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,
of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Congregational Prayer

In prayer, let us confess to God as a community.

God you created our hands beautiful and capable but…
Too often we use them to grab what we want
We ball them up into fists to hit.
We use them to hug only ourselves.
We hide them behind our backs
pretending there is nothing we could do to help when we know there is.

So, we turn our hands up to you asking for forgiveness.
Forgive all the bad we have done with our hands.
Wash our hands and make them clean.
Lead us to use our hands well.

Teach us to open our hands to share with others.
Give us the power to shake hands with our neighbors.
Show us how to join hands with our neighbors to build your kingdom of love.
We pray in Jesus’ name and remembering his loving hands.
Amen

Reflection

Is our motive with people more about consumption or service?
How can we create a space of dependency on God in our lives?

Benediction

Go now in the confidence of people who have found mercy.
Follow Jesus, keeping the commandments,
letting go of all that binds you to the ways of this world,
and investing everything in God’s realm.

And may God come close to you and keep you safe;
May Christ Jesus reward your faithfulness a hundredfold;
and may the Holy Spirit be your help in time of need.

Live this week to love and serve all
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 William’s Wish Wellingtons @ Flickr]