Thursday, June 28, 2007

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 9 - C

Call to Worship
Sing praises to our Lord:
who heals us and makes us whole.
Sing praises to our Lord,
faithful children of God:
whose joy rises in our lives
each and every day.
Sing praises to our Lord,
faithful children of God;
give thanks to God's holy name:
God's Kingdom is near to us;
God's peace resides in our hearts.

Prayer of the Day
We greet you,
Helper God,
with songs of joy
on our lips.
You remove our sackcloth
and dress us
in Kingdom finery;
you lift us up
and waltz us past
the outstretched hands
of sin and death;
you sow your seeds of grace
deep within our hearts,
bringing forth a harvest
of faithful and loving disciples,
who forever praise your name,
even as we pray as Jesus taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Unlike ours, God's anger does not last. But
God's favor, God's grace, God's forgiveness?
In every moment, between yesterday and
today, between now and forever,
they are for us. How can we not want to
confess to such a One who is ready to heal
us? Please join me as we pray, saying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
Helper of every person, we grow weary of
all the wrongs done to us and those we love,
but forget how we let the chances to do what
is right slip through our lives. We gloat over
the failings of our neighbors and turn a deaf
ear to our call to bear their burdens. We boast
about all we do for the needy, and refuse to see
your grace and favor working through us in
such moments.


Do not let our sins rejoice over us, Healing
God. You let go of your anger to reach out
and touch us with your forgiveness. Pour out
your Spirit of gentleness upon us, so we might
bring the peace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, to the world.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
Sing praises to our God, faithful children.
God has heard our prayers and made us
whole.
We will not be silent, but will sing our
joy to the One who has forgiven us and
made us a new creation. Thanks be to
God! Amen.


Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May the Lord our God be with you.
And also with you.
Children of God, lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the One who heals us
at the Table of brokenness.
Children of God, give thanks to the Lord our God.
We will sing our praises
to the One who restores us to life.

We do not bring silence to you,
Holy One of all people,
but shouts of praise and laughter
for your gracious love.
Your healing river flowed through creation,
bringing life and joy to all
who would drink from it.
But we preferred to splash
in the sewers of the world,
rejecting all that you intend for us.
Yet, you never grew weary
of bearing the burdens of your children.
When you could have shaken
the dust of our sin from your feet,
you chose to lead us out of the Pit
of our rebelliona nd sin.

Joining with those who sing your praises,
lifting our voices with faithful ones
of every time and of every place,
we sing our thanks to you forever.

Holy, holy, holy are you, God the Creator!
The mountains sing your praises,
the valleys echo your glory.

We welcome the One who comes in your name, who comes to call us to life.

Holy are you, God of compassion,
for when death threatened your children
and sin vowed to turn the universe
back over to chaos,
you sent your Son, our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ,
to heal the brokenness of the world.
He did not grow weary
of doing the right things,
but confronted the wrongs of the world;
he endured the violence of sin,
that we might receive the gentleness
of life with you forever;
he carried our sins to the cross,
that we might bear the burdens
of our sisters and brothers;
he went ahead of us into death,
that we might walk with him
into the kingdom.

As we dance to the Table
to be embraced by hope,
we remember all that Jesus has done for us,
and all that we have been called to do in his name.
Great is the mystery of faith.

Lord Jesus, you call us: open our eyes that we may see you, open our souls that we may long for your presence, open our hearts so we may follow you.

Flow through us, Holy Spirit,
as we drink deeply of Christ's cup.
You never grow weary of feeding us
with the Bread of life,
but transform our brokenness by this meal.
And as we turn from the Table,
send us forth:
to bring healing to the sick,
freedom to the oppressed,
to speak peace
to the human household,
to carry the kingdom with us
wherever you would lead us.
For we will not keep silent,
but praise you forever and ever,
God in Community, Holy in One.
Amen.

(c) 2007 Thom M. Shuman