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

Mary on Easter Morning

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

Carol Penner's poem is a first-person account of Mary Magdalene's experience at the tomb of Jesus, based primarily on John's account of the resurrection (John 20).

John 20:1-18

Resurrection, Joseph Of Arimathea, Tomb, Body

Road to Emmaus

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

Carol Penner offers a call to worship invoking Jesus' presence "in your risen power," based on Jesus' promise of presence (Matthew 18:20) and the disciples' walk to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).

Matthew 18:20; Luke 24:13-35

Emmaus, God's Presence, Walking, Disciple

Cleopas and His Wife

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Scripture Drama or Paraphrase

Carol Penner offers an imaginative dialogue between two disciples, Cleopas and his companion (assumed to be his wife), reminiscing about their walk to Emmaus after Jesus' resurrection (Luke 24:13-35).

Luke 24:13-35

Emmaus, Hope, Cleopas, Wife

"Can these bones live"

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner's prayer quotes from Ezekiel 37:1-14, asking "Can these bones live?" as a metaphor for God's being able to bring new life in situations we would consider hopeless.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Easter, Hope, Peace, Resurrection

Thanksgiving

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

Carol Penner offers a congregational prayer for Thanksgiving, emphasizing not a list of things to be thankful for, but rather thanksgiving as a transformation of the heart.

Thanksgiving, Image Of God, Freedom, Transformation

Easter congregational prayer

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner offers a congregational prayer for Easter. "Help us to grasp resurrection; to understand its power, to see its force at work in our world."

Easter, Prayer, Resurrection, Power

Graceful Life

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

Carol Penner offers a congregational prayer based on God's grace. "Your grace leavening us, lightening us, filling us with hope that surprises, like happy laughter in a dark place."

Grace, Hope, Friendship, Enemies

Emmaus Road Call to Worship

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner offers a call to worship based on Matthew 18:20 and recalling the experience of the disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).

Matthew 18:20

Hope, Worship, Journey, Emmaus

Echo the Chorus

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

Using the words of Psalm 118:25-26, this Easter call to worship by Carol Penner praises God for what God has done in the resurrection of Jesus, that darkness is "now done."

Psalm 118:25-26

Easter, Morning, Resurrection, God's Presence

Scriptural Sweep: And God Said! A Reader's Theatre

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Scripture Drama or Paraphrase

Carol Penner offers a poem covering the sweep of scriptural teaching, which can be divided into a script for a reader's theater. "Let those who have ears to hear, hear!"

Scripture, Creation, Sin, Jesus

Rising Son

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

This congregational prayer by Carol Penner focuses on the resurrection of Jesus—the light that banishes darkness—asking to be empowered to share the good news and interceding for those who are suffering.

Prayer, Intercession, Light, Victory

Two roads to Emmaus

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Scripture Drama or Paraphrase

Carol Penner gives two dramatic adaptations of Jesus' encounter with disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35): the canonical version, and an alternative script in which the disciples are resistant to Jesus.

Luke 24:13-35

Jesus, Disciple, Emmaus, Resurrection

Joyful Easter

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

This worship resource by Carol Penner offers a call to worship for Easter offering doxology of joy and gladness for Christ is risen from death and sadness.

Easter, Praise, Doxology, Resurrection

Grief and Remembrance Prayer and Candle-Lighting Ritual

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner writes a prayer to remember those who have died, to help people grieve together and to remember God’s promises in Jesus. She acknowledges the difficulty of grieving during the pandemic and includes candle lighting....

Death, Light, Grief, Promises Of God

Praying Through A Divorce

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner's prayer commits to God a couple whose marriage is broken. "We urgently want to end this bleeding, for which there is no quick remedy."

Divorce, Family, Prayer, Relationship

Jesus Serves Breakfast

Carol Penner | Together in Worship

This poem by Carol Penner imagines the events of John 21:1-14, where the resurrected Jesus encounters his disciples and serves them a meal on the shore.

John 21:1-14

Jesus, Resurrection, Meal, Incarnation

Easter People Congregational Prayer

Carol Penner | Leading in Worship

Carol Penner's congregational prayer asks God to bring Easter to those who are grieving, despairing, sick, or imprisoned by jail, addiction, or prejudice. The refrain is, "We are an Easter people!"

Easter, Hope, Prayer, Resurrection

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."