April 26, 2009

Liturgy Reflection & Benediction 04.26.09

Liturgy
We believe that God the Father,
Good Creator and giver of life,
Calls us to love all creation

And care for it as respectful stewards,
To do justice, to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with God.

We believe that Jesus Christ,
Sent from God to save and lead us,
Teaches us to love God with heart, soul, mind,
and strength

And to love our neighbors as ourselves,
So we see God in the poor, oppressed, condemned,
and forgotten,
And embrace all people with God’s true compassion.

We believe that the Holy Spirit,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
Unites us in God’s eternal dance of love,

Empowers us diversely to serve and love,
And fills us to overflow with grace, truth, beauty, and life
As God’s hands and feet in this world.

We proclaim this in the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Reflection
Are you willing to do what God wants you to do? What do you need to die to?

What does willingness look like for you?

How can you turn your faith into action this summer?

How can you be faithful with small things in your life?

Benediction
May we go forth into the world in peace;
being of good courage
and holding fast to what is good.

May we render to no one evil for evil,
instead strengthening the faint-hearted;
supporting the weak
and help the afflicted.

May we honor everyone
and love and serve the Lord,
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

May we be your church and your people
in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Go in peace and live the church.

[Photo by The Coultate’s @ Flickr]

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