Liturgy

We confess that we did not acknowledge
the sounds of the labored breathing of the oppressed.
And we mercifully hold their anguish in our hearts
as we listen to their cries that scream for us to bare witness.

Blessed are they that mourn,
those in emotional turmoil,
weak and overextended.

Oh Blessed Peacemaker, what have we done?
Whose names have we not known?
Whose names have we never said?
Whose pain have we ignored? Whose hunger?

Healed are those deeply wounded by life,
who weep over their frustrated desire,
for they shall be comforted within by love.
Returned from their inner wandering,
they shall feel peace.

Forgive us, oh God. Be merciful to us.
Open our hearts to listen and not to
denounce mourners as thugs.

We pray and ask in the name
of God, our Creator,
Jesus Christ, our Savior,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate,
amen.

(Curated by Jessica Goodman from Liturgy for All Rioting Hearts
by Black Coffee with White Friends and Matthew 5:4)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from a reading in the Book of Genesis.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was
over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God
was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw that the light was good, and God separated the
light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and
the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening,
and there was morning — the first day. . .

God saw all that God had made, and it was very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning —
the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were
completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day God had finished the work God
had been doing; so on the seventh day God rested
from all this work. Then God blessed the seventh day
and made it holy, because on it God rested from all
the work of creating that God had done.

The Good News of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 6.7.20 – Original Beauty

Where am I being invited to practice antifragility and fragility?

How am I being invited into beauty this week?

Benediction

Renew us this day in the image of your love, and
renew us in the likeness of your mercy, oh God.

May any refusal to forgive that lingers in our
soul from the days that have come before,
any bitterness of soul that hardens our hearts,
be softened by your grace.

Renew us in the image of your love, oh God.
Renew us in the likeness of your mercy.

We pray to our
God in community,
holy in One.
Amen.

(A liturgy for a Thursday evening from Celctic Benediction by J Philip Newell.
Edited by Jessica Goodman)

Go in peace and live the church.
May you find safety and rest throughout the week.

[Photo by Margriet Zwarthoed @ Flickr]