14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Call to Worship
L: Come to our God,
all who hunger for life:
P: for it is God who nourishes us
at the Table of Grace
L: Come to our God,
all who are worn out by life:
P: for it is God who provides
the rest we need.
L: Come to our God,
all who are weighed down:
P: for it is our God who carries
our burdens with us.

Prayer of the Day
Eternal God:you sing a song of silence
to our noisy hearts,
inviting us to still
our fidgeting souls,
and find our peace
in your cupped hands
which cradle us.

Jesus Christ,
Wanderer of the kingdom:
you are called
to reveal God to us
and do so in
the tenderness of your touch,
the gentleness of your words,
the goodness of your heart,
the peace of your shared yoke.

Spirit of Rest:
your childlike presence
opens our eyes
to the wonders of the world.
As we hand you
our anger, our hurt, our sin,
may our burdens
become our songs of joy,
even as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Fretful, agitated, longing for more and more of this and that, we spend our lives in a never-ending, never-fulfilled search for that which satisfies. But Christ knows that we will only find the end of our journey in God, and so invites us to that peaceful place known as God's heart. Let us let go of our burdens of anger, hurt and sin so we can find our rest.

Unison Prayer of Confession
We are so skilled at being in control, at taking charge, Sabbath-Taking God, that we are not very good at resting. We think we have to be constantly busy, so we have no time for you. We are trained to be extremely productive, and so create our harried, stress-filled lives.

Forgive us, Shalom Giving God. Help us to let go of our distractions, so you can act in us; calm our creaturely activity, so you can re-create us; help us to follow Jesus, not only into discipleship, but into our rest with you.

Silent prayers may be offered

Assurance of Pardon
L: It sounds so simple, we think it is too simple. But which is the burden you would choose: hate or love; anger or forgiveness; pain or peace? God invites us to receive the gifts which make it possible to have lives of faithful obedience.
P: This is the good news: God forgives us and takes our burdens from us. We would let go of them and welcome hope, joy, grace into our lives. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
L: The Lord be with you.
P: and also with you.
L: People of God, lift up your hearts.
P: we lift them to the One who invites us
to rest in the heart of the Trinity.
L: People of God, give thanks to the One
who offers you rest.
P: We sing our thanksgiving to God,
who sings to us of peace.

With hearts filled with joy,
we bring our praise to you,
God of Rest.
On the first morning of creation,
you whispered of peace,
and the cacophony of chaos
was stilled.
You walked softly
through the grasses of the earth
and all creation sang of your goodness.
Created to find our peace with you,
our fretful desire to be in control
led us into a nomadic existence
of rebellion against you.
Prophets spoke and angels sang
to invite us home,
but our stubborn pride
only grew stronger.W
hen the burden of our sin
became too great for your heart,
you sent Jesus to carry it for us.

Thus, we join with choirs on earth
and in heaven,
singing your praise:

Sanctus

Holy are you, God of our footloose hearts,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son,
our Lord and Savior.
Watching our restless striving
for more and more,
he modeled the life
of self-denial and service;
seeing us weighed down
with the burdens of sin and death,
he picked up his cross,
carried it to Calvary,
where he died to give us life.

As we remember his life
and his rest in you,
we speak of that mystery we call faith:

Memorial Acclamation

Pour out your Spirit of rest and shalom
upon this bread and this cup,
that these gifts might nourish us.
As we find our rest in you,
may we become restless in service to your children;
as we engage with you
in solitude,
may we build a community
of justice and righteousness;
as we listen to your silence,
may we speak out
for all whose voices
are ignored by the world.

Then, when we gather with all
who have found their rest with you
at the Table of the Lamb,
we will sing our praise for all eternity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.

(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Call to Worship
L: There is no one like you,
God of Abraham and Sarah:
P: we ask for signs,
and you fill us with surprises.
L: There is no one like you,
God of Hagar and Ishmael:
P: we cry out in our need,
and you listen to our voices.
L: There is no one like you,
God of each and every person:
P: we ask for power,
and you give us the humility
to serve all your children.

Prayer of the Day
God of those cast out
and the abandoned:
into the chaos of our lives,
you enter with the silence of love;
as we choke on bitter memories,
you touch us with healing;
when we wander
the wilderness of our world,
you bring us home to your heart.

Jesus Christ,
sin's Conqueror:
into our deepest pain,
where we cannot find hope,
you dare to enter;
when we gasp in fear,
you reach out to hold our hearts;
when we face death,
you stride out of the grave
to lead us to
the boulevards of the Kingdom.

Spirit of Gentleness,
you are the mist shimmering
over the valleys,
stirring the waters of creation;
you are the dew bathing
the flowers every morning,
anointing us with
resurrection's grace.

God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayer to you, as Jesus has taught us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Whether we whisper, weep, or shout, we can trust
God to hear us and to respond. Even when we fail
to follow Jesus - especially when we fail to follow -
God does not turn away, but cradles us in the
steadfast arms of mercy and grace. Let us confess
our sin together, praying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
We confess to you, God our God, that some of
the stories we find in the Bible trouble us more than
the news we hear each day. Some of the words
which Jesus speaks make us more uncomfortable
than the cries of those in need in our communities.
And while our baptism may be a sign of your invisible
grace, many of those around us do not see that grace
lived out in us.

Forgive us, Gracious God. Save us, and give us
the strength to be willing to take up whatever task
you give us, and the faith to be willing to lose our
lives for others, that we might find life forever with
you, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Silent Prayers may be offered.

Assurance of Pardon
L: This is the good news: God hears our prayers,
our cries, our confession. God listens to every
longing of our hearts. And, in Christ, we receive
new life. We are free, free to walk in the Light
of the Lord.
P: So, this is what we will do. We will open
our hearts to God's grace; we will live as
people who have died to sin and live for
Christ. Thanks ge to God. Amen.

(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Call to Worship
L: On an ordinary Sunday, we come to worship God.
P: We come, trusting God will speak to us;
we come, hoping God will surprise us.
L: On this day, like every other day,
we seek to follow Jesus:
P: We follow, believing Jesus will be with us;
we follow, hoping Jesus will work through us.
L: On this day, we lift our souls to God's Spirit:
P: We open our hearts, that the Spirit may fill us;
we open our hands, that we might be a gift to others.

Prayer of the Day
The little child struggling with fears;
the grandfather facing failing health;
the parent who lies awake till the early morning hours;
the teenager pressured by peers;
the lonely who are prey to con artists;
all of us with ordinary aches, pains, and worries -
each is cradled in your infinite compassion,
Tender God.

Those who work through the night;
those who sleep in littered parks;
those who are called exceptional;
those who are differently-gifted;
those who are filled with doubts;
those who spill over with laughter;
the youngest,
the oldest,
the ordinary -
each is called by you,
Lord Jesus.

Joyous praisers of your name;
seekers of hope;
those walled out by prejudice and hate;
babies who cry from hunger;
the poor who share their last coin
with those in greater need;
all the ordinary people around the world
are not disappointed by your presence,
Spirit of Hope.

God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we lift our voices
praying as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father...

Call to Reconciliation

This is all the proof we need: it was when we
were least able to save ourselves that God did
it for us in Christ Jesus. Because we trust that
God forgives us, let us bring our confessions to
God, praying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, if we committed extraordinary
sins, we might feel a need to confess to you. But
our failings seem so everyday and petty: ignoring
our friends and families, forgetting to look after
creation, hoarding the blessings you have given to
us, following political agendas instead of Jesus.
Forgive us, Compassionate God, for we not only
harm others and our world by our sins, but we break
your heart. Call to us again, and strengthen us to follow
in the footsteps of Jesus: sitting with the sufferers,
offering ourselves in obedience to you, opening our
hearts to all your children. In the name of Jesus,
we pray.

Silent Prayers may be offered.

Assurance of Pardon
L: Christ has died for us--can God's love be made
any clearer to us? By this gift, we enter into God's
Kingdom, and are graced to serve others.
P: Forgiven, gifted, restored, called:
we are God's people. Amen.