to suit your needs. Recruiting a wide variety of the laity to help lead each week’s worship is key to helping this resource feel like it “belongs” to the whole congregation.
Next, decide which faith stations you wish to have, and when and where they might be used. This will depend on your setting and interests, as well as the ages and numbers of people likely to participate.
Those who have left worship in the middle will be invited to rejoin the congregation for the end of worship time; this helps tie the events together and provide a cohesive sense of worshipping, learning, and growing together.
Additional resources to help you celebrate, learn, and serve in these seasons
· Communion Prayers (pp. 12–13)
· Gathering for All Ages: Creation (p. 16) includes a meal, activities, and worship. Suitable for all ages, and for people with little or no church background
· Thanksgiving: (p. 25) an intergenerational celebration
· Living the Seasons at Home (between pp. 30 and 31) Because we live our faith not just on Sundays and not just when we are gathered as a Christian community, this resource is provided to support the spiritual lives of individuals and families at home. You also have permission to copy the Bible stories from each week (on the Bible story pages) to complement the At Home booklet.
· CD (included in the print version of SeasonsFUSION) and folders (included in the digital and web versions of SeasonsFUSION) with
o Images to project and print
o Planning resources, which include lectionary bookmarks, overview of the seasons, focus passages for the next three quarters, At Home booklet
o Text files: worship outlines, articles, song lyrics for copying into bulletins and newsletters
o Audio stories containing recordings of Bible stories in MP3 format
o Station directions formatted for printing and display
o Extra resources folder with extra resource sheets, patterns, and so on
o RCL replacement materials for congregations who do not use Season of Creation lectionary and resources in the first four weeks of September, and stay with semi-continuous readings of the Revised Common Lectionary.
· 2 art posters (Martha Yar, South Sudan and Grossman Tower Doors) are provided in the print version of SeasonsFUSION. They are also available to project and/or print in the Images to Project and Print folder on the Seasson of Creation, Pentecost 2 CD and in the web version of SeasonsFUSION.
The following can be accessed at www.seasonsonline.ca
· Spirit Sightings – weekly stories and questions for connecting SeasonsFUSION with events in the world
· Virtual Resource Booklet with craft ideas, recipes, patterns, and more; click on “Library”
Click on “Planning-Overview” for
· Season at a Glance – readings and titles for each week of Pentecost 2 2017*
· Lectionary Bookmarks – with dates and readings for Pentecost 2 2017*
· Looking Ahead – with dates and readings for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany 2017–18; Lent, Easter 2018; Pentecost 1 2018
* Also available in the Planning Resources folder on the Season of Creation, Pentecost 2 CD and in the web version of SeasonsFUSION.
Are you feeling a little overwhelmed by the wealth of material before you? While SeasonsFUSION may seem a lot to digest at first, you will soon find ways to tailor the resources to fit the needs, hopes, and dreams of your congregation. We invite you to share your insights with the Seasons community on the Seasons Facebook page.