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.