GENERATIONS DAY

MUSIC & WORSHIP RESOURCES

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Marty Austin Lamar, Guest Lectionary Liturgist
Assistant Director of Worship & Arts, Turner Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church, Hyattsville, MD and

Edward D. Rockett Jr., Guest Lectionary Liturgist
Pastor, Greater Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago, IL

Worship Planning Notes

The future of the Black Church, regardless of denominational affiliation, is a conversation that most believers has either engaged in or to which they have given thoughtful consideration. The struggle between the traditional and the contemporary in the Church can often cause great stress between the elders and the younger members of the church. The observance of Generations Day provides an opportunity for both celebration and conversation across generations.

It is extremely important that the focus of this day be centered on that which unites the body. Our belief in God and the sacrifice God made through God’s son, Jesus, must be at the center of worship; it unites us. While dialogue is needed and opinions must be expressed, worship of our God and our Savior must be at the center of this worship experience. However, the worship service and moments following it provide valuable opportunities for generations to engage one another in meaningful ways.

Creative Ideas to Integrate into the Worship Experience

• The following quote from the great George Washington Carver may be displayed on the cover of or included in the worship guide.
  
  “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with aged, sympathetic with the thriving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life, you will have been all of these.” THE LORD WILLING!
  
  
• Compose a theme that reflects a generational focus and is inclusive. For example:
  FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION: We Will Worship God.
  
  
• On a Saturday prior to Generations Day, organize a day of dialogue. This fellowship can include team-building exercises, presentations concerning the history of the church, and dialogue concerning the present state of the ministries within the church. Allow the youth and young adults to be among the first of the church to express their concerns and desires for the ministries of the church

1. Call to Worship and Litany

Call to Worship

Leader: Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 90:1).

All: For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations (Psalm 100:5).

Leader: But thou, O Lord, shalt endure forever; and thy remembrance unto all generations (Psalm 102:12).

All: He hath remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations (Psalm 105:8).

Leader: God remembered and honored His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as he established a nation and blessed her lineage forever and ever.

All: For His mercy endureth forever.

Leader: God remembered His covenant with Moses, Joshua, and the children of Israel as He delivered them from 400 years of slavery in Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land.

All: For His mercy endureth forever.

Leader: God remembered His covenant with the house of David, blessed his son Solomon, and established the bloodline for the coming Messiah, God incarnate, Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: For His mercy endureth forever.

Leader: From the coasts of Africa, through the Middle Passage, to the hush arbors of slavery through the Emancipation of peoples of African descent, You have remembered Your covenant and been our dwelling place from generation to generation.

All: For His mercy endureth forever.

Leader: We praise You now for the witness of the ancestors on whose shoulders we stand.

All: For Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, we praise your name.

Leader: For Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, and all of the soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, we praise your name. And now we re-establish a covenant with You that shall extend from this generation, and every generation, from now until the end of the earth.

All: The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord! (Psalm 146:10).

Litany

2. Hymns and Congregational Songs
(a) We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing. By Theodore Baker

(b) What a Fellowship. By Elisha A. Hoffman and Anthony J. Showalter

(c) There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit. By Doris Akers

3. Spirituals or Traditional Songs
(a) God Is. By Robert J. Fryson and Evelyn Simpson-Curenton

(b) I’m Gonna Sing ‘til the Spirit Moves in My Heart. By Moses Hogan

(c) Unity. Text and Tune by Glorraine Moone. Arr. by Daniel Mario Carson II

4. Songs for Praise Teams
(a) Everybody Praise. By Gerald Haddon

(b) Lord You Are Good. By Israel Houghton

(c) For Your Glory. By Paul S. Morton

5. Modern Songs
(a) Let’s Come Together. By Kevin LeVar

(b) We’ve Come to Lift You Up. By Gregory Booth

(c) Be Blessed. By Paul S. Morton

6. Liturgical Dance or Mime Ministry Music
(a) The Storm Is Over Now. By Rodney Boyden

(b) In This Place. By Darwin Hobbs

(c) Great Praise. By Stephen Hurd

7. Offertory Song or Instrumental
(a) Completely Yes. Text and Tune by Sandra Crouch. Arr. by Stephen Key

(b) Holy Spirit. By Richard Smallwood

(c) Be a Worship. By David Frazier

8. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
(a) Awesome. By Charles Jenkins

(b) All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name. By Edward Perronet. Tune, (CORONATION).

(c) The Prayer of Jabez. By Donald Lawrence

9. Sermonic Selection
(a) I Speak Life. By Donald Lawrence

(b) Faithful Is Our God. By Hezekiah Walker

(c) We Are Not Ashamed. By Andraé Crouch

10. Invitational Song or Instrumental
(a) We Offer Christ to You. By Paul S. Morton

(b) It’s Time to Make a Change. By Jay Terrell and Maurice Watson

(c) There’s a Lifting of the Hands. By Israel Houghton

11. Benediction Song or Instrumental
(a) I Need You to Survive. By Hezekiah Walker

(b) Let the Church Say Amen. By Andraé Crouch

(c) God Be with You. Text and Tune by Thomas A. Dorsey

12. Anthems
(a) Let Mt Zion Rejoice. By J.B. Herbert

(b) A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. By Martin Luther. Tune by Carl F. Muller

(c) Christ Will Be Lifted Up. By Mary McDonald

Cites and Additional Information for Music and Material Listed

1. Litany by The Leadership of the Washington Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop William Phillips DeVeaux, Sr., Area Bishop. Adapted by Marty Austin Lamar

Call to Worship by Rev. Edward D. Rockett, Jr.