18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Call to Worship
Our God - the Holy One of creation -
promises to be with us in every moment.
Here in this place of worship and prayer,
and in every place we live and serve.
Our God - the Holy One of grace -
blesses each and every one of God's children.
Calling us by name, gifting us for service,
sending us out to serve in the kingdom.
Our God - the Holy One of abundance -
feeds us from the simple gifts of the Table.
Filling us with joy, nourishing us with peace,
we are given enough to offer to all the world.

Prayer of the Day
We spend so much time
staring at our feet,
afraid of tripping over our past,
but you lift our chins
so we can look up and see
your bright future.
We lie awake at night,
hearing our fears and doubts
tip-toeing around in the dark,
but you ring the doorbell
at the stroke of midnight,
inviting us to come out
and dance in the moonlight.
We see you face-to-face
in your hopes for us,
Blesser of all.

When those around us
are cruel and spiteful,
it is enough that you come
to cradle us in your compassion.
When every one turns
a deaf ear to our hopes,
it is enough that you lean over,
tilting your hear and cocking your ear,
to listen to our dreams.
When we open the cupboard of our lives,
and bemoan the scarcity of our gifts,
you say, 'it's enough;
let's get busy serving the world.'
We see you face-to-face
in your faith in us,
Servant Brother.

When we reach the edge of fear
and wonder if we dare jump over
to reach the far shore of peace,
you take us by the hand and whisper,
'one, two, three. GO!'
When we limp through life,
weighted down by our pain,
you lift our burdens off us,
so we can go swimming
in the crystal waters of life.
We see you face-to-face
in your gifts to us,
Spirit of Serenity.

We seek to see you face-to-face,
God in Community, Holy in One,
as we pray as Jesus has taught us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Left alone to our own ways and wills, we would continue to struggle with sin, losing every match. But God comes, prevailing over our stubborn pride, so that we can cross over to hope and mercy. Let us pray to the One hears, who blesses, who heals.

Unison Prayer of Confession
What great sorrow we must cause for you, Listener to our words. You fill us with gifts beyond imagining, and we whine that they are not enough. You whisper peace, but the violence shouting in our lives drowns out your words. You call us to that quiet place of grace with you, but we join the crowd in following the latest fad.

Forgive us and have mercy, Gentle Grace. Take our brokenness and heal us with your hope. Take our emptiness and fill us with your reconciling hope. Give us the wisdom, and the courage, to follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Silence is kept.

Assurance of Pardon
This is the good news: God has heard our cries, God has taken our sin and forgiven it, God has given us peace and hope.
Thanks be to God. We are forgive. We are made whole. We are fed with grace and joy. Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The God of crossings and healings be with you.
And also with you.
People of God, lift your hearts to the One who travels every journey with you.
We lift them to the God who gives us rest when we are weary.
People of God, offer your praise and thanks to the God who feeds the hungry.
It is our greatest joy to sing to the One who fills our emptiness with grace and joy.

Standing at the edge of chaos,
you took all the goodness in your heart,
and shaped it into the glory of creation,
God of Imagination.
Looking up, you placed
the moons, stars, and planets
into the cradle of the sky.
You took the dust of the earth,
blessing it, and forming us
into your image of hope and grace.
We were filled with the
abundance of your constant love,
but we longed for the empty
promises of sin and death,
breaking your heart as
we followed after them.
Prophets came to tell the truth
of your everlasting covenant,
but we turned our backs on them.
So, to put an end to your great sorrow,
you sent Jesus to us,
bringing us all the gifts
you had stored up for us.

So, with those who stand at the edge of grace,
and with those who have crossed over to your peace,
we join our voices with all who forever sing to your glory:

Sanctus

You are Holy, Redeemer of the lost,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
is your true blessing and hope to us.
When he could have deserted us,
as we continued to stumble through sin,
he was filled with compassion,
and came to be with us in our pain.
When he could have kept silent
in response to our fears and doubts,
he told stories of your love and grace.
When he could have detoured
around our violence and anger,
he walked straight into death,
so we might be saved.

As we remember all the gifts he shared with us,
as we tell of his healings and feedings for all,
we speak of that faith which is often a mystery:

Memorial Acclamation

As we gather at the edge of your kingdom,
gathering once again at the Table,
we pray you would pour out
your Spirit of reconciliation upon us,
and on the gifts of the bread and the cup.
You feed us with this meal,
not that we might become gluttons,
but so we might become servants
in your kingdom of holiness.
Where we see only crumbs on the Table,
you see enough leftovers for us
to take to feed a hungry world.
Where we see only
the last few drops in the cup,
you see enough grace for us
to fill the empty hearts of your children
forgotten and alone in the world.

And when we come to the edge of eternity,
all of our struggles over, all our pain left behind,
we will gather around your Table of grace,
joining with all who will forever sing of your love,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

(c) 2008 Thom M. Shuman

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A

Call to Worship
On this day of worship, we call on God's name,
and hear our own invitation to work for the good of all.
Gathered with neighbors and strangers, we call on God's hope,
and discover that a lifetime of service seems but a few days.
In this place of praise and prayer, we call on God's love,
and receive that grace which is as old as creation,
yet as fresh as each morning.

Prayer of the Day
You shape us in your image,
not so we might puff up with pride,
but we might humbly serve others.
You have chosen us,
not because we are so special,
but that we might become hope
to a world bloated on despair.
Searcher of hearts,
we would tell of all your wonders.

You went and sold your life,
so you could buy us back
from sin and death.
You planted seeds of grace,
so that the lost, the little,
the least, the last, and even we
could make our homes in you.
Bearer of God's Heart,
we would tell all your stories.

You offer sighs from the depths
of the very heart of God,
when we cannot shape words.
With peace in your hands,
you step in to help resolve
all of our broken relationships.
Heart of reconciliation,
we would listen to your hopes.

God in Community, Holy in One,
we would tell of your presence in us,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
We spend so much time accusing ourselves, judging ourselves, punishing ourselves for what we have done, or not done. But God would draw us closer to the Heart of forgiveness, that we might be filled with healing and grace. Join me, as we pray together,

Unison Prayer of Confession
What then are we to say about our lives, Searcher of our hearts? We know how often we have duped others with our deceit. We remember how often we promise one thing, only to do the opposite. We struggle to trust you, while we so easily listen to the promises of those who would pull us away from you.

Forgive us, Heart overflowing with mercy. Your grace is more powerful than any of our sins, your hope is more durable than our silly choices, your love will traverse anything, any thing, which separates us from you. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we are forgiven!

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
Here the good news: the One who could accuse us, saves us from sin and death. The One who could condemn us, cradles us in grace. The One who could punish us, prays for us.
Now we know, there is nothing, no thing, that can separate us from God. Thanks be to the One who forgives us. Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Hearts overflow with praise,
Good and Generous God,
for from you flows all that we need.
You gathered up all your dreams
and shaped them into the gift of creation:
bright blue skies that flow forever,
kittens chasing butterflies in backyards,
children whose hopes know no end.
The seeds of grace and peace
blossomed into that garden
which could have been our home,
but we chose to go out and buy
the fallow fields of sin and death,
to harvest the pearls of rebellion.
Prophets came, to tell us of hearing
the deep sighs of your broken heart,
but we thought their words
to be flights of foolish fantasy.
So, your heart set so that nothing
might ever separate us from you again,
you sent Jesus to bring
your treasure of grace to us,
a treasure as old as the universe,
as new as your joy for each of us.

So, we join our voices with Jacob and Leah
with Rachel, Laban and all your children,
forever singing our praises to you,

Sanctus

Holy are you, Covenant Rememberer,
and blessed is Jesus Christ,
the great Treasure of your heart.
He could have stayed at your side,
but came to cast his net to gather
sinners into your kingdom.
He could have shaken his head in silence
at all the foolish choices we make,
but told us stories of the One
whose heart overflows with mercy.
He could have left us on our own,
trying to make ourselves right,
but gave himself up to death,
to prove that nothing, nothing,
can separate us from your love.

As we remember his life, his teachings,
his death, and his rising to new life,
we would speak of that mystery we call faith:

Memorial Acclamation

Heart of goodness and joy,
send your Spirit upon us now,
that She might enliven this bread,
so that fed, we might spend
the rest of our lives
in service to your children.
Immerse your Spirit
in the cup of mercy,
so that as we drink from it,
we may go forth to be poured out
in lifetimes of compassion and caring
to those who hunger for hope and healing.

And when that moment comes,
and you gather all your people
from every place and time,
to feast at the Table of grace,
we will lift our voices in praise to you,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

(c) 2008 Thom M. Shuman

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Call to Worship
Early in the morning, we gather at the edge of heaven,
finding the gates flung wide open by the One who welcomes all.
Early in the morning, we come to this holy place of worship,
to be touched by the One who offers us grace and love.
Early in the morning, we worship God, who adopts us into the family,
to be filled by the One who would pour us out in service to the world.

Prayer of the Day
God-who-keeps-promises:
every word you have spoken
of hope found in the depths of life,
of healing surprising our pain,
of grace jumping rope with children,
will all come true -
even when our stubbornness
deafens us to your whispers.

Jesus-who-sows-seeds:
every hope you have for us
of kindness never ending,
of persistent patience,
of sacrificial service,
can be found -
even when others cannot
see them in us.

Spirit-who-leads-us-into-life:
every dream you have
of peace becoming our best friend,
of joy bubbling from our hearts,
of strangers welcomed as kin,
will happen -
even when we insist on
living out our fantasies.

Behind us, under us, beside us, over us,
you are ever and always with us,
God in Community, Holy in One,
and so we lift our prayer to you saying,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Hiding in the cobwebbed corners of our lives, we hope God cannot find us and see how we truly act and speak. But God's light of righteousness shines on us, so that we might find comfort, hope, forgiveness. Let us confess our sins together, saying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
If we did live by the Spirit, God-with-us, we would have no need to confess. But on most days, we live by the flesh, following those desires that control us. On many days, we live for ourselves, climbing the ladders of success, popularity, wealth. And every day, we live alone, believe we have no need to share love, kindness, hope with those around us.

Yet you have adopted us as your children, God-standing-with-us, forgiving and making us inheritors with Jesus of your grace and joy. So, lead us by the Spirit, so we might follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, into your creation which groans for hope and healing.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
In sorrow so deep we cannot find our way out,
God cradles us in comfort;
in moments so dark, we stumble over ourselves,
God lights the way;
in joy which cascades into our souls,
God fills us with healing.
Even when we cannot see it, God's hope is all around us, surrounding us with peace and healing. Thanks be to God, we are forgiven. Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Into the shadows of chaos,
you shine your light of righteousness,
Creation Blesser.
You looked, and saw the sun
shimmering over green meadows;
you watched, as the moon
gleamed in the night sky.
When your Spirit came to lead us
through the gardens of your grace,
we ran and hid ourselves
under the shelter of death,
believing you would never find us.
You sent the prophets
to sow seeds of hope
in our shallow and barren souls,
but we collected them
and threw them out with the trash.
So, groaning with the pain
of your shattered heart,
you sent Jesus to gather us up
and to bring us home to you.

So, with those who have gone into the deserts,
and found you waiting for them;
with those who have journeyed to the center
of faithful living, led by your Spirit;
we lift our voices, to sing your praises:

Sanctus

Holy are you, God of all joy,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, our Savior.
When our lives had touched
the bottom of despair,
he came to lift us up
to the heights of your hope;
when we wandered to sin's edge
and dived in headfirst,
he reached in to pull us
to the safety of your love;
when we journey
to the center of death,
we find him waiting
to take us by the hand
and lead us into life.

As we remember all his stories of how we are to live,
as we recall how he lived according to your Spirit,
we speak of that faith we can only call a mystery:

Memorial Acclamation

You search for us,
finding us wherever we have run;
you take us by the hand
to lead us to this Table of reconciliation,
where the bread and the cup
have been prepared and blessed
by the gift of your Spirit.
Fed by the Bread filled with grace,
may we dare go live
at the farthest edges of despair,
to stand with those who have lost
all hope and life.
When our arid souls have been
watered by the Cup of love,
may we dare to carry
the light of your joy and freedom
to those living in the shadows
of injustice and oppression.

And when that day comes:
when those who have fled
to the edges of life to escape you,
and those who made their beds
in futility and foolishness
are gathered together in your heart,
to feast at the Table of the Lamb,
we will sing our praises to you
forever and ever and ever,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

(c) 2008 Thom M. Shuman

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

Call to Worship
Your grace is a lamp for our hearts, O God.
Light our way through the shadows of this world.
When we struggle with questions and doubts,
tell us your stories of hope and grace.
When we are about to wander off into the wilderness,
show us the paths to your peace and joy.

Prayer of the Day
When we wonder
why life is the way
it seems to be,
you teach us how
to live for others.
When we would sell
our birthgift of grace
for a bowl of sin's stew,
you nourish us with
a serving of hope.
Prayer Granter,
listen to our hearts and words.

When we are convinced
we are only barren soil,
you plant seeds of grace
deep within us.
When our souls are as
parched as arid deserts,
you refresh us
with the waters
of goodness and mercy.
Story Teller,
fill our hearts with your words.

You come into our hearts,
to remove the bricks and mortar
from that great wall of hostility
we have built over the years,
setting us free to play
in the kingdom of peace.
You help us to let go
of our focus on ourselves,
so we may reach out
to share with others.
Emancipator,
send us forth to live your words.

God in Community, Holy in One,
with our hearts and with our words,
we lift our prayers to you, saying,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
We talk about lives of faith, but are usually found walking down the streets of seduction and temptation. God sends the Spirit to live in us, so we might have life with God. Let us confess our mis-steps as we pray together,

Unison Prayer of Confession
We walk through the world, Life Giver, so focused on ourselves, that we do not notice sin laying traps for us. We choose favorites, hurting folks looking for love. In our rush to grasp what we want, we let go of your promises given for us. In resisting your claims on us, we turn our backs on your dreams for us.

Forgive us, Promise Keeper, and have mercy. Like Isaac and Rebekah, we are heirs of your trust; like Jacob, we receive your grace even when we have done nothing to deserve it; like Esau, we share in your promises. May Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, sow seeds of faithfulness and hope in our hearts.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
God leans over so that great heart of forgiveness and hope might touch our own, healing us and restoring us to new life.
Not condemnation, but God's compassion;
not judgment, but God's justice;
not a punishment, but God's grace.
We are forgiven and loved. Thanks be to God.
Amen.

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Into the rocky heart of chaos,
you sowed the seeds of beauty,
Heart's Imagination.
Into the thorny soil of nothingness,
you cast hope and grace.
Creation sprang forth,
your goodness bubbling up
in streams flowing down
to crystal clear oceans;
your compassion planting all
we would ever need to live.
You sowed,
so we might feast
on your peace and grace,
but once we had tasted
the fruits of the flesh,
we hungered for more and more.
Prophets came to teach us
how to live your will,
but their words fell on thorny hearts.
So then, you sent Jesus,
to call us home to you,
doing for us what we could not do.

Therefore, for those who hunger for your word,
in every generation, in every time, in every place,
we lift our songs of thanksgiving to you:

Sanctus

Holy are you, Giver of all life,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, our Hope and Joy.
When he could have come
with words of condemnation,
he sat down and told stories
of forgiveness and hope.
When he could have claimed
the birthright due your own true Child,
he poured out his inheritance
of grace upon all sinners.
When we could not -
when we would not -
submit to your will,
he gave himself up
to sin and death
defeating their power
as he walked out of the tomb,
gripping our hearts
to lead us back to you.

As we remember his life, death, and resurrection,
as we listen once more to his words for us,
we would reflect on that mystery we call faith:

Memorial Acclamation

As you send your Spirit
upon the gifts of your Feast,
may this Spirit of life
rest upon your children gathered here.
As the Bread of Life
feeds us with hope,
may we go out
to walk with all who stumble
along the paths of life.
As the Cup of Salvation
nourishes the rock gardens
of our barren souls,
may we become the foundation
of justice and peace for our communities.
As your Word of grace
prunes our thorny hearts,
may we welcome all those
who have sold their hopes
for a meal of broken promises.

Then, when all time comes to an end,
when we are called to your Table
for that great feast with our sisters and brothers,
we will grip one another's hands,
and join our voices in praising you,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

(c) 2008 Thom M. Shuman