Liturgy

We believe in God whose goodness
Is more than enough for all:

Filling the universe with gifts of love
And resounding through our lives in praise,
We will take hold of all that God gives
With reverence and joy.

We will make God known in the breaking of bread,
We will share the life-giving wine,
So that all may see and experience God’s love.

We believe in Christ Jesus,
God’s greatest gift of all:
Who takes the smallest of seeds,
A mere whisper of faith,
And brings forth a harvest of good things.

We will take all that Christ has given us;
Our gifts, our talents, our very selves,
So that Christ can walk ours streets once more.

We believe in God’s Spirit of truth,
Bringing to fruition all that has been given:

Gentle as a breeze or shocking as a storm,
We will allow God’s gifts to be stirred to life in us;

Breathing, laughing, living in our community and world,
So all may know of God’s harvest of love.

We believe in God, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Congregational Prayer

Let us pray to God as a community.

Father, we pray to you.
For your love and goodness,
we give you thanks, O God.

You of heaven and earth,
you who made all things and called them good.
Each day you shape the earth in wonder and mystery,
surrounding us with goodness and growth.

For your creativity and goodness,
we give you thanks, O God.

Yet, we admit to you our dry and anxious spirits,
and we confess our anxiety and worry.
In your grace, Jesus Christ, nourish and renew us.

In your love and goodness,
have mercy on us, O God.

Give us healthy lives, lives reflecting your vibrance,
lives ready to bear the fruit of goodness and love toward all creation,
so that we may be living proof that you are alive and well,
flourishing in our city.

For your grace and goodness,
we give you thanks, O God.

Let us use your gifts to make new lives possible among us and beyond us.

May your Creating Spirit dwell with us, O God,
and we pray in the name of the Father,
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Reflection

What are the areas of delight in your life?
What can you see in your life that is a part of what God is already doing?

Benediction

God of our coming and going,
God of our past, our present and our future,
we have met, we have celebrated, we have remembered.

We also have visioned, shared hopes, dreamed dreams.
And now we go out into the world in which we do most of our living
and our serving.

As we go, remind us that we do not go alone.
As we go, remind us that we go with a mission.

As we go, fill us with love, hope, and peace
to share with everyone around us.

May our lives and our service be signs of your love and promises and possibility for our world.

Send us in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Go in peace and live the church.
See you throughout the week.

[Photo by reverse angel @ Flickr]