Based on the Seven Marks of a Vital Congregation (Vital Congregations Initiative, PCUSA)
Call to Confession
Missing the mark is another way of saying we’ve sinned. This morning, we recognize how many marks of vitality the church has missed or neglected. Holy Friend and Savior, hear the confession of your church.
Prayer of Confession
Lord Jesus, you call us to lifelong discipleship; instead, we expect programs to transform hearts and minds. You commission us to share your gospel, and we assign that work to a committee. You ask us to turn our attention to neighbors, but we gaze inward, worried about survival. You model servant leadership, yet we fail to develop the spiritual gifts of our members and volunteers. Our worship services can be routine and comfortable, requiring little response. Sometimes, our fellowship resembles a social club, rather than a place for building bridges between people. As a community, we embody unhealthy habits: we gossip, we blur boundaries, we are anxious and reactive. Lord, in your mercy, forgive us. Strengthen our vitality. Move us forward, for your sake and for the sake of the world you love.
(Silent prayers)
Promise of Grace (from Psalm 130)
If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
Friends, take heart, for with the Lord, there is steadfast love.
Thanks be to God!
Submitted by Jerie Lukefar, First Presbyterian Church, Fernandina Beach, FL
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