Ordinary Time 11-C/Proper 6

Call to Worship
In the morning, God hears our voices
as we lift our prayers and songs.
In the morning, God whispers to us
in the gentle breezes stirring the world,
In the morning, we look for God
alive and active around us.
In the morning, we find God playing
hopscotch with the kids on the corner.
In the morning we come together
to worship our God.
In the morning, God gathers us up
to lead us down the streets
of justice and faithfulness.

Prayer of the Day and our Lord's Prayer
In the morning,
Listening God,
you break open your heart
to pour your love upon us;
you bathe our tired and sore souls
with your healing tears;
you dry our weeping
with the caress of your gentle Spirit.

In the afternoon,
Hospitable Jesus,
even knowing we are sinners,
you invite us to lunch,
so we can be nourished
with your hope and peace.
No matter how deep in debt
we are to sin,
you pay off the entire amount.

In the evening,
Spirit of our sighs,
you kiss us and call us
your Beloved,
as you tuck us into bed
to keep watch over us
while we sleep.

In every moment,
God in Community, Holy in One,
you are present with us,
even as we lift the prayer Jesus has taught us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Too often, we believe our identity is shaped
by our job, our status, our good deeds. God
would give us a new identity, grounded in
Jesus Christ. Let us confess our reluctance to
lose who we believe we are, so God can shape
us into who we can be.

Unison Prayer of Confession
We must admit, God our Parent, how much we
are like children. We become resentful over the
fact that you do not do what we think you should
do. We pout when a friend decides to spend
more time with someone else. We can turn
sullen when our loved ones refuse to let us have
our way.

You could bring disaster upon us, Loving God,
but you choose to give us what we don't deserve -
the grace and mercy of your heart. Pour out your
tenderness upon us, so Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Savior, might live in us, and we might offer our
lives in service to others.

Silence is kept.

Assurance of Pardon
God not only listens to the cries on our lips,
but also pays attention to the groanings of
our hearts. God restores us to wholeness,
and invites us to a new way of living.
We are welcomed, we are loved, we are
given new life, we are filled with peace.
Thanks be to God, we are forgiven! Amen.

(c) 2007 Thom M. Shuman