Elements of Youth Service at Chapel Rock

In my previous post I left out the actual parts of the service I used.

• My opening was a thanksgiving collect, composed in the moment giving thanks for each of them who were present at the retreat, all the people who had helped make it happen, and then named the adult leaders present.


• Romans 5:1--6: Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has brought us, by faith, into this experience of God's grace, in which we now live. We rejoice, then, in the hope we have of sharing God's glory! And we also rejoice in our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope. This hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts byh means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us. (This is a favorite passage of mine which in NRSV has the line--"suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope...." Since the retreat was on "facing challenges" I introduced this theme with the first reading which highlights how troubles or suffering actually gives us deeper character which will lead ultimately to a great ability for hope, because of God's Spirit.


• Psalm 118:1-7, done with rap rhythm
• Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: *
• his mercy endures for ever.
• Let Israel now proclaim,
• "His mercy endures for ever."
• Let the house of Aaron now proclaim,*
• "His mercy endures for ever."
• I called to the Lord in my distress;*
• ["His mercy endures for ever."
• The Lord is at my side, therefore I will not fear;*
• ["His mercy endures for ever."]
• The Lord is at my side to help me;*
• ["His mercy endures for ever."]

The Gospel: Luke 11: 5-10, includes the story of the man demanding 3 loaves of bread for a friend who has suddenly appeared to visit. The man at first refuses and then gives in and gets up and gets the food "because you are not ashamed to keep on asking."

This follows immediately with the familiar pharse "Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

The rest of the service is in the earlier post. I would like to include the words from Enriching Our Worship Eucharistic Prayer A, but I have not figured out how to cut and paste into this format yet.

More to follow--Rev. Pam