GATHERING 
ENTRANCE
REFLECTION
To love the world as God loves the world is to embrace it as it is and run with it, straining toward salvation.
from Rachel Reeder, "Art of Our Own Making" in The Landscape of Praise: Readings in Liturgical Renewal, Blair Gilmer Meeks, ed., p. 13.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Arise! Shine! For your light has come.
People: The glory of the Holy One has risen upon us.
Leader: Lift up your eyes and look around.
All: God’s people are gathered together.
The Holy One is in our midst.
God’s glory is made manifest among us.
HYMN
WORD FOR THE CHILDREN
SILENCE
RESPONSIVE READING
Leader: When we follow Jesus,
we move from death to new birth,
from burial to resurrection.
People: When we are in Christ,
we move from the stain of sin
to the cleansing power of grace.
Leader: When we follow Jesus,
we are never the same again.
People: When we are in Christ,
the chaos and self-centeredness of our lives
are washed away.
Leader: When we follow Jesus,
we become members of his holy, risen Body.
All: When we are in Christ,
the waters that drown us
also give us life.
SILENCE
PRAYERS
COMMON CONFESSION
Leader: Holy One, we don’t always want freedom.
Voice 1: We want security and comfort.
We want nothing to go wrong.
Voice 2: We want nobody to disappointment us.
We want laughter but no tears.
Leader: We want what we want.
All: We don’t want to accept
the salvation we want so badly.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: When we strain toward salvation for all of creation,
when we are uncomfortable,
when things go wrong,
when we are disappointed and tears flow freely,
still God resides in us, surrounds us and loves us.
All: Amen!
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION
UNISON PRAYER
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.
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
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: As we follow God’s call into our many places
of mission, ministry and relationship,
the Holy Spirit is with us,
making sure we aren’t given more
than we can get our arms around.
Let us embrace the world as it is,
and run with it, straining toward salvation.
People: Amen
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Call to Worship based on Isaiah 60.
Responsive Reading based on S. Anita Stauffer in Liturgy: Dressing the Church, as quoted in The Landscape of Praise: Readings in Liturgical Renewal, Blair Gilmer Meeks, ed., p. 5.
