2016 – Summer “What in the World….”
GATHERING
ENTRANCE
REFLECTION
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
CANDLE LIGHTING
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Holy Mender of all that is broken,
you call us to gather as members of the Body of Christ.
People: Give us courage and wisdom
to read the signs of the times.
Leader: You call us to help one another,
to do what we can to heal this broken world.
People: Open our ears and change our hearts,
so that the world might be changed.
Leader: You call us to mend what is in our reach,
to trust the rest to you.
All: We gather as your Holy Body,
o serve and love the world that you have made.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
WORD FOR THE CHILDREN
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: Holy Source of hope,
we want to live in a world filled with peace and love.
People: But our hearts and minds overflow with anger
towards those who don’t believe as we do.
Leader: You ask us to stretch out
to mend the part of the world within our reach.
People: Yet we think it is our job to fix the entire world.
Leader: We want to trust in you,
All: yet we are frightened
by what we see and hear around us,
impatient to find solutions.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: God hears our anger, our fears, our urgency,
and forgives us through the power of divine love.
All: Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE
INTERCESSION AND PETITION
COMMITMENT
All: O Holy One, we come today
to claim our relationship with you.
We pray for the commitment to grow together,
sharing the gifts you give us with others
here and in the wider world.
Forgive us for the hurt we have inflicted,
and help us forgive those who have hurt us.
Give us strength and discipline
to nurture our relationship with you;
to care for every part of your creation;
to foster justice and be in solidarity with those in need;
to work to end all war, and violence, and discord;
and to respond joyfully when you call,
freely giving our selves as you have shown the way.
We open our hearts to you and your creation
in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.
HYMN
THE WORD
SCRIPTURE
SERMON
SILENT REFLECTION
OFFERING
COMMUNION
PREPARATION
Leader 1: This is the table of the Heavenly Feast,
the joyful celebration of the people of God.
Leader 2: We gather now as one body, joined around the table.
Here we celebrate God’s presence among us
united in Christ’s spirit, broken and whole all at once;
All: Nourished and hungry, loved and loving,
sinner and forgiven; we make one circle of knowing,
believing, rejoicing, being,
as God lights and rests among us.
GREAT THANKSGIVING
Leader 1: Holy Source of light and life,
you invite us to find harmony within the chaos.
We give you thanks
for calling us to help re-tune the world around us.
People: We give you thanks for your Holy Spirit,
who shows us places close at hand
where the dissonance of fear and hate
becomes harmonies of justice and love.
Leader 2: We give you thanks for Jesus the Christ,
who invites us to let ourselves be re-tuned
from doubt to hope.
All: We give you thanks for your holy Church,
a sacred space where songs of hope can resonate
and echo into a deeper harmony
that those with open ears and hearts can hear.
BLESSING THE ELEMENTS
Leader 1: Christ invites everyone to eat the bread of life,
to drink the cup of the new covenant.
Leader 2: Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
You who come to me shall never hunger,
You who believe in me shall never thirst.
Leader 1: On the night of his arrest, Jesus took bread,
and after giving thanks to God, broke it and said,
This is my body,
broken for the healing of the world.
Whenever you eat it, do so remembering me.
Leader 2: After supper, Jesus took the cup and said,
This is the cup of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for all.
Whenever you drink it, do so remembering me.
All: O Holy One, send down your Spirit
that these gifts of bread and cup
may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Unite us with Christ forever
and bring us with the whole creation
to your eternal realm.
SHARE THE ELEMENTS
If you do not wish to receive the elements today you are welcome to join the circle and allow them to pass, or remain in your seat. We serve grape juice in our cups.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
All: God of abundance and mercy,
we give joyful thanks
for your eternal love and healing presence
in our celebration of bread and cup.
Bless this body of Christ
that we may attend faithfully
to our call to be your servants,
with each other and throughout the world.
All: Amen.
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Let us go into the world
to do the small, calm things
that are ours to do,
to mend that portion of the world
that is within our reach.
In the name of the God of hope,
Jesus the Christ,
and the Spirit who turns discord into harmony,
let us greet one another with signs of peace.
All: Amen.