COCU42C

Readings: 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24), Psalm 146, Galatians 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-17

RCL readings (A4 landscape, 2 columns) COCU42C.P3C.RCLreadings&commentary.P

RCL readings with brief commentaries to aid discussion COCU42CP3C.RCLreadings.P

Resources I find helpful: 
Textweek, re-Worship, Singing from the Lectionary.

Entry into the Celebration
The gong is sounded three times
We gather here as the human ones of creation.
We name ourselves threads in the web of life.
We give thanks for connection,
that we are all part of one another
and that we are part of the sacred (StAndrew’s Wellington, NZ).
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life.
The Community Candle is lit
Divine spark from sacred dark
Symbol of our holy intent
illuminate this hour. KHuff
Surprising God,
whose love leads us to new experiences,
may we be open to your presence among us and within.
Let us sense your presence in the sights and sounds of this day.
May it be so.
(Posted on Rex AE Hunt’s liturgy website)

Call to worship
We rejoice in the gift of life:
the life and vitality of all creation,
the mystery that is human life.
We rejoice in our sense of connection with all that exists.
We rejoice in the gift of this day:
its beauty and wonder,
its invitation to ‘pay attention’.
We rejoice in our sense of connection with one another. Amen.
(Helen Wiltshire)

Call/prayers of who we are
We come with thankfulness, grateful for our lives. 
May we celebrate the unfolding of this day.
We come with awareness, challenged by our suffering world. 
May we reach out with compassion.
We come with courage, touching the edge of deathliness. 
May our actions bring new life and healing. Amen.
(Helen Wiltshire)

Responsive Call to Worship (based on Psalm 146: 5-10)
Called to be God’s people,
we gather in joy-filled celebration of our Creating God.
We celebrate the Godly miracles of creation
we experience every day and night.

Called to be a people of faith,
we gather to praise our Eternal and Loving God.
Faithful God, we gather to give our thanks
that your promises are totally reliable.

Called to be a people of hope and trust,
we gather to give thanks for God’s care
and compassion towards people who are vulnerable
to life’s fears and stresses.
Justice-loving God,
we give thanks that your love and mercy
are the source and power behind God’s commitments
to the created world and towards all humanity;
and especially towards vulnerable,
dispossessed and isolated people in our midst. Amen.
(Joan Stott, The Timeless Psalms)

Prayers for Others (based on 1 Kings 17)
Hear us as we pray for those who are thirsty,
places where there is drought,
or a lack of a clean water supply.
And for those who have to carry water for miles to keep everyday life feasible.

Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us

We pray for those who are hungry,
places where the harvest has failed,
or some disaster or accident has affected the crop yield.
For those who are struggling to find employment
and so struggling to afford to put the food they would like on the table.

Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us

We pray for those who are struggling because they are widows or widowers,
for those who are bereaved
having experienced the death of someone important to them
whom they loved and still love.

Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us

We pray for those who are ill or near death,
those known to us
and those unknown to us but known to you

Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us

In silence we lift up those people and situations uppermost in our thinking today…

Lord hear us
Lord graciously hear us

And hear us as we sum up all our prayers in the words Jesus taught us….
Our Father…
(Rev Allan McCafferty, Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website)

A prayer of commitment after prayers for others
(The Gospel story is one where Jesus noticed, and stopped to bring healing and hope)
Spirit of Mercy, Beauty of Life,
enlighten the eyes of my heart.
Awaken me to your light,
to see with grace and to shine with grace,
to see with gratitude the beauty that unfolds,
to see with trust your immense love for me,
to see with hope the hope that rises,
to see with humility the mercy that rains,
to see fearlessly your suffering in this world,
and the power of your redemption,
to see all people as my kin,
all living beings as my flesh,
to see heaven emerging in each moment,
to see you, in peace, before me.
May I see, and others see,
by the light in my eyes: the light of your peace.
in the eyes of my heart: the look of your compassion.
Your delight in the eyes of my heart.
Awaken me to this day,
the eyes of my heart enlightened. (Steve Garnaas-Holmes)

Benediction
May God’s grace flow freely in our life together.
May Christ’s love take us on a  journey of compassion.
And may God’s Spirit grant us courage to act with love. Amen.

About admin

Rev Sandy Boyce is a Uniting Church in Australia Minister (Deacon). This blog may be a help to people planning worship services.
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