Call to Worship
The One who is determined to set free
all overwhelmed by life calls us here.
And so, we gather as God’s beloved.
The Healer of all our wounds, our losses,
our grief would lift us up.
And so, those who are weighed down
those bent by burdens, come to be touched
by grace and life.
The Spirit of holiness and hope
longs to fill us with life and peace.
And so, we would worship the God
whose love is a constant in every moment.
Prayer of the Day
God of grace,
you answer us,
whenever we call out to you.
You knell down to lift us
from the dusty lives we lead.
You untie the knots of injustice
which constrict your children.
Heart of Compassion,
you bend down in order
to bring healing to the fallen.
You reach out a hand to gently
straighten all bows our lives.
You whisper freedom into
weary bones and wearier souls.
You offer us that Sabbath rest
which we often ignore.
Spirit of joyful holiness,
you stir memories of our days
so we can turn them into songs of praise,
you shake those pedestals of our fears
so we might learn to live with gratitude.
You would teach us how to turn justice
Into the offerings of our days.
God in Community, Holy in One,
who yokes yourself to us in love,
we offer our lives to you in these moments,
even as we pray as taught,
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call to Reconciliation
We turn religion into routine life, holiness into some sort of ritual. We turn a deaf ear to the hungry and think those treated unjustly deserve it. So, in hope of grace and forgiveness, let us confess our lives to the One who leans over to listen in steadfast love.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
Too often, we bind ourselves to selfish living, Steadfast Love, when you call us to set free those bound by oppression. We fill our pantries with more than we need, while others live in food deserts. We treat the holiest of days as just another part of our humdrum lives, while you would have us delight in being with you.
Forgive us, Merciful God, when we let fear and pride twist our faith, so we are unable to stand firm against the cruel. With your grace, lift us from our selfish ways, so just as Jesus did, we might be free to live as your children in that Beloved Community of love. Amen.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Grace
Listen carefully dear friends. However awesome the skies look to us, God’s love is far greater. However distant the horizon seems, God tosses our foolish choices beyond even that distance.
This is the good news we need. This is the good news we receive. The One who lifts the fallen, who straightens crooked lives, who heals our wounds is the One who restores joy into our lives. Thanks be to God. We are forgiven. Amen!
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
May the gifts we offer and the lives we lead yoke us to our siblings in our neighborhoods, so that we might lift others to their feet, feed them with hope as well as nourishment, and together live as your Beloved Community. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
You shook the foundations of chaos,
Architect of steadfast love,
so that your Beloved Community might come.
You filled fields with grains and vegetables,
planted trees abundant with fruit,
and dug deep springs of water,
so no one would go hungry or thirst.
All these gifts and more were for
those that you created in your image,
but we chose to yoke ourselves to temptation
to trample all the goodness you shared.
Aware of our frailty and foolishness,
you continued to send women and men
to call us back to a relationship with you,
but we took delight in all the mistakes we made,
Finally, because you honored your promises,
you became one of us, so your grace and hope
might be seen in the same flesh we have.
And so, with sinners as well as saints,
with those who foolishness you dust off
and all who stand tall to help others,
we sing our thanksgiving to you:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who lifts us from our burdens.
Hosanna in the highest.
You alone are holy, Gracious God,
and your son, Jesus Christ, gave up glory
in order to walk among us.
Those who know injustice,
find him to be the One
who demands life for them.
Those who are bent over
from being yoked to loneliness and grief,
know him to be the One
who binds himself to them.
Those who are forgotten by the world,
see him coming to remind them
that they are filled with your steadfast love.
Those who fear death’s cold grip
discover that he has been there
and promises to bring all
to the resurrection of new live.
As we remember his life, his stories, his mercy,
as we speak of his passion and resurrection,
we tell of that faith which is often a mystery:
Christ died, trusting in God’s love.
Christ was raised, God’s love conquering death.
Christ will come, that Love which is yoked to us forever.
Now, in this place and in these moments,
we pray you would pour out your Spirit, O God,
on the gifts of the Table and on your children.
May that bread which is broken
heal our bodies,
lift our hearts,
send us to serve others.
May the grace which we drink
remind us that we are
your children of grace,
citizens of your Beloved Community,
those called to serve your people.
And when all time has ended,
gather us around your Table of life
where, with our siblings from all time and places,
we will sing your praises,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
© 2025 Thom M. Shuman
We turn religion into routine life, holiness into some sort of ritual. We turn a deaf ear to the hungry and think those treated unjustly deserve it. So, in hope of grace and forgiveness, let us confess our lives to the One who leans over to listen in steadfast love.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
Too often, we bind ourselves to selfish living, Steadfast Love, when you call us to set free those bound by oppression. We fill our pantries with more than we need, while others live in food deserts. We treat the holiest of days as just another part of our humdrum lives, while you would have us delight in being with you.
Forgive us, Merciful God, when we let fear and pride twist our faith, so we are unable to stand firm against the cruel. With your grace, lift us from our selfish ways, so just as Jesus did, we might be free to live as your children in that Beloved Community of love. Amen.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Grace
Listen carefully dear friends. However awesome the skies look to us, God’s love is far greater. However distant the horizon seems, God tosses our foolish choices beyond even that distance.
This is the good news we need. This is the good news we receive. The One who lifts the fallen, who straightens crooked lives, who heals our wounds is the One who restores joy into our lives. Thanks be to God. We are forgiven. Amen!
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
May the gifts we offer and the lives we lead yoke us to our siblings in our neighborhoods, so that we might lift others to their feet, feed them with hope as well as nourishment, and together live as your Beloved Community. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
You shook the foundations of chaos,
Architect of steadfast love,
so that your Beloved Community might come.
You filled fields with grains and vegetables,
planted trees abundant with fruit,
and dug deep springs of water,
so no one would go hungry or thirst.
All these gifts and more were for
those that you created in your image,
but we chose to yoke ourselves to temptation
to trample all the goodness you shared.
Aware of our frailty and foolishness,
you continued to send women and men
to call us back to a relationship with you,
but we took delight in all the mistakes we made,
Finally, because you honored your promises,
you became one of us, so your grace and hope
might be seen in the same flesh we have.
And so, with sinners as well as saints,
with those who foolishness you dust off
and all who stand tall to help others,
we sing our thanksgiving to you:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who lifts us from our burdens.
Hosanna in the highest.
You alone are holy, Gracious God,
and your son, Jesus Christ, gave up glory
in order to walk among us.
Those who know injustice,
find him to be the One
who demands life for them.
Those who are bent over
from being yoked to loneliness and grief,
know him to be the One
who binds himself to them.
Those who are forgotten by the world,
see him coming to remind them
that they are filled with your steadfast love.
Those who fear death’s cold grip
discover that he has been there
and promises to bring all
to the resurrection of new live.
As we remember his life, his stories, his mercy,
as we speak of his passion and resurrection,
we tell of that faith which is often a mystery:
Christ died, trusting in God’s love.
Christ was raised, God’s love conquering death.
Christ will come, that Love which is yoked to us forever.
Now, in this place and in these moments,
we pray you would pour out your Spirit, O God,
on the gifts of the Table and on your children.
May that bread which is broken
heal our bodies,
lift our hearts,
send us to serve others.
May the grace which we drink
remind us that we are
your children of grace,
citizens of your Beloved Community,
those called to serve your people.
And when all time has ended,
gather us around your Table of life
where, with our siblings from all time and places,
we will sing your praises,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
© 2025 Thom M. Shuman
