Living Within Grace

Confessing Sins

Holy One,

   In your presence & the presence
       of our Christian community,
          we lay our sins before you.

   We live as if the resurrection,
       never happened.

    We live as if your grace is a
       “Get Out of Jail Free” card,
            & fail to live fully within
                 your grace.

     Forgive us for failing to offer,
       our bodies, minds, & hearts,
          as instruments of your grace.

   Contritely & humbly,
        we recommit ourselves to you.
   Amen.

Receiving Assurance

   Look around you.
       Look in each face.

   Look at the wheat as it germinates
       and bursts forth from the earth.

   Look at the sage that heals hearts
       and cleanses spirits.

    Look inside,
        seeing the divinity within you.

   Look at the blue sky &
each creature and person.

   Grace abounds!
   Grace belongs to you!

You are forgiven!

About Tim Graves

Tim is a runner, a hiker, a devoted husband, a father of two adult children, and their spouses, and a grandfather of four perfect children. A former early childhood educator, Tim is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He has served as pastor of both Disciples and United Church of Christ congregations. As we enter what we hope is the final phase of the pandemic, Tim is beginning a journey of rediscovering himself and discerning next steps. He writes from his home in Albany, Oregon and wherever the Spirit lures him.