In the darkest of times,
God has not forgotten us.
When we feel under siege,
God is planning wondrous things for us.
Though we endure hard times, though we may be scattered to the winds, and weep at great loss,
God readies a future of hope filled with secrets we have never known before.
inspired by Jeremiah 33:1-3 JPSS
Creating, Relating, Loving One:
We come to this moment filled inside with the clutter of our week, the pressing-in of our worries, the excitement of our joys, and the loud thoughts of elsewhere.
[SILENCE]
As we feel the chair beneath our thigh, as we sense the presence of those around us, and as sounds floats in from outside these walls, we reach out to you with our authentic selves.
[SILENCE]
Help us to calm and release the noise. Help us to be present in this moment. May the silence heal our hearts and focus our spirits.
[SILENCE]
Before we open our eyes, we ask that you touch each person in this room, our family members and friends, those whose lives have been filled with hardship, those who sleep outdoors or endure the indignity of being hated for who they are, and those who have much but fear there is not enough.
We remember refugees and immigrants who out of fear or hope leave the lands of their births. We ask for healing for those who grieve and those who are sick. We pray for those who turn to guns and violence in schools and public spaces. We pray for our leaders in Washington, Salem, and our local community that they might feel your healing touch and respond by leading with grace, compassion, and justice.
We seek solace and hope in this time of change, angst, and despair. May we welcome each of your people with your love and healing actions.
[SILENCE]
In the name of Jesus who breathed your spirit in and lived and taught love, justice, and hope, fully and completely. Amen.
Prayer of Confession (unison)
We want to do as you require. We try. We want to use our resources of time, talent, and money for the furtherance of your unfolding kin_dom. But we confess we’ve failed to live into our potential and we’ve hurt our family and our neighbors. We confess we hold tight to resources out of fear that you have not provided enough for everyone. Forgive us as we re-commit to be the people you know we can be. Amen.
Assurance of Grace
God’s love is big enough for each of us. There is enough love for you. Our God created a world of abundance. Share the Good News of God’s boundless love with one another.
Passing of the Peace
You are God’s Beloved.
As are you.
Come worship! Praise! Give Thanks!
We gather to praise our God of Abundance!
For there is enough for everyone!
Give us the strength to share that all may have their needs met! Amen!
They were repairing the Temple and found an old scroll.
They took it to King Josiah.
A faithful king, Josiah recognized the Torah, the word of God.
Committed to following God, Josiah read it to the people.
They, too, wanted to be the people God called them to be.
They re-committed their lives to God.
Like King Josiah, I have decided to follow God.
We, too, have decided to follow the way of love and justice.
Let’s decide. Let’s recommit today to living our lives fully as God requires. Amen! Amen! Amen! (louder with each “Amen”)
*Hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
Prayer of Confession
Mother of Us All: You call to us across the generations. Expressing your love, you nudge us to love and care for the planet and all who inhabit her. We turn away from the earth and from one another.
And you weep.
You grieve our failure to be who you know we can be. Forgive us. Continue the journey with us.
Challenge us. Move us. Love us. Amen.
Assurance of Grace
God loves you intimately. Our mothering god lifts us to God’s cheeks and gently whispers, “I wanted so much for you. You are forgiven. I still believe in you. You are my beloved.” Turn to your neighbor, remind them that like you, they are God’s beloved.
*Passing of the Peace
You are God’s Beloved.
As are you.
So many distractions.
So many choices.
So many gods from whom to choose.
Sacred Mother,
Focus our hearts and eyes upon you during this hour. Inspire us to be the hopes you have for us. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
We choose security.
We choose comfort.
We choose things and entertainment.
All while our neighbors suffer and do without.
Forgive us for our focus on the ways of our secular world rather than your ways of radical love and sacrificial compassion. Offer us your grace though we too fail to offer it to one another.Amen.
Assurance of Grace
Our God takes delight in each hair on your head. Our God forgives you without hesitation because you are God’s beloved. Each and everyone of us are God’s beloved. Turn to your neighbor and see what God sees in their eyes. Remind your neighbor that they, too, are God’s beloved.
Passing of the Peace
You are God’s Beloved.
As are you.
We have a choice.
We are created with free will.
Will we follow the ways of greed and selfishness or the ways of sharing and extravagant loving?
We choose to follow the One who requires us to do justice,
love kindness, walk humbly, and love our neighbors (Micah 6:8, Matt. 12:31).
Come and worship the One who binds us together.
This is the day we recommit to be and become the people imagined as the One scooped up mud and breathed life into us at our genesis.
Prayer of Confession
Sacred Spirit: Like kings of old, we posture. Determined to define ourselves against one another, we forget we are called to be one humanity. Like Rehoboam, we can make the lives of our neighbors more difficult. Forgive us. Inspire us as we recommit to live into your dream. Make us like rain that nourishes the earth.
Assurance of Grace
Hear these words of assurance: You are forgiven. God’s grace, God’s dream awaits you. It is full of forgiveness and chances to live as you were created. Share that grace of belovedness with one another.
Passing of the Peace
You are God’s Beloved.
As are you.
All materials by Tim Graves unless otherwise noted. Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
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