8/28/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P12CCall to Confession
We honor God with our lips, but our hearts are far from God. (Matthew 15:8) Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, P12C Forgive us, O God! We have wandered away from you, chasing after worthless things. We have forgotten what you have done for us, have forgotten your mercy toward us, and we show no mercy to the stranger or those we perceive as enemies in our midst. Forgive us for our transgressions, Lord, and lead us to streams of living water, that our cups may overflow with gratitude and with grace. Assurance of God's Grace In God is the fountain of life, in God's light we see light. (Psalm 36:9) In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you. Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day~
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8/27/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, P12CCome, wanderers.
God is calling you home. Come, forgetful. Remember and re-member the people of God. Come, destroyers. The grace of God welcomes you. Come, one and all, and worship the God of glory! 8/23/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P11CBe present with the children, Lord,
as they imagine a world where love and kindness reign, where there is no fear because there is no violence, where people work cooperatively for the good of all humankind. Be present with the young adults, we pray, whose fire and passion inspire us and give us hope. Grant them courage to speak boldly as they confront the evils of this world, speaking truth to power in ways that generations before them have lost their will to do. Be present with the prophets, O God, who answer your call even when the message challenges and disquiets the comfortable, the full, the pious, and the powerful. Be present, we pray, with the poor and the lonely and the grieving and the hungry … with the marginalized in every time and place that their voices may echo through the distance and be heard. O God of all, let these voices be HEARD. Put your words in the mouths of, and rescue from danger, we pray, all those whom you have called and commissioned to serve in your name, that the world may hear and repent and turn from its hurtful ways and begin to heal. 8/21/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P11CCall to Confession
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, P11C The job is too big, Lord. We are too small, too young, too old, too shy, too afraid. We do not have the words, the courage, the wisdom, the knowledge, the experience, the authority. Listen, God! NO! Don’t call US! we say, as we list all the excuses for why we can’t go in your name. Forgive us, we pray, and put your words in our mouths, put your love in our hearts, and strengthen our resolve to do your will. Assurance of God's Grace Our God has promised that when we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin, removing it as far as the east is from the west and remembering it no more. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you. Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day~ 8/20/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, P11CAll who say, “Not me, Lord. Surely, you don’t mean me,”
gather in, for you were known before you were created, you were appointed before you were born. All who say, “I am too young, too old, too shy, too scared,” gather in, for God has promised to be with you, to rescue you. Do not be afraid. All who say, “I do not know what to say,” gather in, For God will put God’s word in your mouths and teach you the language of Love. 8/14/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P10CCall to Confession
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. (Matthew 23:23) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession Are you looking for justice from your people, God? You won’t find it here. Here, your people murder one another in the streets and in department stores and in schools and in nightclubs. Here, injustice runs bloodred. Cries of the victims and their families echo throughout the city. No, there is no justice here, O God, in spite of the myriad of ways you have taught us to love, our love comes with conditions … rules about skin color and gender identification and sexual orientation, rules about political viewpoint and cultural backgrounds and theological beliefs. Forgive us, O God, and cover us with your grace, inspiring in us a desire for justice that heals and uplifts in your name. Assurance of God's Grace For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149:4 In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, thanks be to God! Let us live as people of grace. Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you. Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day~ 8/13/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, P10CCome, you inhabitants of the kingdom.
Our God sings a ballad of love for us. Come, you beloved of God. Our God stands in our midst as nurturer, protector, and keeper. 8/9/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, P9CFrom sweat factories
and hot corporate fields, from the victims of sex trafficking rings and drug cartels, from dictatorships and censored media, from racist and gender-empowered societies, businesses, and homes, your people cry to you, Eternal One, and you listen. Embolden your church, Lord, to answer cries for justice for the voiceless, the powerless, and the fearful. From the darkest valleys of despair and grief, from loneliness and poverty, from disease and pain, from addiction and mental illness, from victims of abuse held as prisoners in their homes as well as those struggling to make a living wage, your people cry to you, Eternal One, and you listen. Dispatch your church, Lord, with compassion and kindness, to the voiceless, the powerless, and the fearful. From the bloodied interiors of department stores and nightclubs, of elementary schools and high schools and institutions of higher learning, of office buildings and warehouses, of movie theaters and shopping malls and places of worship, your people cry to you, Eternal One, and you listen. Inspire your church, Eternal One, with wisdom and discernment, to use their voices in places of power that violence is stopped in its tracks and peacemaking methods taught in every classroom, that the language of leaders becomes thoughtful and inclusive and that loving our neighbor becomes the law by which we live. 8/7/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P9CCall to Confession
Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8) Let us draw near to God and confess our sins. Prayer of Confession, P9C We have blood on our hands, Lord ... your children's blood on our hands, for our hatred and our anger has spurred us to unmentionable things while we sit in our superiority and privilege and claim no part. How could it be us, we say, for we are too busy worshiping the idols of tradition and economics and power to do the killing ourselves. Yet it is exactly those kinds of self-righteous charades that have resulted in the kinds of terrible tragedy playing out in our world every moment of every day. O God, forgive us, though we clearly have no right to ask! Take us out of our ivory palaces and humble our hearts of stone, we pray! Teach us to live out the faith we claim. Save us from ourselves, O God, and save the world from our ignorance and pride. Assurance of God's Grace I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, (says the Lord your God) for I have redeemed you. (Isaiah 44:22) In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God! Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you. Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this day. 8/6/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, P9CCome into God's presence
singing songs of justice and of hope. Come with a heart that is open to learning what it means to truly love as you have been loved. Come with your will bowed in humble service to the One whose entire message is Love. Come, also, you oppressed, you orphaned, you widowed. Come and find welcome in God's courts. Come and find mercy in God's goodness. Let us worship God! |
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Julie participated in the 25th Seminar for Certified Zentangle(R) Teacher Training in June, 2019, trained by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. In addition to creating art as a personal spiritual practice, Julie also incorporates the Zentangle(R) method in Prayer Art Retreats in a variety of contexts, including church groups, friend gatherings, and at a local art gallery. Check out the Upcoming Events page for a calendar of events, or use the Contact Us page to inquire about scheduling an event with your group!
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