Readings:
Lamentations 1: 1-6
Psalm 137
2 Timothy 1: 1-14
Luke 17: 5-10
Call to Worship:
Gathering God, joined as one family
we come to worship you today,
mindful of the breathing
of the life that you have called into being
across countries and climates;
all creatures and all creeds.
Jesus, teacher friend,
today you call us to your table
and invite us to feed on you,
so that we might then feed others.
Let our hunger for justice
and our desire for peace
never be exhausted
until all your children are safe and fed.
Life-giving Spirit,
let the words that reach our open ears
and your movement in our souls
in this time together
bless, comfort and disturb us.
So that the work of your servants here
may be directed along the right paths
for the sake of the world, Amen.
(Source: Rev. Jennie Gordon)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We offer our thanks, O God, for the invitation to faith.
We are grateful for all the joy that it brings to us,
when all of life looks different
and imbued with new possibilities each day.
We celebrate the company we may keep with others
who celebrate your grander hopes for humanity and for the future. Amen.
(Source: Words for Worship 2010, adapted)
Prayer of Confession
In your company, O God, we open our lives to you.
We see ourselves in ways that usually lie hidden within our lives.
A silence is kept
Forgive us when we forget that we all need your mercy.
Restore us to our rightful place as your ordinary humble people.
Words of Assurance
Hear the kindness which is offered to us
when we remember who we are
and ask for the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
There is no condemnation for those who believe.
We are forgiven!
Thanks be to God!
(Source: Words for Worship 2010, adapted)
Prayers of dedication/offering prayers
Prayers of intercession
(see other prayers of intercession here).
O Jesus Christ, as we try to live with faith,
we long to be part of the transformation of the world.
In you, we can see a vision of life built on true justice,
of people freed from exploitation
and the reign of peace in every place.
Sustain our faith, we pray,
that we may never give up on the task
for the re-creation of our life together.
Gather in the lost and the lonely,
that they may safely enter the sanctuary
of your love and care.
Give to them the faith that there is love
waiting for them near at hand.
May they believe that we can be that place
and that a true welcome awaits them among us.
We also pray that people will be able to look at your church
and see the signs of a faith which is so humble and unassuming,
that they can safely approach and touch your life alongside us.
Give to us such a sense of holiness
that all our lives testify to the privilege which we share
in relating to you and to your hopes for us.
Expand our expectations about what could be changed,
and who could be healed by your love and care.
Give to us a prophetic vision and voice in our generation.
This we pray in faith. Amen.
(Source: Words for Worship 2010)
Commissioning and benediction
Go forth as the people of God
to join hands with all who long for faith
in a world of doubt and struggle.
May our hearts sing with thankfulness for all we receive,
our spirits rise in hope as we enter each new day with Jesus Christ
and our lives be a sign of a goodness which is freely given to others. Amen.
(Source: Words for Worship 2010)
