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| Resources for Ministry in Times
of Crisis NIU Tragedy, 2-14-08 Also see:
A Brief Service of Prayer and
Remembrance The (+) after each verse from Psalm 23 is meant to signal a toll from a bell. Leader) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of all mercy and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows so that we can comfort others in their sorrows with the consolation we ourselves have received from God. Congregation) Amen L) A reading from the book of Job: “O that my words were written down! O that they were inscribed in a book! O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” L) Holy God, your beloved Son wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. Sharing our tears, our grief, and our weariness Jesus taught us to entrust Daniel, Catalina, Ryanne, Julianna, and Gayle to your never-failing care and love. Comfort us as we bear the pain of their deaths, and receive us all into your everlasting arms, through Christ, our Savior and Lord. C) Amen L) Holy God, from the cross your Son forgave those who crucified him. Heal our broken hearts and lead us to forgive Stephen that your love may be shown stronger than death. C) Amen. L) In the aftermath of tragedy our hearts are sad, C) The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. (+) L) With broken hearts we grieve with the families and friends who lost Daniel, Catalina, Ryanne, Julianna, and Gayle, C) The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. (+) L) We long to turn back the clock, to return to a time before we knew violence, C) You restore my soul, O Lord, and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake. (+) L) In the face of chaos and darkness we fear our own fragile nature, and we are afraid of losing our faith, C) Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (+) L) We hunger for peace in our land and we thirst for a just and righteous society, C) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over. (+) L) Holy God, you bring speech from silence, light from darkness, and life from death, C) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (+) L) A reading from the Gospel according to John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. C) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not over come it. Amen. |