If your church is celebrating Laughter Sunday (aka Holy Humor Sunday, Bright Sunday) this year, here are a few readings, prayers and litanies you might consider using in worship. All of them come from the Joyful Noiseletter – check their site for many more ideas!
Confession and Creed for Bright Sunday
We
believe in God,
who
made us in His image.
We live, we love, we
laugh,
because we are like
Him.
We
believe in Jesus Christ,
the
Son of God, our Lord and Savior.
He had the last laugh
on the devil
when He rose from the
dead.
We
believe in the Holy Spirit,
co-equal
and co-eternal with the Father and the Son.
Our counselor, our
guide, our motivator –
He is our joy!
Forgive
us, Lord, when we take ourselves too seriously,
when
we don't claim the happiness that is rightfully ours
as
your children,
when
we forget that you will have the last laugh in this world.
Restore
to us the joy of our salvation,
through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~
Rev. Robert M. Thompson
Closing Prayer for Holy Humor Sunday
Lord, grant me a
joyful heart and a holy sense of humor.
Please give me the
gift of faith,
to be renewed and
shared with others each day.
Teach me to live this
moment only,
looking neither to
the past with regret,
nor to the future
with apprehension.
Let love be my guide,
and my life a prayer.
Go
in laughter; go in grace.
Keep
the Lord in your heart
and
a smile on your face.
~
from Holy Humor Sunday celebrations at Roscoe United Methodist Church, Illinios
Closing Responses for Holy Humor Sunday
O
God,
on
Easter the thunder of your voice
caused
the stone to roll away from Christ's tomb.
Make the ground shake
beneath us,
so that our feet
shall dance,
so that we shall leap
up and run out the door,
and carry love to a
waiting world.
~
Rev. Barbara L. Housley, from Holy Humor Sunday celebrations at the
Mountainhome United Methodist Church, Pennsylvania
For
more Holy Humor / Laughter Sunday worship resources, click on “Laughter/Holy
Humor” under the list of “Labels” on the right side of the page.
