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.

Community Confession

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

Again we must confess, Creator of the Universe,
our struggles to be faithful disciples.

Entrusted with all your gifts,
we become fearful once again of misusing them,
missing the chance to be a blessing to others.

Invited to dance in the light of your love,
we choose instead to stand motionless,
keeping company with our old ways and habits.

Called to be emptied for those who struggle in life,
we fill ourselves once again, with scorn
for the poor choices they may make.

Have mercy, oh God, have mercy on us.
Open our eyes to your kingdom in our midst,
so we might discover that your day of hope and grace has
already come through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

And in doing so, let us act upon your calling and
to be courageous in our service to our world.

We ask and pray to our God in community, holy in one.
Amen.

Reflection

What is your posture when connecting to God and community?
What does practicing secure attachment look like in these coming weeks?

Benediction

God our Father, as followers of Jesus,
we accept our commission from you to invest our lives in others.

We will live out your kingdom here with humility, wisdom and courage,
asking your Son to be our model of grace in the world.

Give us eyes to see the path of service you desire and
ears to hear the cry of the world’s needs.

May you be our Lord, our light, and guardian in the work you call us to do.

We leave here to serve 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 Dave C @ Flickr]