Gracious, Inclusive God,
We gather together mindful that divinity
is so much more than us,
yet includes us.
That there is no fundamental incompatibility.
We gather because we long to participate
in something larger than ourselves.
We gather in celebration of difference
and the threads that bind us together.
Bind us together, Lord!
As we uplift the joys and concerns of this congregation
open our hearts to each other.
[read aloud the prayers of the congregation]
And as we sit and pray in silence
open our hearts to the needs around us
to the concerns bottled up by fear
to the joys which overwhelm us with delight.
Bind us together, Lord!
[pause for silent prayer]
And remind us that love is a commitment
that is renewed daily.
All day long it works for good in the world.
It stirs up in us a desire to serve
and to live peaceably
devoting our ways to the living traditions of Jesus
to welcome the excluded
to care for the poor
to tend to those in need
to befriend the lonely
and to embrace those who are different.
Bind us together, Lord!
Blessed Be.
Prayers of the People 
Good answer back in return of this difficulty with firm arguments and telling the whole thing about that.