Liturgy

God of our past and our present,
God of our future, yet to be and awaited,
God of our years, our days, and even of this moment:

Our lives are deeply rooted in miracles before us,
Our faith is richly set in courage running thick,
Our vocation is shaped by all those
who have risked for your purposes.

And now, in our remembering, we are made mindful
or our own place of call, and
our own time of obedience.

We pray for ourselves, our neighborhoods and our city,
courage beyond our easier timidity,
vision beyond our present tense,
restlessness beyond our ready settlements, and
yielding beyond our will to manage.

Give us appropriate yielding
that we may be like our remembered
ones in freedom and in love for you.
We pray in the name of Jesus
whom we remember until he comes again.
Amen.

Community Confession

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

Most holy and merciful Father,
We confess to you and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ, and
we have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness:
the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives.
We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways,
and our exploitation of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts,
and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our negligence in prayer and worship,
and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done:
for our blindness to human need and suffering,
and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

Restore us and let your anger depart from us,
Favorably turn your face to us for your mercy is great.

Accomplish in each of us and all of your church the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world,
God in community, holy in One, we pray.
Amen.

Reflection

What is the source of our strength that we lean on to go through the valleys and struggles of life?
How do we search for God’s presence?
How have you experienced God searching for us in the valleys of life?

Benediction

Go forth into our world in faithfulness.
Join all those who have traveled with the Lord
throughout the generations.

Take the song and rhythm of God’s Word into the world
and invite others to celebrate the joy with you.

May you be courageous in the work you do,
generous in the love you give,
and gracious to all you meet,
that the name of our Lord may be praised throughout this week.

Go 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 Sean Marc Lee @ Flickr]