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DIVERSITY SUNDAY

MUSIC & WORSHIP RESOURCES

Sunday, April 11, 2010

W. Patrick Alston, Sr., Lectionary Team Liturgist

Worship Planning Notes

This Sunday, as we enter the house of the Creator and sustainer of all life, we enter with thanksgiving and with praise. This day we are accepting and appreciative that the Creator has given us so many ways to worship Divine majesty. We recognize that in diversity there is strength. In diversity there is beauty.

This Sunday, the primary role of the Music and Arts Ministry is to create a worship experience that helps all who enter to worship become more accepting, more open, and more willing to reach out to others who are different than they are. What we do in worship can and often does linger in the minds of hearers long after the benediction. Make clear that the way that your church worships is not the only way to worship the Creator nor the only path to reach the heart of the Creator.

Particularly lift songs, poems, prose readings, and even instrumental performances that represent communities of different ethnicities and how they live out their faith. Also:

• Place in your bulletin/order of worship information blurbs on styles of worship by churches of different ethnicities than yours. For example, you could feature information about how Asian Evangelical Christians or Latino Lutheran Churches worship.

• Invite a church of a different ethnicity from a different faith community to worship with your church or have the members of your congregation go to another household of faith for worship. Whichever you decide to do, spend a month or so preparing the hearts and minds of your congregation for this experience through messages and information blurbs that you place in your bulletin, on screens, introduce during Sunday school, Bible Study or other teaching moments in the life of your household of faith.

1. Litany
	Interfaith Day
Leader:	This is the day that we honor all religious faiths that give glory to God. [In our diversity in the ways that we worship and celebrate life, we find strength.]
People:	Lord, grant us peace and unity in your Spirit.
Leader:	Grant that people of all faiths and denominations [and all ethnicities] will look to you for guidance and direction.
People:	Holy Parent of us all, grant us peace and unity in your Spirit.
Leader:	Break down the walls of suspicion, bigotry, and exclusivity that divide us.
People:	Lord, grant us peace and unity in your Spirit.
Leader:	Help us to see the beauty, wonder, glory and joy of all religious faiths that recognize the Creator of life and love.
People:	God of Glory, grant us peace and unity in your Spirit.
Leader:	On this day, we pay tribute to the giver of life and truth as we remember that there is only one true and living God. The presence of your Spirit is felt by your followers all over the world.
People:	Marvelous God, grant us pace and unity in your Spirit.
Leader:	As we weave our religious banners into garments of peace, weave us together, O Lord, as one.
People:	God of love, grant us peace and unity in your Spirit.
Leader:	Let us not stray from our real purpose. As we acknowledge you in our own lives, lead, guide and direct our paths.
People:	Good Shepherd, grant us peace and unity in your Spirit.
Leader:	As we discover the greater depths of the encompassing love you have for us, bind us together as one in the ever present need to assist you in the work of bringing world peace, joy, and harmony.
People:	We are your people, and the sheep of your pastures. Grant us peace and unity as we venture forth in your name.

2. Hymns and Congregational Songs
(a) The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power. By Andraé Crouch

(b) What a Mighty God We Serve. Arr. By Stephen Key

(c) We Are One. By Timothy Wright

3. Spirituals or Traditional Songs
(a) Down by the Riverside. Traditional. Arr. By Charles Craig

(b) Come On Children Let’s Sing. By Harriet E. Smith

(c) Walk Together Children. Arr. By Moses Hogan

(d) Plenty Good Room. Negro Spiritual. Arr. By Joseph Joubert

4. Gospel Songs for Choirs, Ensembles, or Praise Teams
(a) How Can You Recognize a Child of God? By Margaret Pleasant Douroux

(b) Jordan River. Traditional. By Valarie Edwards and Milton Biggham

(c) When the Saints Go to Worship. By Donald Lawrence

5. Liturgical Dance Music
(a) We’re All in the Same Boat. By David Grover and Aaron Schroeder

(b) Don’t Count Me Out. By Kurt Carr

6. Anthems
(a) Praise the Lord, All Ye Nations. By Alberto Randegger. Edited by James Abbington

(b) We Walk by Faith. By J. Paul Williams and Jan Sanborn

(c) Antiphon: Let All the World in Every Corner Sing. By Ralph Vaughn Williams

7. Modern Songs
(a) I’m Not the Same. By Melvin Crispell

(b) This Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By Donnie McClurkin

(c) We’re Blessed. By Fred Hammond

8. Song or Instrumental for the Offertory Period
(a) Hallelujah Amen. By Nolan Williams, Jr.

(b) Open the Eyes of My Heart. By Paul Baloche

(c) I Will Go in Jesus’ Name. By Clay Bogan III

9. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
(a) Thy Peace for Us. By E. D. Thompson

(b) A Praying Spirit. By Elbernita Clark

(c) Spirit Song. By John Wimber

10. Sermonic Selection
(a) We Are Not Ashamed. By Andraé Crouch

(b) Our Father You Are Holy. By Andre Crittenden, Sheron Davis, and Elisha Harris

(c) He Shall Feed His Flock. By C. Burrell

11. Invitational Song or Instrumental
(a) Koinonia. By V. Michael McKay

(b) People Need the Lord. By Greg Nelson and Phil McHugh

(c) Lord, I’m Coming Home (I’ve Wandered Far Away from God). By William J. Kirkpatrick

12. Benediction Song or Instrumental
(a) God Has Smiled on Me. By Isaiah Jones

(b) Send the Light. By Charles H. Gabriel

(c) I Feel Jesus in This Place. By Carman

Cites and Additional Information for Music and Material Listed

1. Litany—“Interfaith Day”
Location:
2. Hymns and Congregational Songs
(a) The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power. By Andraé Crouch
Location: (b) What a Mighty God We Serve. Arr. By Stephen Key
Location: (c) We Are One. By Timothy Wright
Location:
3. Spirituals or Traditional Songs
(a) Down by the Riverside. Traditional. Arr. By Charles Craig
Location:
(b) Come On Children Let’s Sing. By Harriet E. Smith
Location:
(c) Walk Together Children. Arr. By Moses Hogan
Location:
(d) Plenty Good Room. Negro Spiritual. Arr. By Joseph Joubert
Location:
4. Gospel Songs for Choirs, Ensembles, or Praise Teams
(a) How Can You Recognize a Child of God? By Margaret Pleasant Douroux
Location:
(b) Jordan River. By Valarie Edwards and Milton Biggham
Location:
(c) When the Saints Go to Worship. By Donald Lawrence
Location:
5. Liturgical Dance Music
(a) We’re Are All in the Same Boat. By David Grover and Aaron Schroeder
Location:
(b) Don’t Count Me Out. By Kurt Carr
Location:
6. Anthems
(a) Praise the Lord, All Ye Nations. By Alberto Randegger. Edited by James Abbington
Location:  (b) We Walk by Faith. By J. Paul Williams and Jan Sanborn
Location:  
(c) Antiphon: Let All the World in Every Corner Sing. By Ralph Vaughn Williams
Location: 7. Modern Songs
(a) I’m Not the Same. By Melvin Crispell
Location:
(b) This Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By Donnie McClurkin
Location:
(c) We’re Blessed. By Fred Hammond
Location:
8. Song or Instrumental for the Offertory Period
(a) Hallelujah, Amen. By Nolan Williams, Jr.
Location:
(b) Open the Eyes of My Heart. By Paul Baloche
Location:
(c) I Will Go in Jesus’ Name. By Clay Bogan III
Location:
9. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
(a) Thy Peace for Us. By E. D. Thompson
Location:
(b) A Praying Spirit. By Elbernita Clark
Location:
(c) Spirit Song. By John Wimber
Location: 10. Sermonic Selection
(a) We Are Not Ashamed. By Andraé Crouch
Location:
(b) Our Father You Are Holy. By Andre Crittenden, Sheron Davis, and Elisha Harris
Location:
(c) He Shall Feed His Flock. By C. Burrell
Location:
11. Invitational Song or Instrumental
(a) Koinonia. By V. Michael McKay
Location:
(b) People Need the Lord. By Greg Nelson and Phil McHugh
Location:
(c) Lord, I’m Coming Home (I’ve Wandered Far Away from God). By William J. Kirkpatrick
Location:

12. Benediction Song or Instrumental
(a) God Has Smiled on Me. By Isaiah Jones
Location:

(b) Send the Light. By Charles H. Gabriel
Location:
(c) I Feel Jesus in This Place. By Carman
Location:

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