A MEDITATION OF REMEMBRANCEFOR MEMORIAL DAY![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Song—Almighty Father Strong To Save (Click Here) Prayer O God of all the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. We remember also those fallen among both allies and foes. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land and all the world share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. May the sacrifice of those who gave their live for a greater good never be in vain, lest we forget. To you, O God, we pledge our lives to the making a just peace, now and forever. Amen. The Gettysburg Address—Remembering especially the lives that have been lost in slavery, racism, and serving a nation that knew not the dignity and due reverence due all people of color. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal" Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground-- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here. It is rather for us, the living, to stand here, we here be dedica-ted to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth. —President Abraham Lincoln God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. —Isaiah 2. 4 Prayer Almighty God, before whom stand the living and the dead, we your children, whose mortal life is but a hand's breadth, give thanks to you: For all those through whom you have blessed our pilgrimage, whose lives that have empowered us, whose influence is a healing grace, we lift up thankful hearts. For the dear friends and family members whose faces we see no more, but whose love is with us for ever. For the teachers and companions of our childhood and youth, and for the members of our household of faith who worship you now in heaven. For those who sacrificed themselves, our brothers and sisters who have given their lives for the sake of others. That we may hold them all in continual remembrance, and ever think of them as with you in that city whose gates are not shut by day and where there is no night. That we may now be dedicated to working for a world where labor is rewarded, fear dispelled, and the nations made one, O God, save your people and bless your heritage. Day by day we magnify you, and worship your name, for ever and ever. Amen. —John Hunter, Scotland, 20th C., Adapted. “Greater love has no one than this, that one would lay down his life for his friends.” —John 15. 13 Prayer Freedom is a gift, it’s a treasure. And though we all may agree on that truth, it’s often easy to take for granted the greatest gifts that God has given us in our lives. But those most precious gifts are never free. They came with a price. With sacrifice. They were worth fighting for. And are still worth fighting for today. Many brave men and women were willing to face hard battles in order for us to enjoy that gift of freedom today. For all those who have protected our nation, for the men and women in uniform, together, we say “Thank You.” We take time to remember today, and say a prayer of gratefulness for the many who have been willing to pay a great price for our freedom. May God help us to live so courageously, may we follow the brave examples of those who have gone before us… Thank you for reminding us that there’s incredible love and sacrifice displayed when one is willing to stand strong and fight for freedom. This service of love and sacrifice on behalf of all people, points us directly to the greatest love of all, the very gift and sacrifice of Christ. Our Savior was willing to pay the ultimate price, so that we can live free. Forever. Dear God, We thank you for the freedom you have given to us, and for the price that was paid by Christ so that we could live free. We remember today. The cost of it all. The great sacrifice for freedom. We thank you for the brave men and women who have fought, and continue to fight, so courageously for our nation. We ask for your covering and blessing over them and their families. We pray that you would be gracious and encircle them with your peace. We pray for your great favor and goodness to be evident in their lives. Please be with all those who wear the uniform, who serve our communities and nation every single day. We ask that you provide your protection, that you would be their guiding force who leads the way, and their rear guard who keeps them safe from behind. We ask that you would draw them to yourself amidst the dangers they face in a dark world, for you are the Truth, you are the Way, you are the Light. Help them to walk wisely. To stay covered in your armor. Give them godly discernment. Make them constantly aware of what lurks close by. Help them to be men and women of prayer, realizing that this is where their greatest help comes from. Help them to stay united and strong, bold and resolute, determined and unwavering. Bless their families. Bless those they love. Give them your great favor, this day, and every day. Thank you that in our nation today ● we are free to worship ● we are free to pray ● we are free to read your Word ● we are free to speak ● we are free to share. For this, we are incredibly grateful. Yet, we understand how quickly these freedoms can be taken away. Give us an increased awareness of the spiritual battle we’re in. Help us to stand strong in you and for your purposes. Thank you that as believers, we can be assured, you will never leave us, and are with us always, in this life, and the next. Thank you for your truth that says, who the Son sets free is free indeed! We know that in you alone, true freedom is found. Amen. —A Prayer for Memorial Day: Remembering Those Who Have Fought for Our Freedom, Debbie McDaniel In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. —John McCrae Slaughtered in Racism Simply Because They Were Black In a White Privilege World Song—Lift Every Voice and Sing (Click Here) Prayer For Tulsa On this day, O God, we would he remised to not prayer for the city of Tulsa and the families who live with memories of those slain there. We remember that day on this 100th year anniversary praying that the remains on those victims who perished at the hands of white racism, may be found and provide not only some kind of closure for their families that remain, but also that we as a nation will begin to erase racism from our culture. May their Names be known. May their Names be recited. May their names become the mantra of protest. Say their names! May Black Lives Matter in the hearts and minds and actions of we a people of privilege. And, may there not only be repentance, but reparations in some way that leads to reconciliation. For we know that when even one suffers we all suffer. And, we know the depths and breadths of how acute racism has broken the sacred oath of our covenent with you, O God. May there be justice. May there be peace. Blessed are You and blessed is your realm of righteousness, forevermore. —GLakeDylan Prayer of Dedication O God, may we be instruments of your just peace:
overcoming racism overcoming misogyny overcoming xenophobia overcoming the bias against LGBTQT+ persons overcoming the greed of the wealthy overcoming the economic injustice that keeps people in poverty overcoming all that keeps us from being your people in the world for the sake of all people. Grant this, O God of mercy and compassion, may our brokenness be healed. Song—This Is My Song (Click Here) |
WORSHIP IN INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE AND PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT
MEMORIAL DAY—May 31, 2021
Trinity B/Pentecost 2B
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A Liturgy For Worship |
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Song—Maker, In Whom We Live (Click Here) Opening Words
Let us worship the Triune God. Let us worship the One who spoke in the beginning and created something out of nothing. Let us worship the Triune God. Let us worship the One who took on the clothing of humanity to set those who were oppressed free. Let us worship the Triune God. Let us worship the One whose Spirit rests continually upon us, calling us from sorrow-filled endings to bright new beginnings. Prayer For Worship Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your Holy Name. Amen. Gloria Alleluia! Glory be to God on high, and peace to God's people on earth. We praise you. We give you thanks. We worship you. We bless your Holy Name. O Blessed Trinity: our beginning, our end, and our every breath of our life. God as Three. God in One. Alleluia!
Prayer For the Day Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three. In you we live. We are a community in your community of Trinity. Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, God as Three-Persons, God as One, now and forevermore. Amen. Song—Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above (Click Here) Scripture Reading Isaiah 6. 1-8 In the year of the death of Uzziah, ruler of Judah, I saw God Most High seated on a high and lofty judgment seat, in a robe whose train filled the Temple. Seraphs were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They would cry out to one another, “Holy! Holy! Holy is God Most High Omnipotent! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” The doorposts and thresholds quaked at the sound of their shouting, and the Temple kept filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! I have unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the Sovereign One, the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding an ember which it had taken with tongs from the altar. The seraph touched my mouth with the ember. “See,” it said, “now that this has touched your lips, your corruption is removed, and your sin is pardoned.” Then I heard the voice of the Holy One saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said, “send me!” ﴾—adapted from: Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ Psalmody Psalm 29 Give glory to the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One you heavenly court, give the Most High God glory and strength! Give forth the glory that God’s Name deserves, and worship God Most High in the splendor of holiness! The voice of the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One resounds over the waters; the God Most High of glory thunders over the raging seas. God’s voice is powerful, God’s voice is full of majesty. The voice of the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One snaps the cedars, shatters the cedars of Lebanon. It makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Most High God strikes with bolts of lightning; the voice of the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One shakes the wilderness, the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of God Most High twists the oaks, and strips the forests bare; and in the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One’s Temple all cry, “Glory!” The Most High God sits in judgment over the flood; the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One is its Ruler forever. Give strength to your people, O God Most High! Bless your people with peace! ﴾—adapted from: Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ Scripture Reading Romans 8. 14-17, 26-28 Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. For the Spirit that God has given you does not enslave you and trap you in fear; instead, through the Spirit God has adopted you as children, and by that Spirit we cry out, ["Holy, Holy, Holy God, God of power and mighty, heaven and earth are full of your glory.”] God’s Spirit joins with our spirit to declare that we are God’s children. And if we are children, we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing in Christ’s suffering and sharing in Christ’s glory. The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit expresses our plea with groanings too deep for words. And God, who knows everything in our hearts, knows perfectly well what the Spirit is saying, because her intercessions for God’s holy people are made according to the mind of God. We know that God makes everything work together for the good of those who love God and have been called according to God’s purpose. ﴾Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ Canticle John 3. 5-6, 13-18 Where the Spirit of God is there is Truth: The truth of the matter is, no one can enter God’s Kin-Dom without being born of water and the Spirit. Where the Spirit of God is there is Life: What is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Where the Spirit of God is there is Compassionate Mercy: No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from heaven—the Chosen One. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Chosen One must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in the Chosen One might have eternal life. Where the Spirit of God is there is Perfect Love: God so loved the world as to give the Beloved Only Begotten One, that whoever believes may not die, but have eternal life. Where the Spirit of God is there is Justice: God sent the Only Begotten into the world not to condemn the world, but that through the Only Begotten the world might be saved. Where the Spirit of God is there is Faith and Hope: Whoever believes in the Only Begotten avoids judgment, but whoever doesn’t believe is judged already for not believing in the name of the Only Begotten of God. ﴾—adapted from: Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ Scripture Matthew 28. 16-20 The Eleven made their way to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had summoned them. At the sight of the risen Christ they fell down in homage, though some doubted what they were seeing. Jesus came forward and addressed them in these words: “All authority has been given me both in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Almighty One, God Most High, and of the Beloved and Only Begotten One, and of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom and Truth. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, even until the end of the world!” ﴾—adapted from: Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ Song—Spirit Of the Living God, Fall Afresh On Me (Click Here) Prayer of Intercession Let us gather ourselves to be present here and now and join our hearts and minds as we offer
praise and thanks and pray for mercy, grace, wisdom, hope, and new life. Creator God, Holy Friend—We are humbled in gratitude for this amazing gift of your creation, and for the teachings of Indigenous siblings and cousins that reconnect us to the land, water, sky, and creatures of all kinds. The wisdom of your creation’s balance and harmony is astounding, and we pray that such wisdom will both unite and enliven us even more, given that we are all latecomers to this amazing Earth. Creator God, in thanksgiving inspire us. With your Spirit nurture an attitude of gratitude for all your gifts, and for the wisdom of the Indigenous perspective toward creation. Creator God, Holy Friend—We are humbled in repentance for the arrogance of Western European churches that turned things around in history, our ancestors making your image in theirs rather than their image in yours. We acknowledge that this distorted image was used to dehumanize others, to conquer nations, and to forcefully expropriate land and resources in your name. Creator God, in your mercy forgive us. With your Spirit lead us to see your face in all humanity. and your spirit of love in all of creation. Creator God, Holy Friend—We are humbled in lament and sorrow for the Christian church coming to this land armed with the Doctrine of Discovery to confiscate land and to annihilate and dehumanize our Indigenous hosts. Pour your love into our hearts so that we might build right relations of mutuality, equity, and respect and be responsible keepers of the lands and waters. Creator God, in your grace transform us. With your Spirit guide us in living out right relations with all people based on respect and equal rights. Creator God, Holy Friend—We are humbled in seeking healing for our churches as we move from a legacy of colonization and domination to creating a new history built on right relations and gracious mutual habitation on these lands. For the harm committed in your name against all the First Peoples of the land we are sorry. Despite inflicting such pain, we are aware of so much grace returned toward we who are settlers, as well as the great resilience among Indigenous Peoples themselves, as we share the hope of reconciliation. Creator God, in your wisdom heal us. With your Spirit heal us and strengthen us to be agents of wholeness and wellness with all nations and peoples. Creator God, Holy Friend—We are humbled in our need for encouragement in the Christian churches who repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery, that our repentance may go beyond words to actions of solidarity and justice. For this we ask for your mercy and wisdom and courage, both to change all doctrines that promote hate and violence by our presumed superiority, and to take up the way of humility, compassion, and caring. Creator God, in your hope give us courage. With your Spirit may we change the churches to live in harmony with all creation and be agents of care for all humanity. Creator God, Holy Friend—We are humbled as we pray for ourselves and for all Christian churches around the world, that we may faithfully follow the life of Jesus, the Nazarene who showed us the good path of justice, reconciliation, and peace-building. It is the way of life he represented, based on providing for the common good and the sharing of all your Earth’s resources that will enable us, together, to recreate your loving and compassionate empowerment on Earth. Creator God, in your love give us faith and new life. With your Spirit help us to be co-creators of a world of justice and peace. Amen. Prayer of Jesus Our Parenting God who dwells in the mystery of heaven. Most holy is your Name. Your realm is coming, here on earth as it is in heaven. Grant us the portion we need this day, may each of us have enough. Forgive us our wrongdoings as we forgive those who have wronged us. For yours in the Kin-Dom, the power, and the glory, forevermore. —GLakeDylan Dismissal with Blessing Let us go forth called to God’s holy covenant. God continues to guide us: attending to our stories, healing us as brothers and sisters, showing us how to live in right relations. God promises to bless and encourage us on the path of respect. So go with the peace and promise of God, the energy of the Spirit of Love, and the passion of the Christ. Amen. Song—Let All Things Now Living (Click Here)
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A BEAD AND A PRAYERA Bead and A Prayer For Trinity Sunday | |||||||
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CROSS O God, Blessed Trinity Most Holy, our eternal Love Maker, Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, our eternal Love Mate, God who Is, who Was, who is to come, our eternal Love Messenger, Three of limitless love— I come to you, I abandon myself to you, I lose myself in you, I find myself in you. To you be all glory forever. —adapted from: Simpson, Ray. The Celtic Book of Days: Ancient Wisdom for Each Day of the Year from the Celtic Followers of Christ. Anamchara Books. CRUCIFORM God our Creator and Lover, fill our hearts with your love. God our Redeemer and Reconciliation, fill our home with your love. God our Sustainer and Advocate, fill our community with your love. God the Holy Trinity, fill all the world with your love. Church Publishing. Daily Prayer for All Seasons. Church Publishing Inc. WEEK 1 Isaiah 6. 1-8 ╬ In the year of the death of Uzziah, ruler of Judah, I saw God Most High seated on a high and lofty judgment seat, in a robe whose train filled the Temple. ╬ Seraphs were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ╬ They would cry out to one another, “Holy! Holy! Holy is God Most High Omnipotent! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” The doorposts and thresholds quaked at the sound of their shouting, and the Temple kept filling with smoke. ╬ Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! I have unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the Sovereign One, the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One!” ╬ Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding an ember which it had taken with tongs from the altar. ╬ The seraph touched my mouth with the ember. “See,” it said, “now that this has touched your lips, your corruption is removed, and your sin is pardoned.” ╬ Then I heard the voice of the Holy One saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said, “send me!” ﴾—adapted from: Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ CRUCIFORM The words God speaks are the life and sustenance of all that exists. The life Jesus gives is the re-creation and renewed birth of all that is broken and worn. The Spirit’s stirring in our souls is the inspiration for creativity, compassion, joy, and community. Life-giving, life-restoring, life-fulfilling God; may our whole lives be worship. In all things, may we seek to connect with and to reflect your love and your hope. —from The Minor Keys. http://theminorkeys.blogspot.ca/ WEEK 2 Psalm 29 ╬ Give glory to the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One you heavenly court, give the Most High God glory and strength! ╬ Give forth the glory that God’s Name deserves, and worship God Most High in the splendor of holiness! ╬ The voice of the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One resounds over the waters; the God Most High of glory thunders over the raging seas. God’s voice is powerful, God’s voice is full of majesty. ╬ The voice of the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One snaps the cedars, shatters the cedars of Lebanon. It makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. ╬ The voice of the Most High God strikes with bolts of lightning; the voice of the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One shakes the wilderness, the wilderness of Kadesh. ╬ The voice of God Most High twists the oaks, and strips the forests bare; and in the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One’s Temple all cry, “Glory!” ╬ The Most High God sits in judgment over the flood; the Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One is its Ruler forever. ╬ Give strength to your people, O God Most High! Bless your people with peace! ﴾—adapted from: Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ CRUCIFORM Blow, wind of God, Blow away the tight rules that hold us back from trusting, risking, loving. Blow away my sin that stands in the way of encountering my neighbors. Ready me for birth. Prepare me for risk. Equip me with courage and vision for the new thing that waits around the corner. We cannot choose the stories we have inherited. But we can choose the stories that we become. Amen. —written by Eileen Klassen Hamm, Superb Mennonite Church. http://www.superbmennonite.org WEEK 3 Romans 8. 14-17, 26-28 ╬ Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ╬ For the Spirit that God has given you does not enslave you and trap you in fear; instead, through the Spirit God has adopted you as children, and by that Spirit we cry out, “Abba!” ╬ God’s Spirit joins with our spirit to declare that we are God’s children. ╬ And if we are children, we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing in Christ’s suffering and sharing in Christ’s glory. ╬ The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit expresses our plea with groanings too deep for words. ╬ And God, who knows everything in our hearts, knows perfectly well what the Spirit is saying, because her intercessions for God’s holy people are made according to the mind of God. ╬ We know that God makes everything work together for the good of those who love God and have been called according to God’s purpose. ﴾Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ CRUCIFORM Creator has placed each and every one of us here with purpose! Let us praise Creator for the earth below our feet. For Mother Earth sustains us, and all creation cries out for justice. Creator has given us the eastern direction: the direction of vision, children, and the sun that rises on us each day. Let us view the world with child-like wonder—full of awe and humility. Thankful for the new day that dawns on us each and every morning, we give thanks for God who gives us new mercies every day. Creator has given us the southern direction: the direction of honesty, adolescence, and growth. Help us to speak only the truth, and open our hearts to hear the stories of others. Inspire us to grow in the image of Christ who teaches us to walk the good path. Creator has given us the western direction: the direction of adulthood, harvesting, and deep spiritual understanding. Give us the tools we need to act on the knowledge we are gathering, allowing us to act with maturity and grace. Creator has given us the northern direction: the direction of Elders, achievement, and a deep connection to spirituality. Empower us to learn from the past, and to move forward to create your companionship of empowerment here on Mother Earth. Holy Spirit, give us the teachings we need to correct any wrongs, and to live lives full of love, peace, and hope. Be with us now, Creator, as we worship you in awe-filled praise. Amen. “Companionship of empowerment” is a term that John Dominic Crossan offers to replace the “Kingdom of God” (in Marcus Borg, ed., Jesus at 2000 (Westview, 1998), p. 22–55) WEEK 4 Matthew 28. 16-20 ╬ The Eleven made their way to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had summoned them. ╬ At the sight of the risen Christ they fell down in homage, though some doubted what they were seeing. ╬ Jesus came forward and addressed them in these words: “All authority has been given me both in heaven and on earth. ╬ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. ╬ Baptize them in the name of the Almighty One, God Most High, and of the Beloved and Only Begotten One, and of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom and Truth. ╬ Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. ╬ And know that I am with you always, even until the end of the world!” ﴾—adapted from: Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward.﴿ CRUCIFORM Just as God’s Word was sent into the world to heal and redeem, so God sends you into the world this day to be light and love, healing and hope. Go now to be light for the world! And may the grace and peace of God the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer come upon you this day and remain with you always. Amen. —from “O Merciful God: God of Wisdom: Prayers for the Fourth Sunday in Lent,” the Rev. Kathryn Matthews Huey & the Rev. Susan A. Blain. INVITATORY Triune God, you have adopted us as your children and made us joint heirs with Christ—as your people we pray: Holy, holy, holy, God of hosts: The whole earth is full of your glory. Triune God, in Jesus you came into the world not to condemn but to save: may the lonely and condemned experience the depth of your limitless love. Holy, holy, holy, God of hosts: The whole earth is full of your glory. Triune God, we have been born of water, carried on the wind, and made of dust: give us eyes to see our connectedness to all you have created. Holy, holy, holy, God of hosts: The whole earth is full of your glory. Triune God, you have blessed us with this sacred community we call [name of church]: Give us a vision for the future. Send us into the world to share the love we experience in this place. Holy, holy, holy, God of hosts: The whole earth is full of your glory. Triune God, you are a God of healing: We name in your presence all those who are sick and hurting, the struggling and needy who are known to us. Holy, holy, holy, God of hosts: The whole earth is full of your glory. Triune God, you offer us eternal life through Jesus: we pray for our dead. Bring us at last, with all those who have died, to see you in your one and eternal glory. Holy, holy, holy, God of hosts: The whole earth is full of your glory. Williamson, Jeremiah D. Praying the Scriptures: Litanies for Sunday Worship. Church Publishing Inc. Let us go forth called to God’s holy covenant. God continues to guide us: attending to our stories, healing us as brothers and sisters, showing us how to live in right relations. God promises to bless and encourage us on the path of respect. So go with the peace and promise of God, the energy of the Spirit of Love, and the passion of Jesus. Amen.
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WHY A BLOG?
As a clergyperson with a disability now retired, this is my humble attempt to provide a ministry that some will find helpful. I have always focused on be inclusive and have struggled with the church's tradition of referring to God and humankind with masculine names and pronouns. Since the 1970's, thanks to my dear sister-in-law, I have been aware of the discrimination of women and have worked in the parish and community for equal rights with an equity of access to the resources that add blessing to life. I hope this site is of meaning to those who read it and worship with me and others within it. Peace.