Gather us in, O God,
Your people are here to worship!
Hold us in faith, O God,
We are here to serve.
Send us in hope, O God,
We are here to follow.
Submitted by Rev. Elaine Murray Dreeben, Canyon Lake Presbyterian Church, Canyon Lake TX
call to worship
CTW: we come before the throne
We come before the throne.
Bearing great burdens
We come before the throne.
Full of ourselves
We come before the throne.
To see God.
We come before the throne.
In Worship and praise
We come before the throne.
Where we will be refreshed and renewed.
Submitted by The Rev. Dawn Black, First Presbyterian Church Broken Bow, NE
CTW: god is speaking
One: Come those who thirst for living water.
Many: God is speaking to us.
One: Come to worship in spirit and truth
Many: God is speaking to us.
One: Come and know what you have heard from others
Many: God is speaking to us.
Submitted by Christy Ramsey.
call to worship: welcome
Welcome, you who are weak –
here may you find a sanctuary.
Welcome, you who are certain –
here may you be challenged.
Welcome, you who are unconvinced –
here may your questions be heard.
Welcome, you who honor God by abstaining –
here may you receive God’s good gifts.
Welcome, you who live for yourselves –
here may you find what is worth your whole life.
Welcome, you who live for the Lord –
here may you judge not
but give an account only
to the Lord of the dead and the living.
based on Romans 14:1-12
submitted by Rev. Doug Hagler, First Presbyterian Church, Phoenixville, PA
CTW: citizens of a kingdom
We come before the God of resident and alien, native and sojourner –
As Adam and Eve fled the Garden,
As Noah drifted rudderless,
As Abraham and Sarah fled famine, followed God, and journeyed everywhere but home
The God whose call knows no borders –
As Israel and Joseph were reunited and reconciled as refugees in Egypt
As Moses, a refugee was saved from death
As the Hebrews fled Egypt without time even to bake bread
The God of refuge, who chooses the poor –
Whose Law a dozen times demands justice for native and alien alike,
Who calls us to leave the gleanings for the poor and refugee,
For whom Cities of Refuge were built to house all those fleeing persecution
We come before this very God, citizens in a Kingdom that is alien to the world –
Called to love strangers as God does,
To follow Jesus the refugee who fled persecution
And to offer hospitality to all; to welcome as we have been welcomed.
Submitted by Rev. Doug Hagler, First Presbyterian Church, Phoenixville, PA
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