Call to Worship
Here, those who wander find a home,
those who wonder discover words of hope.
We gather because we have heard
God’s whispers of grace.
Here, we discover promises are kept,
that shattered hearts are made whole.
We gather because we are invited
by Jesus to come and receive a welcome.
Here, those who are afraid to step into living waters
are filled with the courage to jump in feet first.
We gather because the Spirit pulls us to our feet,
meeting us in words, at the table, in community.
Opening Prayer
To all left behind by the world,
to those wounded by cruelty,
to everyone who longs for someone,
anyone to listen to their hearts,
you call, Compassionate God,
‘come over to me and let me cradle
you in love and hope.
To pilgrims in the lonely places,
to the ones aching from injustice,
to those who sit at the side of life
thinking we dare not enter,
you call, Brother of the vulnerable,
‘come to me, walk with me, learn from me,
as we become the Beloved Community.’
To people too scared to ask for help,
to those whose pain keeps them on the sidelines,
to the weary who struggle to keep up.
you call, Spirit of peace and strength,
‘come to me, as we walk together
in a neighborhoods empty of grace.
‘come to me,’ you call,
God in Community, Holy in One,
so may we not only listen
but respond in every moment,
even as we pray the longing
of the Beloved Community,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
We need God’s mercy but are hesitant to ask, we often ignore God’s words of healing, we often feel stuck at the edge of grace. Yet God comes to ask, simply asking if we want to be made whole. Let us bring our foolish lives to God in these moments, that we might step into the waters of life.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
You invite us to get up, Holy God, but too often we stay where we have always been. We seem to want clearer signs but then ignore them, stronger voices but then do not listen, for someone (anyone) to act, but then turn away. Grace is offered to us without reservation, but we cannot bring ourselves to believe it is meant for us.
Forgive us, Gracious Heart. Keep calling to us until we listen and in listening, get to our feet to walk into your promised community, and to speak of love and grace and justice, just as Jesus gives us the words to offer to others. Amen.
Silence is observed
Assurance of Grace
Listen, friends. The One who gathered Moses to grace, the One who invited others to be whole, the One who opened hearts in unexpected places is the One who pours mercy out upon you this day.
God’s grace stirs still waters, God’s hope swaddles the suffering, God’s love calls us to walk into the world. Thanks be to God! We are made whole! Amen.
Affirmation of Faith
We believe that God
never ignores the vulnerable,
never turns a deaf ear
to cries of broken hearts,
never looks past those standing
at the edges of grace.
We believe that Jesus
speaks words of healing
to those by pools and wells,
who welcomes the forgotten
to the feast he prepared,
who walks with the weary
calling them siblings.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who stirs our stubborn souls
to walk in the waters of peace,
who is there in the silence
which challenges our faith,
who walks with us as we dare
to journey in hope each day.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
Stir our apathy, our fears that we don’t have enough, our worries that others will misuse what is given, so that our generosity may overflow into grace, life, justice, and hope for others. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Invitation to the Table
Here, the broken are fed
with the bread of wholeness,
here, the cup of grace
is offered to those who thirst
for hope, justice, and peace.
here, at God’s table, are welcomed
those who dream of new life,
those who wonder about faith,
those who wander in weariness.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the God of still pools be with you.
May the God who stirs up
good trouble be with you.
In these moments, offer your hearts to God.
We offer them to the One
who will heal our brokenness.
In this place, and with these people,
let us sing praises to God.
It is our greatest joy to praise our God!
God of overwhelming love,
you called to creation to come over
and inhabit the nothingness of chaos,
creating fields where wanderers could walk,
shaped mountains where words might be spoken,
created lands filled with promise and hope.
You longed to share all this goodness
with those shaped in your image
but when you wanted to walk with us
as you did Moses,
we ran in the direction of temptation,
when you wanted to open our hearts
by the waters of life as you did Lydia,
we chose to follow the dusty road of death.
But you would not give up on us,
continuing to call to us through the prophets,
‘come back to your only true Love’
but when we turned away
you finally chose to send your Heart
to be broken for us and all creation.
So, with those who have stood
on mountaintops and witnessed hope
and those who have always clung
to the edges of their fears,
we offer our songs of thanksgiving:
Holy, holy, holy are You, God of promise.
All creation gives great thanks to you.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who asks if we want to be made whole.
Hosanna in the highest!
In your holiness, Tender-hearted God,
you listened to our cries for help
and so sent your Child to us.
With courage, he broke barriers
to build bridges of justice.
With words of grace and humor,
he told parables about families
and taught by lakeshores.
With compassion,
he healed lepers,
gave words to the silent,
invited the afraid to dip their toes
into the waters of life.
With complete trust,
he challenged the privileged
and confronted the authorities,
and was executed for stirring up trouble.
With unexpected love,
you did not leave him in death’s prison
but set him free in resurrection’s love.
As we remember his life and his love,
and we recall his death and his resurrection,
we speak of that faith which is often a mystery:
Christ died, while the powerful watched from a distance.
Christ was raised, while the privileged
consigned him to the dustbin of history.
Christ will come, to call us to that promise of grace
Pour out your Spirit of life
upon these people in this time
and on the gifts of the meal of grace.
Though it is broken, we pray
that this bread might
bring healing to the shattered,
offer hope to the forgotten,
shawl the grieving with compassion.
May you stir this cup with grace,
so that as we drink from it,
we might be moved to be more just,
we might be shaped as more loving people,
we might be filled with more than enough love to change the world.
And when all time has ended,
gather us, we pray,
those healed by pools,
those who stood on mountaintops,
those who wrote psalms of lament,
with all our siblings from every moment
so we may praise you for all time,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Now may we go with the trust of Moses.
We go with God to show others the way
to that Beloved Community of love.
Now may we go with the courage
to rise and walk into the waters of life.
We will go with Jesus to share that compassion
deep enough to bring hope to all.
Now we will go hearts as wide open
as Lydia’s as well as the psalmist.
We will go with the Spirit of peace
to offer life, grace, justice, and joy to everyone we meet.
© 2025 Thom M. Shuman
Venmo: @Thom-Shuman
Christ will come, to call us to that promise of grace
Pour out your Spirit of life
upon these people in this time
and on the gifts of the meal of grace.
Though it is broken, we pray
that this bread might
bring healing to the shattered,
offer hope to the forgotten,
shawl the grieving with compassion.
May you stir this cup with grace,
so that as we drink from it,
we might be moved to be more just,
we might be shaped as more loving people,
we might be filled with more than enough love to change the world.
And when all time has ended,
gather us, we pray,
those healed by pools,
those who stood on mountaintops,
those who wrote psalms of lament,
with all our siblings from every moment
so we may praise you for all time,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Now may we go with the trust of Moses.
We go with God to show others the way
to that Beloved Community of love.
Now may we go with the courage
to rise and walk into the waters of life.
We will go with Jesus to share that compassion
deep enough to bring hope to all.
Now we will go hearts as wide open
as Lydia’s as well as the psalmist.
We will go with the Spirit of peace
to offer life, grace, justice, and joy to everyone we meet.
© 2025 Thom M. Shuman
Venmo: @Thom-Shuman
