Overdose Awareness Sunday
Service of Worship based on lectionary texts from Pentecost 12
August 27th 2017

Scriptures: Isaiah 51:1-6 – Psalm 138 – Romans 12:1-8 – Matthew 16:13-20

August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day.*  The church has not been immune to the fallout from the current opiate crisis. This order of worship is intended to bind up the broken hearted: to give voice to the ones who have tragically lost their lives to drug addiction as well as to those among us who mourn their passing.  Purple Ribbons may be given to each person. This explanation may be shared with the congregation, “Purple is a color that is used during Lent—the season in which we remember human frailty and mortality and  vulnerablility to temptation--and it is the color that has been selected to represent the International Overdose Awareness Campaign.” 

Call to Worship:

One: 	We listen to the stories of opiate abuse on the news, 
in our local cafés and barber shops. 
We see those of us who are living with drug addiction. 
We listen stories of how some of us have succumbed 
to the misuse of both prescription and street drugs. 
We listen to the wails of mothers and fathers, 
first responders, teachers, 
and of whole communities who mourn the loss of life.
Many: O God, who feels and understands our loss: 
help us respond in love. 

One: 	We cry to you in our calamity. 
Remind us of your steadfastness. 
We ask that you set our faces like flint 
against drugs that lead to death and not life. 
Many: We cry to you, God of Compassion: 
help us respond in love.

One: 	We listen for the Still Speaking Voice of our Holy Comforter 
who issues holy instruction that brings true and lasting justice.  
Many: 	We listen for your words of comfort. 
Give us the keys to your Kin-dom:
And help us respond in love. 

Prayer of Unison or Pastoral Prayer

God of Hope and Healing, 
we mourn the loss of those have died this past year to addiction.  
We look to you as the giver of grace and steadfast love
as that we strive for justice. 
In the midst of the chaos and confusion 
which has flooded our communities, 
let us not conform to the pattern of this world. 
Transform our congregation and community 
with the renewing of minds 
grounded in empathy and hope. 
Let our bodies and minds experience a true transformation 
through the paths of holiness and peace. Amen

Tolling of the Bells or Lighting of Memorial Candles

Contacting local health departments or first responders can give you eye-opening local statistics of those who have died to an overdose within the past year. For example, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, the number has doubled each year since 2014. Take a “moment of silence” and ring church bells once for every life lost. Or have a collection of candles or tea lights and solemnly light one in memory of every life that has been lost in your county or community.  

Call to Offering: 

Anointed One, we ask that these tithes and offerings be given 
in the spirit of a deeper understanding of community, 
while holding onto the hope that death is not the final answer. 
May we give out of this understanding building up the kin-dom of God. 

Prayer of Dedication: (May be said in unison)

Holy Spirit, we dedicate our gifts today. 
We dedicate our bodies to you and to the work of the church. 
We ask that you help fortify us for the task ahead. 
Draw us into the Spirit’s tether as we seek to use this offering 
to further the mission of this congregation and the wider church. 

Benediction:  

Go now! Respond in love. 
When you feel like this world is too much and the temptations are too strong, 
Reach out! 
Reach out to friends, reach out to counselors, reach out to grief groups,  
reach out to doctors, reach out to twelve step programs, and reach out to Pastors. 
But most importantly reach out to God. 
As you reach out may you hold fast to the keys of the Kin-dom of God, 
embraced by the Anointed One,  and led by the Holy Spirit 
to live out your days in peace and in hope. Amen and Amen.

*In Ohio, for more information on how to help people in danger of overdose, contact Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone), a program of the Ohio Department of Health which offers education about, training in the use of, and kits containing Naloxone, a medication which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.  https://www.odh.ohio.gov/health/vipp/drug/ProjectDAWN.aspx Check other state departments of health for local information.

Written by the Rev. John Jerome Werner, Pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ – Jefferson, OH.  Rev. Werner is the chair of the Opiate Epidemic Prophetic Witness Team of the Eastern Ohio and Western Reserve Associations of the Ohio Conference and sits on the Board of the Ashtabula County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.    

Copyright 2017 Local Church Ministries, Faith Formation Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.