Call to Worship
Some of your people gather in sanctuaries
while others create sacred spaces
in their living rooms or back yards.
Yet, all join to worship you,
God who is with the scattered and gathered.
Some of your followers are going out to serve and work,
while others stay at home,
helping children and grandchildren learn virtually.
Yet, all seek to follow your example,
Jesus who calls the scattered and gathered.
Some care for others by shopping for them,
while plant seeds of peace and hope.
Yet, whether gathered or scattered,
all seek to live out your gifts, Spirit of us all.
Prayer of the Day
In days of uncertainty,
it is to focus only on what
we need to get done each day,
so, call us to turn
and see your compassion
burning (but not reduced to ashes)
for those living in loneliness.
When we drag our feet,
help us to remover all
which we believe protects
us from the heat of your justice,
so that we can feel the warmth
of your heart for the forgotten.
YOU ARE the One we search for,
God of all held captive by fear.
In these days of isolation,
it is easy to become stumbling blocks
to your longing for the most vulnerable.
So, polish our hardhearted resistance
that we can become those smooth pebbles
you use to pour a path to your community.
When we think you only have time
to listen to our disrupted lives,
you open your heart to us,
so we can see it’s brokenness,
for the lost, the least, the little,
that we can care for them
as deeply as do you.
YOU ARE the One
who leads us to freedom,
Servant of the poor.
In the cacophony of angry voices
and words dripping with bitterness,
we wonder how we can dare
to speak of you peace and hopes.
So, fill us with such a harvest of words,
that they will spill out of our hearts
and tumble out of our mouths.
When we are tempted to close our eyes
because of all the cruelty and pain
taking root in our neighborhoods,
fill our hands with grace and love
to share with all your children.
YOU ARE the One who
teaches us new ways,
Impassioned Spirit.
God in Community, Holy in One,
YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE,
and we lift our prayer to you, saying,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
In stories and in stores, in sandy deserts and in rocky roads, in our homes and Sunday worship, we encounter God. We meet the One who fills every moment with the sacred. We confess our sins, in trust that we can turn aside and notice God welcoming us with forgiveness and hope.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
God of Moses and Mary,
we could live at peace with others,
but we choose to do wrong to them.
we could welcome those we do not know,
but choose to close our hearts.
we could make outsiders our best friends,
but choose the safety of our cliques.
Forgive us, Genuine Love, for our foolish choices.
Hold on to our shaky lives,
until we learn to clasp your goodness to our hearts,
that we can give it away to those around us.
Whisper your grace and hopes to us,
until we can stop cursing our enemies,
and bless them as our friends.
Polish the rough edges of our arrogance,
until we become smooth enough
to win the gold in being honorable.
Then, we would put aside our stumbling blocks to discipleship, so we can follow Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior, as he leads us to your way of denial and life.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
In our love for others, we discover God's love for us. In our forgiving of others, we learn once more how deeply God has forgiven us. Friends, this is the good news offered to us!
We are God's children, called to be different, called to act different, called to live as new people. Thanks be to God. We are forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
May the gifts we offer, Loving God, feed those who are hungry, as you have fed us with your Word. May these gifts give those who thirst for hope a cup which is overflowing. May our gifts be used to welcome all those who are your children, our sisters and brothers in this life. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May God be with you.
May God be with you.
Lift your hearts to our God.
We offer them to the One who loves us.
Let us join in glad songs of praise.
Gathered or scattered, we sing our thanksgivings to our God.
In just a moment, creation sprang forth
from the emptiness of chaos,
and you began to pour out
all your goodness and genuine love,
God of all moments.
In just a moment, or so it seems,
uncertainty and fear sprang forth
from everything that we call normal.
Yet, in these continuing times
of isolation, distancing, wearing masks,
the earth continues to rejoice
with sunsets which take our breath away,
the winds continue to whisper
us to sleep as the drift through the trees,
the kindness and generosity
of neighbors as well as strangers,
remind us that, in those moments,
when all hope seemed to be lost,
that is when you sent your Beloved
to come, to be us, to walk with us.
So, we will join our voices with those
who continue to follow faithfully
as well as with those who stumble,
singing our praises to you:
Holy, holy, holy are you, God of Wonder.
In moments of confusion, you make clear your grace.
In days which seem endless, you hold our times in your hands.
In the midst of fears and worries, you watch over us.
Hosanna in the highest!
Yes, you are holy, God of all creation,
yet you listen to the prayers of the forgotten,
sending Jesus to come and share your love with us.
knowing the cracks in our broken hearts,
he came to craft stained glass windows of grace.
seeing our shattered relationships,
he came to make us whole.
experiencing the fear of death
which is especially profound these days,
he came to defeat its supposed power.
hearing the silent whispers of our fearful hearts,
he comes to remind us of the love
which was revealed in the resurrection
and which remains the promise to us.
in these days of wondering and wandering,
we seek to remember, not just his words, his life,
but the trust he had in you in every moment,
even as we speak of that mystery we know as faith:
In moments of grief, Jesus weeps with us.
In moments of despair, Jesus hopes with us.
In moments of fear, Jesus walks with us.
In moments of uncertainty, Jesus comforts us.
Whether gathered in a sanctuary
at a safe distance from each other,
or at a table in the kitchen,
or a desk sitting in front of a device,
we pray you would pour out your Spirit
upon all your people everywhere
and the gifts to be used for this feast.
As we prepare to gather around
your Table, God of Love,
pour out your Spirit upon us,
and on the gifts of the bread and cup.
Though broken, the bread is the rich food
of grace and mercy,
strengthening us so we may go forth
to continue to care for friend and stranger,
to feed those we love and those we distrust.
With the cup of grace and justice,
we pray you would quench our thirst for power,
transforming us into the rich, full wine
of servanthood, so we might choose,
caring over cruelty,
denial over fame,
humility over pride,
peace over anger,
love over evil.
And when you gather all our sisters and brothers
from every scattered time and place,
we will join our hearts singing your praise,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Whether gathered in a sanctuary
or scattered wherever we live,
we will take the love of God into the world.
In these uncertain times, we will share the steadfast love of our God.
Whether from familiar places we call home,
or from sacred places we have not visited in a long time,
we will take the grace of Jesus into our neighborhoods.
For all the lonely, the forgotten, the scared,
we will share the justice and compassion of Jesus.
Whether on our own, or joining with friends,
whether serving those we know, and especially those we don’t,
we will be the people of the Holy Spirit.
We will open our arms wide,
even from a safe distance,
to welcome all of sisters and brothers.
(c)
2020 Thom M. Shuman
