a community creating for the relentless return of Sunday
Bringer of peace, we confess we call holy places of sterile stone and dead wood instead of being built into a temple of living hearts and helping hands. Forgive us for dividing humanity when you have joined all together with the cross. May we build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. Hear us as we move our hearts so they may be your home…
(based on Ephesians 2:11-22)
You are no longer aliens.
We are citizens with the saints.
You are no longer strangers.
We are members of the household of God.
Here we are built into the dwelling place of God! Alleluia!
Submitted by Rev. Christy Ramsey, Goodyear Heights Presbyterian Church, Akron, Ohio
One: You give us grace upon grace,
All: but we often hold tightly to other things instead.
One: You make your home among us,
All: but we often fill our lives with other things instead.
One: You call us to friendship,
All: but we are so busy, we don’t have time.
One: Forgive us, God,
All: for our out of order priorities,
our too-full homes and calendars,
our self-importance.
One: Come again and dwell with us,
speak to us, show us your love,
and orient our lives around You, our true center.
All: Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church, Crystal Lake IL.
Call to Reconciliation
We know the words we have spoken which have
broken a relationship; we know the deeds we have
done which separate us from friends and families.
We know how we have failed to be faithful followers
of Jesus. Let us confess our sins, trusting that God
will touch us with the healing power of grace.
Unison Prayer of Confession
All too often, God of Excellence, it is the hem of
sin we cling to, letting it drag us through the mud of
fear and failures. You offer us that love which will
always be with us, but we find it difficult to share it
with those who need it most. You fill us with an
abundance of gifts, but we think we need them all
for ourselves.
Forgive us, God of Gentle Hope. You do not
keep a list of all that we have done wrong, but erase
our failings and foolishness, writing a new ending for
our lives. You touch us with your grace, you lift us to
our feet, you strengthen us so we may follow our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ, in service to all your children.
Silence is kept
Assurance of Pardon
L: This is the good news, dear friends: God’s love
has no ending; God’s hope rests upon us each day;
God’s forgiveness restores us to new life.
P: Our God listens to us – to our cries, and to our joys;
to our hopes and to our hearts. Thanks be to God,
we are forgiven. Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Thom Shuman, author of Lectionary Liturgies.
L: With friends and strangers,
with family and neighbors, we gather:
P: Come among us, Healing God,
with that love which never ends.
L: With faith reaching out to touch,
with hearts straining to trust, we hope:
P: Come among us, Friend of the broken,
with your compassion which makes us whole.
L: With word and wonder,
with silence and song, we wait:
P: Come among us, Dryer of our tears,
to lift us to our feet to follow you.
Submitted by Rev. Thom Shuman, author of Lectionary Liturgies.
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