Liturgical Color: Green

Gospel: Matthew 25:1-30

Theme: Wise and foolish maidens and the parable of the talents.

Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration
One pastor began this way: "We cannot love God whom we have not seen unless we love our fellow humans whom we do see. Love doesn't necessarily mean like. Love means that we seek the same for the other that we have received for ourselves. There is no such thing as loving God without loving our neighbor. We will discover during this worship what this means."

Then, invite the congregation to shout out a word of praise, followed by a word of response, as for example, "Love ... service, Peace ... reconciliation, Praise ... giving."

Act of Recognizing our Humanness and Receiving New Life
Suggestion: Introduce the act of confession with this s…