For APril 4, 2010 -- Easter Sunday

CALL TO WORSHIP
Mere days after their world was torn apart,
two women go to visit and tend the grave of one they love.
And when they get there they find that the grave is open and empty.
What new horror is this?
Not horror but gift. Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen indeed! Hallelujah
We come together to worship.
We come to share praise and joy!

OPENING PRAYER

This is the day that God has made!

We will rejoice and be glad!

God of new life and new hope, today you do a new thing!

With the dawning of the new day you have brought a new creation into being!

As we celebrate the resurrection today,

empty the tombs and dead spaces in our lives,
renew our hope for the future,
remind us that the coming Reign of Love, Peace and Justice may be slowed but can never be stopped.
As we walk to the tomb with the disciples,

open our eyes to the power of resurrection.

As we see the wonder of new life,

empower us to live as a resurrection people. We pray in the name of the Risen Christ. Amen

COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
This is the day that God has made!
We will rejoice and be glad!
We have heard the wonderful news!
Christ is Risen!
We go to live resurrection hope!
Bringing words of life in place of fears of death,

sharing the promise that God’s Reign wins out, that God has the final word.
In the name of the God who makes us,
in the name of the Christ who makes us free,
in the name of the Spirit who makes us one.
We go in God’s love and promise always.
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!