Prayer of Confession: The Word is Near

Here’s a prayer of confession inspired by Deuteronomy 30:14 (Romans 10:8). It was written by Rev. Susan A. Blain and Rev. Scott Ressman.

Prayer of Confession
(inspired by Deuteronomy 30:14, Romans 10:8)

When we do not listen to your voice in the depths of our own hearts,
calling us to love and forgive:
Lord have mercy.

When we do not listen to your voice in our common life,
calling us to welcome the stranger and create community:
Christ have mercy.

When we do not listen to your voice in our world,
calling us to work for justice and to make peace:
Lord have mercy.

Assurance of Pardon

The Word is very near to us, in our hearts and on our lips.
In Christ, we are forgiven; our lives are made new,
and our future of hope is restored.
Thanks be to God! Amen.

~ Written by Rev. Susan A. Blain and Rev. Scott Ressman. Posted on the United Church of Christ website. http://www.ucc.org/50/pdfs/worship-resources.pdf

Prayer of Confession: As You Have Loved

Here’s a prayer inspired by Jesus’ teaching about loving our neighbors. It was posted on the PCUSA website.

Prayer of Confession
(inspired by Matthew 22:37-39, Mark 12:31)

Almighty God, 
you love us, but we have not loved you;
you call, but we have not listened.
We walk away from neighbors in need, 
wrapped up in our own concerns.
We have gone along with evil, 
with pride, quarrelling, and divisiveness.

Holy God, help us to face up to ourselves,
so that, as you move toward us in mercy,
we may repent, turn to you, and receive mercy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

~ posted on the PCUSA website. http://www.pcusa.org/

Prayer of Confession: God Forgive

Here’s a confession written by C. Welton Gaddy.

Prayer of Confession

God, forgive my incompleteness:
not growing in Christ,
not expanding my knowledge of the Scriptures,
not developing all my talents.

God, forgive my disinterest:
a lack of concern for needs around me,
apathy regarding the lostness of millions,
blindness to hurts I could help heal.

God, forgive my dishonesty:
taking the easy way rather than the right way,
speaking in one manner while living in another,
silencing truth to preserve tranquility,
settling for less than what is best,
loving tradition more than obeying your pioneering Spirit.

God, forgive my loudness:
talking when I should be listening,
proclaiming when I should be studying,
busying myself with new tasks
when I should be finding a quiet place to rest.

God, forgive my silence:
feeling love and failing to whisper it,
reeling with joy and not shouting hallelujah,
knowing truth and forfeiting an opportunity to share it,
sensing a need to share my faith and squelching the impulse.
God, please forgive me.

~ Written by C. Welton Gaddy, from http://1stholistic.com/Spl_prayers/prayer_forgive_gaddy.htm. © 1998-2004, ICBS Inc. 

Prayer Reflection: Deuteronomy 34

Here’s a thoughtful prayer reflection based on Deuteronomy 34, where God shows Moses the Promised Land.  It was written by Jeff and posted on Philosophy Over Coffee (see below for link).

Prayer Reflection:
To Be What We Have Seen
(based on Deuteronomy 34: 1-12)

Sometimes…
    …when we’re paying attention…
    …or when we least expect it…
    …when we’re looking…
    …or when we’re most unassuming…
    …you show us something that we have longed to see.

We may be vigilant seekers,
    reading into the boring and routine or becoming excitable at the exciting;
    wanting to capture with precision and delicacy 
          a moment that we discern is just for us.

We may play the fool,
    backing into a divine embrace;
    stumbling upon a transcendent promise;
    no less moved by what we have witnessed.

Regardless of circumstances, it remains that we’ve seen it,
     and it cannot be unseen.
    You have made it seen.
    You have shown it to us.

You are the one who led us—willing or reluctant climbers—
     up the mountain.
You are the one who says to us,
          “I have let you see it with your eyes,
          “this beloved landscape of mine,
          “this long-sought destination,
          “this craved place of blessing and promise.”

Now that we have seen it, what would you have us do?
    Now that we have caught a slight glimpse
    or been given a lingering vision,
         we wonder how to get to the place you’ve shown us.
         It is too marvelous a place to live without,
too rich a source of life not to be shared,
too wonderful a reality to be forgotten.

You lead us back down the mountain—willing or reluctant rappellers—
     because there is more to see,
     and in one of your more clever twists,
     we have become the guides,
          the ones to show rather than be shown,
          the ones to help make it seen.

How best shall we move on from what you have shown?
    Simply: forward, to be what we have seen
         for others longing to see it.

Closing Prayer: May Your Peace Go With Us

Here’s a closing prayer from the Third Space blog.

Closing Prayer

Creator God,
may your peace go with us wherever we will be this day
May you guide us through the challenges,
protect us when in need
and inspire us with your love.

May we acknowledge your presence
in all the human goodness we will see.

May you bring us home rejoicing
to our place of rest this night.

Creator God,
we now go into this day in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

~ posted on the Third Space website. http://third-space.org.uk/blog

Call to Worship: We Bid You Welcome

We bid you welcome,
who come with wary spirit seeking rest.
Who come with troubles that are too much with you,
who come hurt and afraid.

We bid you welcome,
who come with hope in your heart.
Who come with anticipation in your step,
who come proud and joyous.

We bid you welcome,
who are seekers of new faith.
Who come to probe and explore,
who come to learn.

We bid you welcome,
who enter into this hall as a homecoming.
Who have found here room for your spirit,
who find in this people a family.

Who ever you are,
whatever you are,
wherever you are on your journey.
We bid you welcome.

~ posted on the Rainbow Cathedral Call to Worship page.  http://rainbowcathedral.wordpress.com/category/calls-to-worship/

Prayer for the Start of a New Week

Here’s a prayer for Mondays from Julie Wood.  It was posted on RevGalBlogPals.

Monday Payer

Holy God
you are wholly wondrous!

Holy God
we are wholly grateful

Holy God
we worship; we lead; we nurture; we love; we serve..

Be with us this week—whether at work or taking rest;
whether the diary is full, or mercifully light;
be with us in our leisure time and renew us,
reinvigorate us, make us whole again,
that we may wholly serve you
wherever you place us
Amen and Amen

~ written by Julie Woods, and posted on RevGalBlogPals. http://revgalblogpals.org/author/juliemwoods/

Call to Worship: We Come to Hear the Stories

Here’s a call to worship from Joanna Harader’s Spacious Faith blog (see below for link).

Call to Worship

We come to hear the stories
of other people
in another world
long ago.

We come to hear the stories
that are also about us
today
in this place.

God, give us ears to listen.
eyes to see,
hearts to accept.

~ posted by Joanna Harader on Spacious Faith. http://spaciousfaith.com/

Benediction: Living Witness

Here’s a closing commission and benediction from Rev Gord’s Worship Offerings blog.

Commission and Benediction

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.
As people of faith we now return to the world.
Go out to share the story of faith,
the story of life, with the world around you.
We share the faith in word and in deed,
in speech and in action.

As you go out to give a living witness,
as you go out to testify to God's love active in the world,
go knowing that God goes with you,
sharing the laughter and the hope, the fears and the tears.
Thanks be to God! Amen.

~ posted by Rev Gord on his blog, Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca/

Anniversary Litany

Here is a litany for a church anniversary or milestone.  It was written by Rev. Roddy Hamilton.

Anniversary Litany

Dear Lord,
thank you for drawing us into community
in this parish that has been a place called home for so many.

Inspire us with the lives of those before us,
those ancient ones who have lived here in faith
and opened up and given away
your love to all those who needed it.

May you change us with a vision to continue here
as a constant presence for those who travel through life,
a community of welcome that cares for all our parish
believing into what is still yet to be.

Teach us to discern your voice
as those before us have discerned your voice,
guided by its call and feeding on its promise
of life and hope and belonging.

May we hear your word:
a comforting word in its familiar sound,
yet a disturbing word in what it speaks anew
and longs for us to become.

Hold us within the faith of our forebears,
those who chose to meet you here in this parish,
who recognised this thin place as a trysting place
where your miracle of grace abides.

May we be moved by that grace
into all the places that make up our community,
sharing what you have given abundantly
like an ever flowing stream.

Call us from our past,
through the voices of our ancestors,
in the songs they have sung
and the prayers they have spoken
that have shaped peace within this parish,

And may we join our voice with their voice,
in the one great song of love
that will be lived and celebrated yet,
throughout this parish.

~ written by Rev. Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Listening to the Stones. http://newkilpatrickblog.typepad.com/ 

Prayer for Terrorists and Terrorism

Almighty God, Lord of all compassion,
events in recent weeks remind us
that we continue to live in a broken and deeply divided world.
We cannot comprehend what drives people to acts of terror and destruction,
and to a willingness to kill and maim innocent people
in the name of religion. 

As Jesus commanded,
we pray for our enemies and those who wish us ill;
we pray for an end to hatred and needless violence;
we pray for children left orphaned, and bereaved parents;
we pray for those who live with physical and mental scars of terrorism.

And we also pray for those who work to relieve the suffering.
Pour your Spirit on us
to enable us and all your people
to work for justice and true peacemaking,
In the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Amen.

~ inspired by a prayer posted on the website of the NSW Council of Churches in 2011. http://www.nswchurches.org/Resources/Prayers/PR1101_September11.pdf

Litany for Peace

Here’s a litany for peace from the Archdiocese of Dublin website.

Peace Litany

When peace is fragile, stay with us, Lord.
When tempers are raised, stay with us, Lord.
When atrocities occur, stay with us, Lord.
When forgiveness is rejected, stay with us, Lord.
When talks break down, stay with us, Lord.
When agreements are broken, stay with us, Lord.
When darkness weighs upon us, stay with us, Lord.
When we cannot see you, stay with us, Lord.
When burdens feel too heavy, stay with us, Lord.
When hope seems faint, stay with us, Lord.
When we are weak, stay with us, Lord.
When faith seems difficult, stay with us, Lord.

For all who have lost hope, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who suffer, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who are sick and in pain, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who are struggling, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who have been badly hurt in life, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who are grieving, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who are depressed, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who feel rejected, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who feel unloved, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who are oppressed, walk with them, Lord.  
For all who are anxious, walk with them, Lord.  

~ posted on the Archdiocese of Dublin website. http://litmus.dublindiocese.ie/2011/12/prayer-of-support/#more-612

Prayer at the Table: Lament and Longing

Here’s a prayer of lament and longing at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  It comes from the jonnybaker blog (see below for link).

Prayer at the Table

On the night before Jesus died,
he gathered with his friends to have supper.
Over the meal they shared stories of lament and longing.

They told stories of Lament for a world of injustice and powerlessness
that before they met Jesus they hadn’t even noticed.
Lament for the empires of the age
that were bent on their own continued existence,
but no longer had any reason to exist. 

Lament over the people who were silenced. 

Lament over the people who were blind to the possibility
that the world could be anything other than what it was.

They told stories of Longing that the new world they’d glimpsed
might become the dominant reality;
Longing that the voiceless would be given a voice.
Longing that the powerful would be freed from their addiction.
Longing for the imagination to escape the numbing quality
of the empires that tell you that this world is all there is.

The meal moved towards its conclusion,
and Jesus called for bread and wine.
He took the bread, broke it, gave thanks and said:
this is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.

He took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said:
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

Father God, we pray that you will send your Spirit on us,
that this bread and wine may be for us the body and blood of Christ.

May the bread be food for the journey
as we seek to see the new reality of God’s kingdom in the world.

May the wine be a sign that we are no longer shackled to the old order.
We are no longer in debt to the empire
whose power over us Christ has broken.

May these tables be places where our hopes are forged.
May this community gathered here be a reminder that we are not alone.
That throughout our city there are people
who are working to throw off the old
and seek the new life of Christ
as they bring peace and justice to the places where they walk.

~ written by Dean, and posted on Johnny Baker blog. http://jonnybaker.blogs.com/jonnybaker/2012/07/wake-up.html

Prayer at the Table

Here’s a prayer for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper from Bill Loader (see link below).

The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It right to give our thanks and praise.

God, you are before all things;
You are beyond all things;
And in the midst of all things and all peoples 
you have made yourself known.

In Israel’s ancient codes and prophetic oracles,
in stories of women and men,
of communities and nations
seeking identity,
feeling their strength,
and struggling with their weakness 
you have made yourself known.

In Jesus of Nazareth,
in compassion for the outcast,
forgiveness for the fallen,
hope for the poor and hungry;
in his life poured out for others
and broken in rejection and disdain
you have made yourself known.

Therefore we join our praises
with countless men and women before us,
disciples and apostles,
saints and martyrs,
acclaiming your power in goodness
and your might in compassion,
as we say/sing: 

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

We greet the one who comes in your name,
your true light, your true love,
the bread of compassion,
the wine of renewal.

As he broke bread before the brokenness of his death,
as he poured out wine before his blood was poured out on the cross,
as he gave his life in acts of goodness,
as he invited all to the feast of new hope,
so come to us, God of Jesus, in your love.

Come to us, Spirit of our Lord of love,
and let the bread and wine before us
bear your life to our life,
nourish us with his vision of hope,
and unite us in one body of peace. 

Nourish us with your brokenness,
Renew us with your poured out life,
Empower us with your powerlessness,
that we may take root in your risen life
and bear fruit in your world. 

You are our life;
You are our hope;
You are our peace;
And we praise you.

~ part of a longer Eucharistic prayer written by Bill Loader, on William Loader’s Home Page. To see the whole prayer, click here.

Praying the Sermon on the Mount

Here’s a prayer of petition and commitment inspired by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5).  It was written by Jamie Arpin-Ricci in his book The Cost of Community.  (See below for links.)

Praying the Sermon on the Mount
(inspired by Matthew 5-7)

Lord and Creator,
let us embrace the costly blessings which you desire for us,
blessings that confound the wisdom and strength of this world.

Teach us to be your agents of preservation in a world touched by death,
and beacons of hope in a world shrouded in darkness.

Transform us into your image through the crucible of the cross,
writing your mandates upon our hearts, made pure by you perfect love.

Embolden us to be your ambassadors,

Living as representatives of your holy kingdom,
stirring in us your love for others,
especially for those who would seek to destroy us because of you.

Make us decrease so that you might increase,
as a watching world sees you, not us.

Daily we declare that your priorities are ours,
even before our own needs and desires.

Every moment we live, we live for your glory—
the glory of a loving Father and a just King.

Free us of any distraction, craving or anxiety
that would keep us from fully following you.

For we acknowledge that everything we could possibly need
is yours to give us.
Remind us of our sinful brokenness and your gift of grace
as we encounter brokenness in others.

You are the answer to our every question.
You are the treasure that we desperately seek,
and it is you who invite us into your salvation,
as prodigals returning to the Father’s embrace.

Keep us upon your path of righteousness and justice,
bearing the good fruit of your Spirit,
for it is on you, Lord Jesus, that all hope is built,

For all of creation, now and forever more. Amen

~ written by Jamie Arpin-Ricci, in The Cost of Community by Jamie Arpin Ricci.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UXKB3S   Posted on Godspace. http://godspace-msa.com/2012/09/28/prayers-for-the-journey-48/

Credo for Peace

Here’s a creedal statement from the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board website (see below for link).

Credo for Peace

We believe in God:
a communion of three Persons,
a communion of Life
a communion of Love
a communion of Peace

We believe in Jesus:
God and human
Prince of Peace

We believe in his Gospel
the Good News,
God’s message of peace.

We believe Jesus died, rose,
and sent us the Holy Spirit
so we could live in his peace.

We believe in Baptism
that makes us one family in Jesus,
crucified and risen from the dead
to lead us to eternal peace.

He is our hope.
Through him, we pray for peace;
with him, we work for peace.
In him, we live for peace:
the peace of God’s children
to the glory of God.
Amen

~ posted on the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board website. http://rccdsb.edu.on.ca/religiouseducation/school-prayer-2/monthlyseasonal-prayer/