Beginning - Youtube

Land Acknowledgement - YouTube

Prelude - Youtube

Christ Candle - Youtube

Welcome and Scriptures, Live, Elder

Welcome

Call to Worship:

(From UCC Worship Ways)

One:  Sing praise to our joyful Easter God

Many:  Whose power brings new life out of death!

One:  Immerse doubt and despair in the fountain of new birth

Many: Our visions and hopes are refreshed, made new!

One: For God has taken ordinary things

Many: And made them extraordinary

One: Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

Many: Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Opening Prayer

Scriptures

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again."

Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."

 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

May Holy Wisdom enter through our ears

And may she find a home in our hearts

Intro to Meditations: YouTube

Live: Meditations

        Rev Katy Lloyd

Live: Conversation: Facilitated by Katy

We heard a lot of wondering, a lot of questions today. Right now, I’d like to invite you to make yourself comfortable and take three very deep breaths. Then, we’ll continue taking those three deep breaths as we let these questions marinate in our souls.

As we sit with this passage and with last week’s, we see people who have natural disbelief heightened by grief. And both Peter and Thomas run toward their doubts to find a sign of resurrection.

As we sit with this passage and with last weeks, I wonder where you experience disbelief?

I wonder where your disbelief is heightened by grief?

And I wonder where you can run to find the signs of resurrection?

As we sit with this passage, with the Christ who breathes peace over fear and doubt and with the Christ who comes vulnerably close to show his wounds and the life that is possible even after such wounding,

I wonder where you need the peaceful breath of Christ?

I wonder where you need the spirit of Christ to come vulnerably close to you?

I wonder what wounds you live with that seem to be life limiting?

I wonder what it would look like to discover life in the wake of those wounds?

I wonder what it would look like to discover resurrection?

And I wonder, because you are such a wise and faith filled community, where you have already experienced resurrection after wounding?

Where have you already experienced belief after grief?

Where have you already experienced peace after the kind of fear that causes us to lock ourselves up in a room and hope only to be left alone?

I wonder where you suspend disbelief to follow the message of Christ?

I wonder what about the message of Christ so captures your imagination that you are willing and ready to suspend disbelief? Or to do the work despite disbelief?

And I wonder, oh I wonder, where do you find signs of resurrection?

Live - Prayers of the People

Live - Prayers and Peace:

Lord’s Prayer, Maori Version

Passing of the Peace

Offertory

Communion: Live, Elder

        Liturgy

        Elder’s Meditation

        Words of Institution Rebecca

Youtube: (S)Ending

Communion Hymn - One Bread, One Body

Closing Communion Liturgy

Benediction

Postlude