Monthly Archives: August 2014

August 31, 2014 · 3:21 pm

August 31, 2014– Labor Day

Gracious God,

You’ve given us this sabbath
as a break from our work,
and as such, you grant dignity
both to our labor and our rest.

Help us to learn from your example
to value those under our employ–
both their labor and their rest.
To uphold their dignity
through just practices in the workplace,
and through fair compensation.

Help us to be mindful of each other’s needs
and to recognize that
the needs of one are the needs of all.

Hear us as we lift up the needs of this congregation:

[read aloud the prayer cards]

And hear us in our silence
as we uphold those things only pondered in our hearts.

[pause for silent prayer]

Remind us that justice is a commitment renewed daily.
All day long it works for good in the world.
It stirs up in us a desire to serve
and a desire for blessed peace and rest.

Help us to devote our ways
to the living traditions of Jesus,
who welcomed the poor,
cared for the estranged,
and who sought justice
and practiced mercy.

Blessed Be.

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Filed under Justice, Labor Day, Public Theology, Sabbath

August 24, 2014 · 3:00 pm

August 24, 2014–Sanctuary

Gracious God,

We gather in the quiet and calm
of this sanctuary
in this week
feeling war-torn and weary:
from the news
from our work
from our relationships.

We gather each week in need of safe space–
in need of refuge.
In need of time and space to sit
and to re-set.

We need your sanctuary.
We need your peace.

And coming together, we trust that as we share together
our burdens grow lighter
when many help shoulder their load.
And our joys run deeper
when they are acknowledged and celebrated by the community.

So we lift up our joys and concerns now:

[read aloud the prayer cards]

And we have learned together to listen as a community
to our silences.
Our silence betrays some of our most pressing concerns
and our most private and intimate thoughts.

Hear our silent prayers:

[pause for silent prayer]

Lord, let our desire for peace
function as a call to action,
instead of a retreat into ourselves.

Remind us that our peace is
inextricably linked to justice.

Send us as agents of your peace,
your grace,
your mercy,
and your justice.

Amen.

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August 10, 2014 · 1:59 pm

August 10, 2014– Seeing as Jesus sees

Gracious God,

We are a people who love war.
We say we want peace,
but too often we are at war with ourselves,
with our neighbors,
with those whose thinking differs from ours.

We are quick to judge,
and slow to grace.

Our own broken lenses skew our perspectives–
whether we are staring in the mirror,
or out our own windows.

So we gather together as a community of faith–
trusting in your presence in and among us–
to open our hearts and minds
to clear our vision
that we can begin to see
each other as you see us.

As we lift up the prayers of this congregation,
instill in us your love,
your grace,
and your peace–
towards ourselves and towards each other.

[read aloud the prayer cards]

And help us to acknowledge the silence that often speaks louder that words.
Hear our unspoken prayers as well!

[pause for silent prayer]

Teach us to listen–
to ourselves and each other–
in our silences.

And remind us that love is a commitment
renewed each morning.
It works for good in the world.
It stirs up in us a desire to serve
and a longing to be peaceable.
It breaks us open to vulnerability
and strengthens our resolve
to walk in the living traditions of Jesus:
to see the stranger and greet them with open arms;
to care for those in need;
to welcome the disenfranchised.

Teach us how to best love
and best live out your peace.

Blessed Be!

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Filed under Grace, Inclusion, Peace