Call to Worship

Welcome pilgrims on the way to the cross.
We are learning to follow Jesus.

When God says, “Go!” without telling us the destination,
Show us, Christ, how to go forward in faith.

When re-birth is the impossible way forward,
Christ, be our midwife as we accept God’s call to be reborn.

When we find ourselves in the in-between of where we’ve been and where we’re going,
Christ, meet us on the way and bless us in the going.

Pilgrims on the way, come let us worship God!
We come to worship God as we learn to live inside out! Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Director of Worship Arts, August 2022.

Prayer of Confession

In the season of Lent we are invited to consider how we live as followers of Christ – to look at our decisions and our actions straight on, to hold them up to the example of Christ, and to make amends. In this time of silence, and in our prayer together, let us look at our lives. We pray, first in silence.

SILENT PRAYER

UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Holy God, Creator of all that is, Donor of Grace, and Giver of Life:
Hear our prayer.
There are chasms in our lives, deep valleys that separate us
From one another and from You.
We confess that we have allowed those rifts to grow,
For fear of admitting our part in the separation,
For fear of being rejected when we reach out.
You call us to a reconciled life, to healed relationships,
To a wholeness with each other and with You.
Mend us, we pray, and make us new creations
Through the power and love of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Written by Beth Merrill Neel on her blog, ‘Hold Fast to What Is Good.’ Used with permission. https://holdfasttowhatisgood.com/liturgy/prayer-of-confession.

Litany

Lord, Here I Am

Now Abraham was the first to go and must have been a brave man.
Because you did not say where he was going
And still he followed your command.
He shows us that when you ask us to move, we should say:
Lord, here I am.

There are many who are bold,
And, in your name, take a stand
When your people are hurting each other in ways we can’t comprehend.
Without a moment’s hesitation, they say to you:
Lord, here I am.

When we hear tales of injustice and oppression
Happening across your vast land
We believe you want us to respond—to be your feet, to be your hands.
And while I don’t know the work you need me to do:
Lord, here I am.

You are working through our lives
To fulfill your mighty will and plan
And it requires a submission we sometimes cannot understand.
But as you promised to never forsake us, we each say:
Lord, here I am.

Ciona D. Rouse, The Africana Worship Book, Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua (Discipleship Resources, 2006), 87.