• BACK
• Click Here Cultural Resources
• Click Here Lectionary Commentaries

“The First Mourning,” Painter: William Bouguereau (Image of Adam and Eve Weeping Over their Son Abel)	“The Continued Mourning,” Nathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton, parents of slain teen Hadiya Pendleton, and her 10-year-old brother

RESTORING THE PEACE (COMMUNITY ACTION DAY)

MUSIC & WORSHIP RESOURCES

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Daryl Walker, Lectionary Team Liturgist

Worship Planning Notes

In its retelling of the first murder, Genesis 4:1-15 puts before us societal, familial, and interpersonal violence. It also exposes how separation from God leads to problems of envy, anger, resentment, and ultimately self-harm. Nonetheless, God is able to restore peace to all involved, no matter the nature of the debilitating conflict.

The community does not exist apart from the people who comprise it. Therefore, restoring peace to a community begins with restoring peace to the individuals of the community. That means starting with personal peace and moving outward to peace within the family or household and then to peace across the broader community of school, work, city, nation, and planet. If people have peace within themselves regardless of what madness may be going on around them, then they are better able to influence the peace in their community.

In your worship planning, the suggested focus for this day is to spotlight how to discern and rely on God’s presence in our places of personal and communal pain. The goal is to use music, movement, and the word of God to light a pathway to peace for persons and communities at various crossroads.

Working with a Theme

A suggested theme for the day might be “Peace Ii the Midst of a Storm.” The Scriptures below address the various areas in which peace may need to be restored. Depending on the needs and goals of your particular congregation, it might be helpful to print them in the bulletin.

1. Personal Peace within

Scripture: John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Possible Songs:
(a) Peace Be Still
(b) Restoration
(c) Man in the Mirror

2. Peace within a family or household

Scripture: John 8:32: “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness?”

Possible Songs:
(a) We Are One in the Spirit
(b) Unity
(c) In This Very Room

3. Peace in neighborhoods and communities

Scripture: Isaiah 48:17-18: “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go. O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea.”

Possible Songs:
(a) Peace Like a River
(b) Be Still and Know That I Am God
(c) In Times Like These

4. Peace across the nation

Scripture: Acts 20:32: “I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”

Possible Songs:
(a) What’s Going On
(b) Ain’t Gonna Study War No More
(c) If My People Which Are Called by My Name

5. Peace across the world

Scripture: Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Possible Songs:
(a) Let There Be Peace on Earth
(b) He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
(c) Heal the Land

1. Litany for Restoring the Peace

Leader:	The Lord gives us freedom of choice and we often choose wrong.
People:	Father, when we choose wrong over right, forgive us and grant us peace.
Leader:	As described in Genesis 4, Cain was angered by God’s acceptance of his brother’s gift over his, which led him on a destructive path.
People:	Father, teach us to trust you even when we are angered. Calm us, and grant us peace.
Leader:	Many today still desire their siblings’ gifts or possessions or the praise given for special gifts, and will do all manner of harm to be recognized.
People:	When we are blinded by distrust and feelings of inadequacy, Lord, shower us with love and restore the peace.
Leader:	When brothers’, sisters’, parents’, and friends’ gifts are received with great praise, do not be persuaded to act negatively; instead remember the source of the gift.
People:	All gifts are from God and should be given from the heart; let us remember the Greatest Gift of All, God’s Love. God, restore unto us peace.
Leader:	Lord, let us always remember family and love and cherish them and the gifts you have given each member. Let us rejoice for the blessings and cherish each memory we make together.
ALL:	Lord, bless us today with grateful hearts for the abundant love you have given us through our family, friends, community, Church, and your Son, Jesus Christ. Restore unto us this day peace and let us all go forward as peacemakers. Amen.

2. Hymns and Congregational Songs
(a) In Times Like These. By Ruth Caye Jones

(b) Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand. By Jennie Wilson; refrain by F. I. Eiland

(c) Come and Find the Quiet Center (to the tune of What a Friend We Have in Jesus). By Shirley Erena Murray. Tune by Charles C. Converse

(d) Joyful, Joyful/Sing a New World Into Being. Joyful, Joyful by Henry van Dyke. Sing a New World Into Being by Mary Louise Bringle. Tune, (ODE TO JOY melody of the final movement Symphony No. 9), by Ludwig van Beethoven

3. Spirituals or Traditional Songs
(a) It Is Well with My Soul. By Horatio G. Spafford. Tune by Ville Du Havre

(b) Let There Be Peace on Earth. By Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller

(c) We Are One in the Spirit. By Peter Scholte

(d) He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. Traditional American Spiritual

(e) Peace. By Harvey Watkins Jr.

4. Gospel Songs for Choirs, Ensembles, or Praise Teams
(a) Through It All. By Andraé Crouch

(b) The Battle Is the Lord’s. By Varn Michael McKay

(c) Down by the Riverside. Traditional Negro Spiritual. Arr. by Charles Craig, Sr.

(d) Don’t Have to Study War No More. Traditional

5. Liturgical Dance or Mime Ministry Music
(a) Restoration. By Marvin Winans

(b) What’s Going On. By Renaldo Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye

(c) Man in the Mirror. By Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett

6. Anthem
A Charge to Keep I Have. By Charles Wesley. Tune, (BOYLSTON), by Lowell Mason

7. Modern Songs (Written between 2000–2011)
(a) Let It Rise. By Holland Davis

(b) I Am Healed. By Ruth Latchinson-Nichols

(c) Heal the Land. By Cedric Hodo and Percy Gray, Jr.

(d) In the Midst of It All. By Yolanda Adams

(e) Peace. By New Direction

8. Offertory Song or Instrumental
(a) Peace Like a River. Traditional Spiritual. Handbell arr. by Sandra Eithum

(b) Heal the Land. By Darwin Hobbs and Aaron Pearce

9. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
(a) Jesus Loves Me, This I Know. Traditional. This selection should be started as is traditionally sung with one or two children and then taken up by an adult soloist in a more personalized style as in the video from “Say Amen, Somebody.”

(b) Unity. Based on Psalm 133:1. Tune by Glorraine Moore

(c) Praying for Peace. By Richard Smallwood

(d) A Praying Spirit. By Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark

10. Sermonic Selection
(a) Peace Be Still. By James Cleveland

(b) I Am Healed. By Donald Lawrence

(c) Peace for My World. By Shekinah Glory Ministry

11. Invitational Song or Instrumental
You Are My Peace. By Lee Newman and Michael John Wells

12. Benediction Song or Instrumental
(a) Order My Steps. By Glenn Burleigh

(b) Go Ye Now in Peace. By Joyce Eilers

(c) Always Remember. By Andraé Crouch

13. Audio Visual Suggestions

Provide in your bulletin, order of worship, on church screens, cards, etc., contact information where people can get help for various areas in which individuals and communities need peace:

• domestic violence
• child abuse
• self-harm
• bullying
• gangs
• random gun violence based on hate and
• suicide

Cites and Additional Information for Music and Material Listed

Material in the Worship Planning Notes was contributed by:

• Bryan T. Johnson, Executive Director of Sacred Music at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago;
• Ron Anderson, Associate Director of Sacred Music at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago;
• Marilyn J. Richardson Lewis, Principal of Higher Level, LLC (www.higherlevelllc.com);
• Aaron Gaines, Musical Director for Tribe of Judah at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago;
• Macbeth Harris, Associate Director of Sacred Music at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago;
• Byron Gray, Male Chorus Director at New Hope Baptist Church, Denver; and
• Justin Titus, Mime Ministry Chair at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago.

1. Litany for Restoring the Peace by Rev. Joe Ann Watson, Founder of Spiritual Connections Ministries, Chicago, Illinois

2. Hymns and Congregational Songs
(a) In Times Like These. By Ruth Caye Jones
Location:

(b) Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand. By Jennie Wilson; refrain by F. I. Eiland
Location:

(c) Come and Find the Quiet Center (to the tune of What a Friend We Have in Jesus). By Shirley Erena Murray. Tune by Charles C. Converse
Location:

(d) Joyful, Joyful/Sing a New World Into Being. Joyful, Joyful by Henry van Dyke. Sing a New World Into Being by Mary Louise Bringle. Tune, (ODE TO JOY melody of the final movement Symphony No. 9), by Ludwig van Beethoven

Joyful, Joyful (verses 1 and 3).
Location:

Sing a New World Into Being (3d verse only).
Location:

3. Spirituals or Traditional Songs
(a) It Is Well with My Soul. By Horatio G. Spafford. Tune by Ville Du Havre
Location

(b) Let There Be Peace on Earth. By Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller
Location

(c) We Are One in the Spirit. By Peter Scholte
Location:

(d) He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. Traditional American Spiritual
Location:

(e) Peace. By Harvey Watkins Jr.
Location:

4. Gospel Songs for Choirs, Ensembles, or Praise Teams
(a) Through It All. By Andraé Crouch
Location:

(b) The Battle Is the Lord’s. By Varn Michael McKay
Location:

(c) Down by the Riverside. Traditional Negro Spiritual. Arr. by Charles Craig, Sr.
Location:

(d) Don’t Have to Study War No More. Traditional
Location:

5. Liturgical Dance or Mime Ministry Music
(a) Restoration. By Marvin Winans
Location:

(b) What’s Going On. By Renaldo Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye
Location:

(c) Man in the Mirror. By Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett
Location:

6. Anthem
A Charge to Keep I Have. By Charles Wesley. Tune, (BOYLSTON), by Lowell Mason
Location:

7. Modern Songs (Written between 2000–2011)
(a) Let It Rise. By Holland Davis
Location:

(b) I Am Healed. By Ruth Latchinson-Nichols
Location:

(c) Heal the Land. By Cedric Hodo and Percy Gray, Jr.
Location:

(d) In the Midst of It All. By Yolanda Adams
Location:

(e) Peace. By New Direction
Location:

8. Offertory Song or Instrumental
(a) Peace Like a River. Traditional Spiritual. Handbell arr. by Sandra Eithum
Location:

(b) Heal the Land. By Darwin Hobbs and Aaron Pearce
Location:

9. Song or Instrumental for the Period of Prayer
(a) Jesus Loves Me, This I Know. Traditional. This selection should be started as is traditionally sung with one or two children and then taken up by an adult soloist in a more personalized style as in the video from “Say Amen, Somebody.”
Location:

(b) Unity. Based on Psalm 133:1. Tune by Glorraine Moore
Location:

(c) Praying for Peace. By Richard Smallwood
Location:

(d) A Praying Spirit. By Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark
Location:

10. Sermonic Selection
(a) Peace Be Still. By James Cleveland
Location:

(b) I Am Healed. By Donald Lawrence
Location:

(c) Peace for My World. By Shekinah Glory Ministry
Location:

11. Invitational Song or Instrumental
You Are My Peace. By Lee Newman and Michael John Wells
Location:

12. Benediction Song or Instrumental
(a) Order My Steps. By Glenn Burleigh
Location:

(b) Go Ye Now in Peace. By Joyce Eilers
Location:

(c) Always Remember. By Andraé Crouch
Location

• Click Here Cultural Resources
• Click Here Lectionary Commentaries