Liturgy
We believe in God whose essence is love:
seeking, holding, challenging, creating in us.
We see God in the gentle touch of a friend,
in the hospitality of strangers, on streets and
shopping centers, tenements and parks;
We believe that God holds our world in love.
We believe in Jesus whose essence is life:
living, laughing, loving, winning our hearts.
We see Jesus in all those who continue
God’s work in the world; in houses and
hospitals, parliaments and prisons,
through passion of poet and reformer – in
all places where justice and mercy meet;
We believe that Christ brings new life.
We believe in the Spirit comforting, disturbing
and inspiring us: in the unexpected, the mysterious,
the snatch of a song and fragment of prayer,
Eyes opened, love sealed and truth spoken;
We believe that the Spirit leads to the future
with all we need for the journey.
We believe, even when believing is hard:
Love; Life; and Mystery.
We pray and believe in the name
of the Father,
of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Community Confession
God, you have called us to be a people of prayer —
to continue the ministry of intercession handed on to
us by Jesus Christ himself.
We come before you bringing our
prayers for the world you love.
In your mercy, hear and answer.
We pray for those who, like Jesus’ disciples,
find themselves surrounded by high winds
and stormy seas; those who feel overwhelmed
by events and circumstances—
the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, serious
accident or illness, depression, or divorce — and
who don’t know where to turn.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who, like Joseph, find themselves
deeply wounded by people they love — people they
thought they knew and trusted — and who are
struggling to know how to respond.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who, like Peter, are experiencing a loss
of faith; who long to whole-heartedly trust in God but are
held back by doubt or question God’s call in their lives.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Through the life-giving power of Your Holy Spirit,
make your sustaining presence known to all who
are in pain or need, so that they, too, may know
your love and live.
We ask of our God in community,
Holy in One,
Amen.
How do we tell a new story in the transitions of our lives?
How can we trust that the desert is meaningful and what is our mana in our stretch of desert?
As you contemplate moving in and out of stories of survival and flourishing, what word reflects your journey today?
Benediction
Go now, with God’s foolishness
and weakness as your only
wisdom and strength.
Proclaim Christ crucified,
and seek riches only in the
love of God’s Word and in
zeal for God’s house.
And may God’s just demands be
your nourishment and delight.
May Christ be the power and
wisdom of God to you.
And may the Holy Spirit
keep you, thought and word,
in God’s good grace.
So go forth this week to love and serve
in 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.