CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Most Loving Creator we humble ourselves before you, grateful for this day and grateful to be in the embrace of your welcoming presence. We have come to worship, to sing, to listen, to ponder and to pray. We confess that we feel less awkward at prayer when we are inside this space. Out in the world we worry that our words aren't right. We worry that we might stumble through our prayer and embarrass ourselves. Forgive our insecurities and grant us strength in our inner being. Empower our spiritual engines with the fuel of your unfathomable grace and ever present Spirit. Remind us that the Christ dwells in our hearts through faith; that we are rooted and grounded by love. Let us, in this very moment, comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ. May we be filled to overflowing with your indomitable Spirit. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
One of the things I like best about the Guatemala experience is our habit of praying together as a group. We pray before each meal and can even be heard singing grace in restaurants. Folks who have never been on this kind of trip before can be a bit skittish about a group that has the word mission in their name. They may worry that they have gotten mixed up with a bunch bible pounding missionary types? But when they hear how we pray they know that we are all trying to figure out the journey we are on. None of us knows what to expect from one day to the next. We start and end the day putting our trust in God and each other. Our prayers aren’t fancy or highfalutin, but the changes that have taken place in each one of us can be heard and felt in the words that are spoken.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God hear our prayer of gratitude for all the gifts you have given us and the resources you have entrusted to our care. Bless this offering to strengthen and grow the ministries of our church. We pray, also that all the children of creation can come to know you and experience the abundance of your love and mercy. May our offerings help to bring relief to those in dire circumstances, oppressed, imprisoned, isolated, and forgotten, be they close at hand or far away. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Monday, July 30, 2012
July 22, 2012 "TEAR DOWN THAT WALL"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Glorious God, how wonderful it is to be worshiping together once again, embraced by the presence of your most Holy Spirit. Speak your word of grace and possibility into our hearts today. Soften us, O Lord, but keep us from getting too comfortable with ourselves. Keep us, also from being cowed in our efforts, stopped in our tracks, by what we think we do not possess. Don’t let us erect walls to protect ourselves. If you hear us saying, in our hearts, we are not suitable pray-ers, or preachers, or callers, or visitors, or servers because we are too shy, or too persnickety, or too busy, or too tired, please change us. Let us not be partial Christians, but full-bodied Christians. Remove the spirit of sarcasm when it invades us. Carry off those know-it-all seeds that get embedded in our stiff necks. If they are allowed to take root, they grow, becoming weedy hedges of resentment that will surely divide the body of Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
The Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall, The Berlin Wall, The Vietnam Memorial Wall are all well known walls. The Great Wall which construction began in the 7th century BCE was intended to protect the Chinese Empire from nomadic invaders. Historians only guess at why The Emperor Hadrian built his 80 mile wall in England in 120 CE — perhaps as a statement of the Roman Empires power more than a defense against Barbarians. The Berlin Wall called also the Wall of Shame and the Iron Curtain was a political wall. Built in 1961, it was the symbol of the Cold War — a barrier to freedom. The Vietnam Memorial Wall stands as a reminder that walls not constructed of stone and bricks can be just as divisive and thoroughly devastating to the world.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God we are glad to work for the transformation of the world through our support of the church and its ministries. Our prayer is that all of the children of creation can come to know you and experience the abundance of your love and mercy. May our offerings help to bring relief to those in dire circumstances, oppressed, imprisoned, isolated, and forgotten, be they close at hand or far away. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Glorious God, how wonderful it is to be worshiping together once again, embraced by the presence of your most Holy Spirit. Speak your word of grace and possibility into our hearts today. Soften us, O Lord, but keep us from getting too comfortable with ourselves. Keep us, also from being cowed in our efforts, stopped in our tracks, by what we think we do not possess. Don’t let us erect walls to protect ourselves. If you hear us saying, in our hearts, we are not suitable pray-ers, or preachers, or callers, or visitors, or servers because we are too shy, or too persnickety, or too busy, or too tired, please change us. Let us not be partial Christians, but full-bodied Christians. Remove the spirit of sarcasm when it invades us. Carry off those know-it-all seeds that get embedded in our stiff necks. If they are allowed to take root, they grow, becoming weedy hedges of resentment that will surely divide the body of Christ. Amen.
PREPARING FOR THE OFFERING
The Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall, The Berlin Wall, The Vietnam Memorial Wall are all well known walls. The Great Wall which construction began in the 7th century BCE was intended to protect the Chinese Empire from nomadic invaders. Historians only guess at why The Emperor Hadrian built his 80 mile wall in England in 120 CE — perhaps as a statement of the Roman Empires power more than a defense against Barbarians. The Berlin Wall called also the Wall of Shame and the Iron Curtain was a political wall. Built in 1961, it was the symbol of the Cold War — a barrier to freedom. The Vietnam Memorial Wall stands as a reminder that walls not constructed of stone and bricks can be just as divisive and thoroughly devastating to the world.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Glorious God we are glad to work for the transformation of the world through our support of the church and its ministries. Our prayer is that all of the children of creation can come to know you and experience the abundance of your love and mercy. May our offerings help to bring relief to those in dire circumstances, oppressed, imprisoned, isolated, and forgotten, be they close at hand or far away. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)