Resources on Carol Penner

Death, Resurrection, Peace, Communism

Easter Hope

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

Based on Jesus' resurrection in Matthew 28:1-10, Carol Penner's poem reflects on our intimate relationship with death and darkness and Easter morning, when light and hope breaks in.

Matthew 28:1-10

Darkness, Death, Easter, Hope

Good Friday Heartbreak

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

Benediction or Blessing

This worship resource by Carol Penner offers a benediction for Good Friday. It reflects on the grief that is experienced at the cross and in our lives and invites God's presence to be with us.

Good Friday, Grief, Jesus, Waiting

Last Christmas

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner offers a prayer from the perspective of those who understand that the coming Christmas will be their last, "so they enter this season with different eyes."

Christmas, Love, Laughter, Death

Way of Peace Christmas Benediction

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Benediction or Blessing

Carol Penner offers a Christmas benediction quoting Zechariah's prophecy (Luke 1:78-79). "We go into this season knowing that God will guide our feet into the way of peace."

Death, Christmas, Mercy, Light

Suicide: Five Prayers from Those Left Behind

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner offers five prayers written from the perspective of people who are dealing with the suicide of a loved one. "You carry our loved one, and each of us, now and forever."

Hope, Love, Prayer, Peace

The Wrong Good-bye

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Prayer of Lament

Carol Penner offers a poetic prayer asking for God's presence and affirming love in the face of the death of someone too young.

Death, Hope, Injustice, Sickness

Easter Poem: Hope for the Shadow People

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner's Easter poem notes that death casts a shadow over all of human life, but "Jesus cracks open the darkness like a nut."

Death, Easter, Darkness, Light

The Final Hour

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner's poem expresses "wonder that sorrow could produce such a rich harvest of joy," as loved ones are gathered around the bed of one who has just died.

Death, Joy, Love, Silence

Prayer for the Grieving

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Prayer of Lament, Prayer of Intercession

Carol Penner offers a prayer for those who have experienced loss, asking for God's grace and help through the grieving process. "This is our prayer, that peace will reach us all in time."

Death, God's Provision, Grief, Peace

Waiters in God's House: An Advent Prayer

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner offers an Advent prayer for "the waiters in God’s house" - those who wait for God, for justice, for a diagnosis, for a job, for death, etc.

Waiting, Hope, Justice, Death

Longest Night Prayer

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

"We need a Savior for those who sit in the shadow of death." Carol Penner offers a prayer on the "longest night" for people who live with violence, conflict, war, assault, destruction, starvation.

Death, Peace, Violence, Advent

Easter Call to Worship

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Call to Worship

This worship resource by Carol Penner features an Easter call to worship that invites us to praise for our Savior, the Light of the world, has brought death to death, and life to life.

Death, Easter, Life, Praise

The Confession of Dirk Willems

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

"What I remember most is the joy of God’s words on our lips, in our hearts." Carol Penner offers a poetic "confession" in which the Dutch Anabaptist martyr Dirk Willems (died 1569) tells his story.

Confession, Martyr, God's Presence, Compassion

Barabbas

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

In this imaginative account, Carol Penner has Barabbas, the insurrectionist released instead of Jesus, tell his story in a way that contradicts the stereotype. "It should have been me. This Jesus died for me."

Good Friday, Barabbas, Jesus, Crucifixion

God Our Shepherd Prayer for the Dying

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

In this prayer for the dying, Carol Penner wrestles with end-of-life decisions such as medical assistance in dying, difficult conversations with patients, loved ones, and caregivers, asking God for wisdom that leads to life.

God's Will, Shepherd, Death, Dying

Our Imaginations Fail

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Prayer of Confession

Referencing Ezekiel 37:3 and Matthew 28:1-5, Carol Penner offers a prayer of confession that honestly addresses the difficulty of maintaining faith in the face of death. But God, writes Penner, is "an impossibility specialist."

Ezekiel 37:3; Matthew 28:1-5

Death, Doubt, Imagination, Resurrection

Dementia 2

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

"Crippled by a mind, that sees menace in every corner... God, look upon this resignation, and in your mercy grant release." A poem about dementia by Carol Penner.

Prayer, Sickness, Aging, Death

After the Funeral

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

A poem by Carol Penner that helps give reason for the time that we spend together after a funeral. Carol points out how the time spent with others pulls us out of grief, like resurrection.

Death, Funeral, Bread, Eating

Death, Hope and Community

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Scripture Meditation or Sermon

This sermon on Job 14 ponders where we find hope in times of suffering and death.

Job 14