Call to Worship
You
are welcome in this place,
where
God meets us in love.
Why are we here?
We are here to love God
with all that we have
and all that we are.
You
are welcome in this place,
where
God loves us as children.
Why are we here?
We are here to love
ourselves
as deeply as God loves
us.
Welcome
to this place,
where
God serves us at the
Table
of love and grace.
Why are we here?
We are here to be sent
forth
to love others as
deeply as
we love God and
ourselves.
Prayer of the Day
Living
God:
when
there is a famine
in
our souls,
you
feed us with grace;
when
there are pockets of poverty
in
our love for others,
you
bless us with generosity;
when
we are empty and alone,
you
move into our hearts.
Jesus,
Bearer of the good things
which
have come to us:
you
bend down
to
lift us from despair;
you
embrace those
who
haven't a friend in the world;
you
open the eyes of those
struck
blind by arrogance and ambition.
Eternal
Spirit:
you
walk with us
wherever
we go;
you
take the fragments of our lives
and
reshape us into holy people;
you
are with us,
and
not even death can separate us.
God
in Community, Holy in One,
hear
us as we pray
as
Jesus taught us, saying,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
The
world teaches us many ways to love, but all are based on selfish desires and
needs. God teaches us how to love: completely, uniquely, unconditionally.
Let us confess our difficulty to be as loving as God teaches us, as we pray,
saying,
Unison Prayer for
Forgiveness
We are hesitant to confess, Holy God, how
hard it is to love as you wish. It is easy to love you with all that we are,
except when you ask us to love our neighbor with all that we have. We find it
hard to love our neighbor, when it is linked to the way we love ourselves. And
it is difficult to love anyone - even You - more than we love ourselves.
Forgive us, Love Eternal. As you took a
risk in creating us, help us to take risks to love others compassionately, to
love ourselves genuinely, and to love you as completely as you love us in Jesus
Christ, our Lord and
Savior.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
In
God's Kingdom, all are loved for who they are, not what they do;
in
God's Kingdom, all are forgiven for what they do, and don't;
in
God's Kingdom, all are welcomed and fed by God's grace and hope.
Forgiven, loved, sent
forth -
we are not far from
God's Kingdom!
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering As we offer our gifts, our hearts, our lives to you, may we see your kingdom of hope and wonder, of healing and kindness unfolding in our midst. This we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering As we offer our gifts, our hearts, our lives to you, may we see your kingdom of hope and wonder, of healing and kindness unfolding in our midst. This we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The Great Prayer of
Thanksgiving
My
beloved sisters and brothers, may the Lord be with you.
And also with you.
My
beloved brothers and sisters, lift up your hearts.
Our hearts are lifted
high to God.
Beloved
of God, let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
Thanksgiving is in our
hearts, and praise is on our lips.
We
will sing praises to you all life long,
O
Lord our God,
maker
of the earth, the heavens, the seas,
and
all that dwell in them.
You
made us in your image
so
we might be your people
and
worship you forever.
But
blinded by the seductions of the world,
we
wandered far from your Kingdom,
putting
our trust in those powers that cannot save us.
Despite
our turning our backs on you,
you
have clung to us in grace and love,
determined
to be faithful to the covenant
you
established with us.
Therefore,
we join our voices,
with
the saints of every time and of every place,
singing
our praises to your heart:
Holy, holy, holy are
you, Lord God of our souls.
Heaven and earth, the
sea and all that is in them
glorify your name forever.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One
whose help is in you.
Hosanna in the highest!
We
praise you, Holy God,
and
bless your Son, Jesus Christ,
our
Help, our Hope, our Lord.
He
opened the eyes of the blind,
so
we might behold your grace;
he
loosed the bonds of the captive,
so
we might follow in freedom;
he
watched over strangers,
so
we might become brothers and sisters;
he
lifted up those who had fallen,
so
we might walk the streets of the Kingdom;
he
gave his heart to those ignored by the world,
so
the widow and orphan might find
their
heart's home in you;
he
endured death's embrace,
so
we might be welcomed
into
eternal life with you.
His
life, his words, his death, his resurrection
are
mysteries we may not understand completely,
but
which we will proclaim with faith:
Christ died, loving us
more than himself;
Christ rose, loving God
with all that he was;
Christ will come again,
loving all God's children,
so we might be neighbors forever.
As
we break the Bread of Life
and
drink from the Cup of Salvation,
pour
out your eternal Spirit
upon
these gifts
and
those who will receive them.
Despite
our unfaithfulness,
we
are determined to go with you;
despite
our weakness,
we
are resolved to worship you;
despite
our fears and prejudices,
we
are unfaltering in our commitment
to
justice and hope for others.
Through
your Son, Jesus Christ, who is our grace;
through
the Spirit, who is our hope;
we
honor and glorify your love
for
all people in creation,
Great
God, our peace and our joy,
now
and forever. Amen.
Blessing
As
you leave this place, go with God.
We will go wherever God
goes.
As
you depart to serve, go with Christ.
We will not turn back
from following Jesus.
As
you live the coming days, go with the Spirit.
God's people will be
our people,
and we will share our
lives with them.
(c) Thom M. Shuman
(c) Thom M. Shuman
