highway of saints
thoughts on worship through its hymns, prayers, & patterns
“When David Heard” || The Sound of Grief
THE SCRIPTURE READING from the Hebrew bible in many churches today features the tragic and raw story of King David's grief over the news of his son's death. Nevermind the circumstances that led to his end, the rebellious Absalom was lifeless and the bereft and...
Spirit Wind, Come Renew
Have you ever sat by an open window, or upon the porch and felt the moment a change in the weather arrived? Actually felt it? . . . “Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart” (Maureen Howell, piano)
Help Me Rise Above (an Ascension prayer)
Ascended Lord, help me to rise above the things that hold me down, the press of problems, the weight of worry . . . I will wait for your Spirit. O come, renewing breath of God. Come.
Friendship
A friend is one to whom you can pour out all the contents of your heart, grain and chaff together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take it and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away. (Arabian proverb)
Between the Words (Five Poems)
Poetic expression, by its nature, points to something beyond the words of its structure. It can reveal a frontier of ordinariness through which God is always approaching us.
Good Shepherd Sunday Prayers, Poems and Music
THE FOURTH SUNDAY of the Easter season every year features the 23rd Psalm prominently and is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Thomas Merton prayed “You have a wild and crazy sheep in love with thorns and brambles…You have found me. All I have to do is stay found.” The good news for us is that God is good at finding us, is willing to search in the thorniest and brambliest places, and is not ever inclined to let anybody go.
Prayer With Ginger In the Time of COVID-19
Ginger was never happier than when she was with people. In fact, she thought of herself as a real "people person." I posted this poem and these comments on my Facebook page today after the poem popped up among my Facebook memories from a year ago. PRAYER WITH...
Thomas and the Twin-Lens of Faith
The twin-lens of Thomas’ outlook freed his faith from the flat acceptance of fact to the liberated experience of a living three-dimensional reality.
Wondrous Love, Wondrous Table
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (John 13:1) NIGHTTIME DURING Holy Week becomes the dark before the dawn. The story of Jesus’ last week and final sacrifice chart a descent into the shadier corners of the human heart. On the...
Anthems and Prayers for Holy Week & Easter
Worship resources for Holy Week and Easter 2021 (appropriate for the scriptures in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary).
The sun is love
WELCOME, SPRING. You are a reminder of order containing chaos. Structure allowing disorganization. Repose hosting revolution. You are God’s design, like the Word . . .
Moses, Jesus, and the Snake on the Stick
Dear God, Thank you for the people who invented medicines, like penicillin and vaccinations . . .
worship resources
Warren Howell curates a collection of lectionary-based worship resources at Faithelement. Find prayers, litanies, hymn and anthem suggestions, and more.