Offertory Prayers and Invitation for September 2019

Each month’s Offertory Prayers includes an “Invitation to the Offering” (see below) along with a digital image for those who might want to use it. We hope you will find this a helpful way to remind the people in your pews that their offering travels to many places to make a powerful difference in the lives of people they may never meet. You can find great stories of the difference our giving makes at umcgiving.org.

Invitation to the Offering

Your offering last week empowered ministry within our congregation and in response to the needs of our community. It also supported events like Breaking Barriers, an event promoted by Global Ministries, Church & Society, and the Indiana Annual Conference, all working to raise awareness, compassion, and justice for people living with HIV/AIDS. Held at St. Luke’s UMC in Indianapolis, Breaking Barriers brought together 140 people representing a spectrum of the population, including people of faith, health care professionals and advocates, community leaders, volunteers, and people living with HIV, to discuss strategies for saving lives and increasing awareness. Ministries like this happen, thanks to the way the people of The United Methodist Church live and give connectionally. I invite you to give generously, as we worship God through sharing our gifts, tithes, and offerings.

Click here to learn more about the Breaking Barriers Conference and its impact.

Offertory Prayers

Note: The following prayers relate to lectionary texts selected for use in Discipleship Ministries’ worship resources.
All September 2019 prayers connect with the “Seasons of Creation” Series.

September 1, 2019 - Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

Holy and Generous God, we humbly bring our gifts to your altar, conscious of how unwilling we’ve been at times to let go of money to help others, but how easily we can spend on ourselves. When God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah that the Israelites of old “had gone after worthless things” many of us can see ourselves on the receiving end of that critique. Help us to learn better to invest what we have in that which has lasting value: love, hope, compassion, redemption, and reconciliation. We pray in the name of the one who was all these things made flesh, Jesus the Christ. Amen. (Jeremiah 2:4-13)

September 8, 2019 - Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

God of mercy and grace, you see us for the imperfect vessels we are. Our worship is imperfect; our service is imperfect; our giving is imperfect; our compassion for others is imperfect. Yet your love and patience is boundless! We bring our gifts to your altar and pray that in the loving hands of the Potter they might be made beautiful, reshaping the world in beauty and love. In Christ, we pray. Amen. (Jeremiah 18:1-11)

September 15, 2019 - Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Majestic and Playful God, you see in children the hearts of generosity and joy; and in adults who should be wise, you see the foolishness of believing we can control our lives through money and power. We bring gifts to you this morning, foolishly believing that what we have is ours to give or hold back. Give us eyes to see we are all your children enjoying breath, life, food, drink, and shelter only because of the unimaginable bounty of your love and caring. In the name of Jesus, who held nothing back, we pray. Amen. (Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28)

September 22, 2019 - Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Mighty Creator, you are the architect of the cosmos and of the tiniest flower. All of creation is a tapestry proclaiming your love and mercy, and yet your heart feels every loss we experience; you cry at every word that wounds one of your precious children. We bring gifts to you this morning, not as restitution for past mercies or prepayment for future favor, but as a celebration of your love and care for us and all creation. Dedicate these gifts that they might bring love and compassion, that they might help heal your creation, and help us more resemble the people you desire us to be. In Christ, we pray. Amen. (Jeremiah 8:18-9:1)

September 29, 2019 - Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Giver of all good gifts, as we present and dedicate our tithes and offerings to you, we are reminded that what is wholly ours to give is next to nothing. Our name may be on a deed, but the land is yours first. We receive a check for work performed, but the time and the strength and wisdom that helped us earn it are all gifts from your generous giving. You have trusted us to be stewards and managers of things that are ultimately yours, and we pray as we dedicate these offerings backs to you that you will find us faithful in our keeping and stewardship. We pray in the name of Jesus, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. (Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15)

September Offertory Prayers & Invitation to the Offering were written by the Rev. Dr. Ken Sloane, Director, Stewardship & Generosity, Discipleship Ministries, The United Methodist Church. [email protected]