25th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 20-C

Call to Worship
We gather together to celebrate
the joy in our lives.
God's love fills our hearts
to overflowing with laughter.
We gather, in God's presence,
to find comfort and hope for our pain.
God's grace wipes away our tears
and knits us together as one people.
We gather together, in God's presence,
to worship God in faith and truth.
Alleluia! Amen!

Prayer of the Day
Healing God,
when dismay
is our daily companion,
you come to touch us
with your healing hope.
When grief falls on us
like a wall of bricks,
you rebuild our joy
with your comfort and love.

Jesus Christ,
Faithful Spirit,
when bullies pick on us,
you stand by our side.
When neighbors taunt us
for choosing to be faithful,
you commend us
for our wisdom.

Teaching Spirit,
when we are heart-sick
over the brokenness of our lives,
your compassion races
to bring your gentle balm.
When our joy is gone
and we are stained
by the world's cruelty,
you bathe us in the tears
flowing from God's broken heart.

God in Community, Holy in One,
hear us as we pray as Jesus has taught us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Before we speak, God knows our needs, yet our words open our hearts to God's grace. Let us prepare ourselves for God's healing as, in words and silence, we tell of all that separates us from God and one another. Please join me as we pray,

Unison Prayer of Confession
First of all, Everlasting God, we must confess how we have not lived as your people. We serve many masters - work, wealth, power, addictions - yet find no hope in them. We hear the cries of the poor, and shut the doors of our hearts to them. We ridicule those who expose their hopes and dreams to us.

Forgive us, Compassion's Heart, and heal us of our brokenness. Make us well, so that by our healing, we might be the hope and love others need in their lives, even as Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, brought these gifts to us, calling us to be faithful with the grace, peace, and joy entrusted to us.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
Now that we have let go of the pain, the bitterness, the anger of our lives, let us be kind, tender-hearted, and gentle towards each other, forgiving as God has forgiven us.
We are God's beloved children, and will model God's grace and love in our hearts. Thanks be to God! We are forgiven! Amen.

(c) 2007 Thom M. Shuman