Liturgy for Women’s Week 2024

Written by Dr. Sherry Warren, Minister for Women’s and Gender Justice and Rev. Amy Johnson, Minister for Sexuality Education & Justice 

Please feel free to make edits that fit your congregation’s needs. You can also download the liturgy as a PDF or Word Document.

Call to Worship  

One/Presider: We are called here today, each of us born earthside in miraculous ways. Borne from the womb of creation, we bring our voices together to celebrate all of God’s humanity in one collective spirit.   

All: We are each a child of God.  

One/Presider: Unlimited to one gender, we seek to lift up those who are struggling, comfort those who are longing, and create community that recognizes us each for our gifts and capabilities.   

All:  We are each a child of God.   

One/Presider: Let us share those gifts in joyful abundance in a community of intention. And on this day, in this worship service, let us lift our voices to celebrate the Women and Girls in the United Church of Christ!  

Invocation  

Holy God, who is mother and father and tender nurturer to all that is, we gather that you may move us to greater understanding that all people are made in your image, and of your plan in which all are valued equally. Bestow upon us joyful tidings of the diversity of your people as we celebrate your wisdom with gratitude for the chorus our voices raise together.

Prayer for Transformation and New Life  

One/Presider: As if on a loom where strands are woven into beautiful complexities that become stronger together, let our distinct identities and ideas be knitted together in a glorious tapestry.   

All: Gracious and wise weaver of the universe, intertwine our lives to use our gifts in meaningful ways that create something beautiful and strong. You speak to us of being made in your image, yet we acknowledge that we deny access and equity to our mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts, denying them full participation in a world that needs them. Aid us in speaking boldly and plainly of your vision of a world where none is excluded, and all are affirmed.

Words of Grace  

One: God speaks loudly!  All in God’s kin-dom are fearfully and wonderfully made, deserving not only God’s love but also each other’s.  

All: thanks be to God, whose grace is unlimited!  

Invitation to Generosity  

One: Just as God has created a multitude of diversity to inhabit the earth, God calls us to correct unjust systems that privilege some bodies over others. May we share our gifts to support the church’s work towards disrupting injustice based on sex and gender.   

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication  

Let us pray: May these gifts we freely share be put to work in God’s gracious kin-dom so that no child is born into oppressive systems that devalue their humanity and sacredness.   

Benediction  

Just as God has been with us while we observe the importance of women and girls, take God’s celebration of all of humanity into the world and share a love that knows no bounds! Love loudly, love boldly, love all!