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A LITURGY OF WORSHIP FOR/BY THE YOUTH

Theme: Globalization & Youth Culture

Note: The sentences in bold letters are to be read either by the congregation or in unison.

Hi everybody,

Good Morning!

Its time for us to ‘log in’

Not just to have a ‘chat’ with Him, not just to ‘like’ His ‘status’, not just to ‘comment’ on His

‘posts’

But to get connected and remain connected with Him, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

Come, let us ‘google’ the depth of His love and ‘follow’ His statutes.

Let us pray:

O God, who has set our ‘templates’ and ‘timelines’, today we come to You as youth gathered

together from various corners of Your world. We praise you, for, Your gigabytes are

uncountable, your computing power inconceivable. We come as nothing before you and

without you, we are nothing. May we through this worship, experience Your grace, so that

we see You face to face and rejoice in peace. We pray this in the mighty name of our Lord

and Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN.

Let us all stand and sing the hymni,

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,

All ye that are upright in heart;

And ye that have made Him your choice,

Bid sadness and sorrow depart.

Refrain: Rejoice, rejoice, Be glad in the Lord and rejoice;

Rejoice, rejoice,

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice

Be joyful, for He is the Lord,

On earth and in Heaven supreme;

He fashions and rules by His word—

The ‘Mighty’ and ‘Strong’ to redeem.

Refrain

What though in the conflict for right

Your enemies almost prevail?

God’s armies, just hid from your sight,

Are more than the foes which assail.

Refrain

Though darkness surround you by day,

Your sky by the night be o’ercast,

Let nothing your spirit dismay,

But trust till the danger is past.

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Refrain Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,

His praises proclaiming in song;

With harp and with organ and voice

The loud hallelujahs prolong!

Refrain Let us all be seated and ‘browse’ ourselves in silence:

While millions around us were crying for help, we often chose to remain busy wearing

headphones and listening to the latest hits. We failed in loving others.

SILENCE

God,

Help us to quarantine the virus of ‘indifference’ within us.

While millions around us were craving for food and water, we often chose to remain away

from them, enjoying and partying day and night. We failed in loving others.

SILENCE

God,

Help us to quarantine the virus of ‘selfishness’ within us.

While millions around us were struggling in poverty, we often chose to remain in our own

cellars, praying for our own prosperity. We failed in loving others.

SILENCE

God,

Help us to quarantine the virus of ‘materialism’ within us.

While millions around us were suffering due to ecological catastrophes, we often chose to

remain in front of our TVs, watching those moments and passing judgements. We failed in

loving others.

SILENCE

God,

Help us to quarantine the virus of ‘self-righteousness’ within us.

While millions around us were being sexually assaulted, we often chose to ‘forward’ those as

MMS and ‘share’ those as videos. We failed in loving others.

SILENCE

God,

Help us to quarantine the virus of ‘hedonism’ii within us.

God we confess that we have often walked through the valleys of ‘spam’ and

‘malwares’. We confess that we have often opted for ‘pirated’ ethos and values and have

become ‘corrupted’. We pray that You ‘scan’ us, ‘format’ us, and ‘re-install’ Your image within

us, so that we love You with wholeheart and love each other as we love ourselves. In Jesus

name we pray, AMEN.

As we remain seated, let us listen to the Scripture Reading 1 Cor. 131-7

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1. f I spk n d tungs of mrtls n of angls, bt dnt av lov, ima nocy gong or a clngng cmbal.

2. n f Ive prophetic pwrs, n undrst& ll X-files n ll nolage, n f Ive ll fath, so as 2 rmv

^v^v^, bt dnt av lov, im Ø.

3. f I giv awy ll my Blngngs, n f I h& ovr my bod so dat I may bost, bt dnt av lov, I gain

Ø.

4. lov S patient; lov S knd; lov aint nVS or boastful or argnt.

5. or rude. It duznt nsist on its on wa; itz nt iritbl or rsntfl;

6. it duznt rjc n wrongdoing, bt rjcs n d trth.

7. It bers ll thngs, Blevz ll thngs, hps ll thngs, ndrs ll thngs.

Let us all stand and sing togetheriii:

As we worship, now You, O Lord

One who made world through Word

One who called us to spread the Word

Bless us with Spirit poured.

Youth, we come to Your feet, O Lord

To further peace in world

Now may we hear and taste Your Word

And by Your Spirit, filled.

Young men and women, we come Lord

May You melt us and mould

Through the thick and the thin, we tread

May our hands, You do hold.

As we prepare to march forward

You be our friend and guide

Let we be always on Your side

And with the poor we side.

May we all be seated and listen to the ‘Homily’

Homily: Rev. Timothy Ravinder, CSI-EMS Liaison Officer

Let us all stand and affirm our faith responsively:

We believe in You, the Creator, who dwells within and whose love runs through us and

everything that You have created

We believe in You, the Creator.

We believe in You, the Redeemer, who as a youth fought against the denial of life, for

which, You were crucified and Killed; but You arose and LIVES .

We believe in You, the Redeemer.

We believe in You, the Sustainer, who guides us to impart hope by caring the nature and

healing the nations .

We believe in You, the Sustainer.

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God, this world of diverse views, religious orientations, cultural differences and

technological boons,

We believe, is Your creation.

God, to proclaim the good news of Shalom through the language of love, hope and justice,

We believe, is Your mission.

God, we the youth, who are called to witness Your all-encompassing love,

We believe, is Your Body

We believe, /

You are with us, / in our dreams and glory/ chains and pains, /

You are with us in our world of reality and our world of virtuality/

You are with us/ in life, / in death/ and life beyond life, /

This be our hope/ forever and ever. / AMEN.

Kindly be seated and let us pray:

We live in a world where mountains of garbage pile up, nuclear waste threaten life, where

trees are cut down at a fatally faster rate.

Gd, trn our :'-( n2 :-) ) [God turn our mourning into rejoicing] God, ‘untag’ us from the culture of exploitation.

We live in a world were 20% have more food than what they need, while 80% go hungry.

Gd, trn our :'-( n2 :-) )

God, ‘untag’ us from the culture of accumulation.

We live in a world where many are reduced to poverty suffering due to debts, genocides,

rapes, human trafficking and communal violence.

Gd, trn our :'-( n2 :-) )

God, ‘untag’ us from the culture of violence.

We live in a world where large sections of people are denied livelihood and food, simply

because they are dalits and tribals or adivasis.

Gd, trn our :'-( n2 :-) )

God, ‘untag’ us from the culture of injustice.

In our Churches often the rich and affluent are more visible and heard, where there are

marked disparities among the dioceses and congregations.

Gd, trn our :'-( n2 :-) )

God, ‘untag’ us from the culture of discrimination.

In our Churches, often a few become stronger by the day and the people on the margins are

pushed to anonymity.

Gd, trn our :'-( n2 :-) )

God, ‘untag’ us from the culture of oppression.

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In our Churches the growth is understood only in terms of church membership and bank

accounts, and the poor and the weaker sections often fail to be recognized

Gd, trn our :'-( n2 :-) )

God, ‘untag’ us from the culture of materialism.

Let us pray the Lord’s Prayer in our respective mother tongue

Let us say the benediction in unison:

As we ‘sign out’,/ may the Triune God help us/ to remain ‘logged in’./ Let us continue

to ‘upload’ our concerns,/ ‘dowload’ His will/ and ‘share’ His love and compassion./ Let

our ‘folders’ and ‘files’/ be filled by His words and thoughts./ Let us ‘subscribe’ to His

‘pages’./ And now may the Grace, Love and Peace of the Trinue God/ ‘follow’ us all

through this camp./ AMEN./ i Words: Ma­ry E. Servoss / Music: James Mc Granahan

ii Hedonism = Philosophy of maximizing Pleasure

iii Text: Viji Varghese Eapen. Set to the tune of ‘Jesus, the very thought of Thee’

This liturgy, prepared by the Rev. Viji Varghese Eapen, currently serving as the Director, Department of

Ecumenical Relations and Ecological Concerns, Church of South India Synod, was used during the Inaugural

Worship of the „FEST-ZOE:2012‟ (International Ecumenical Youth Consultation on “Globalization & Youth

Culture”) held at the CSI Synod, Chennai, during November 12-17, 2012.