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9/27/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, P16C Our cities are under siege, O God.
Be present with your people in places of conflict around the world, where foreign enemies seek to destroy and hatred and prejudice invade the consciousness like an army. In your mercy, Lord, send your Spirit of hope. Your prophets continue to speak, O God. Continue to steel them that they might not succomb to those who would silence them. Open the ears of your people everywhere to listen and to heed their calls. In your mercy, Lord, send your Spirit of hope. We are buying fields, O God. Small business owners are taking risks, and new ministries are taking root; farmers keep sewing seed, and teachers keep teaching. We want to believe in a future with hope. Help us to remain faithful even when the signs around us point to doom, even when we are exasperated and at our wits end. Be present with us in our optimism and in our struggle to live your claim on our lives. We are surrounded by witnesses, O God. Keep us ever focused on you, so all we do reflects your love for your people everywhere.
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9/25/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P16C Call to Confession
All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession O God, there is no question that we deserve to be delivered into the hands of our enemies, because we have behaved in ways that give them the upper hand. Who among us is faithful? Few us of would put our money where our mouth is, would dare to live out the hope we proclaim. Forgive us, we pray. In your great mercy, O God, forgive our impatience, our egocentricity, our faithlessness. Teach us to be the people you created us to be and to live in the hope of your covenant with your people every single day. Assurance of God's Grace God has promised that when we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin, and will remove it as far as the east is from the west, 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~ 9/24/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, P16C You who have the right of redemption,
come and claim what is yours in Christ. You who have witnessed faith in action, come and testify to that which you have seen. You who have heard God's voice, come and share the message of hope that God speaks to God's people today. 9/21/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, P15C When will it END, God?
When will your people stop slaughtering your children, stop hurling murderous words at one another, killing the spirit in addition to the body? When will we start sharing our blessings, loving our neighbor, welcoming the stranger, and caring for the widow and the orphan and the poor? Where ARE you, O God? Where are you in the midst of this chaotic, hateful, hurtful generation? Our tears are our food day and night. Almighty God, you have faithfully fed the hungry and clothed the naked and comforted the grieving and shown hospitality to the marginalized. You have freed the oppressed and gathered together the scattered and welcomed the prodigal home. Do not desert us now, we beseech you! Never have we needed you more .... Send your Spirit to work within us, we pray. Heal our brokenness as no medicine can. Rend our hearts and turn them back to you. End the violence of anger and of neglect. Put a stop to our abuse of power. Teach us how to love selflessly. Grant us empathy and compassion, and send your church out to be your heart and hands and feet in the world. Do not let us destroy ourselves, God, but help us to build one another up in your Holy name. Do not give up on us, O God. Ignite in us a passion that will not allow us to give up on you. 9/18/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P15C Call to Confession
We have turned away from God in perpetual backsliding. Instead of relenting from our evil, asking, "What have we done?" We press forward on our own paths, headlong into destruction. Let us confess our sin before God and throw ourselves on God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, P15C We are indeed heartsick, O God, for our lack of faithfulness has resulted in a web of deceit we do not know how to escape. Sometimes our desire to escape it is overcome by our desire for self-indulgence. We want what we want. We justify our disobedience by blaming others. We continue to flaunt our plaything-gods. O Great Physician, heal our souls! Turn us back to you, we pray. Save us from ourselves. In your great mercy, Lord, forgive us, and lead us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Assurance of God's Grace Even when we are not, God is faithful, and seeing our propensity for sin, God sent God's son, Jesus, into the world not to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 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 today~ 9/17/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, P15C The heartsick and the grieving are welcome here.
God's people, waiting to be rescued, are invited as well. Those weeping in deep sorrow for the sins of the world may find comfort in this place of grace. God is waiting with love. Come and worship God. 9/13/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, P14C With the rising of the morning sun,
we awaken with new hope in you, O Lord. Your mercy is from generation to generation. Your love is steadfast and faithful. Shine the light of your love in the darkest corners of your creation, we pray. Place your healing hand upon this planet, restoring balance to its rhythms of daylight and darkness, of summer, and autumn, and winter and springtime. Bring to life the places of devastation, where death pervades and grief groans in agony. In the midday, when the sun is high, and life is bustling with activity, we join in the celebration of community. Be present in and among us, O God: in our families and in our business transactions, in our learning and in our sharing, in our feasting and in our fasting, in our joy and in our sorrow. Bless your people, we pray, with kindness and with grace, that we may be reflections of your love for one another. As the sun sets on the closing of the day, and we settle into our evening rest, we pause to give thanks for all that you are Hear our prayers of gratitude, our self-examen, our prayers for peace. Encircle us with protection, O Lord, from the effects of our own sin and the sins of the world around us, and inspire us anew to be the people you have called us to be 9/11/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, P14C Call to Confession
All of us 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, P14C Our foolishness has caught up with us, God. Our lack of understanding has resulted in pain. We honed our skills at doing evil, and the result is catastrophic. If only we had listened. If only we had paid attention to your warnings. Forgive us, we pray! Open our eyes to our misdeeds and help us to make amends. Teach us your ways, and lead us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Assurance of God's Grace God has promised that when we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins, removing them as far as the east is from the west, and remembering them 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~ 9/10/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, P14C God beckons God's people
from places of devastation and hopelessness, from foolishness and pride, from mourning and grief: Come into God's courts with thanksgiving, for this is not the end. God still reigns. Let us worship God! 9/6/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, P13C The wheel turns, O God, and your people cry for mercy.
Reshape us into a people of love by your guiding hand. Reshape our collective destiny according to your will. Hear the prayers of those victimized by our rebellion ... those killed mercilessly by strangers raging with hate and wielding weapons of war ... those targeted by groups who claim superiority according to their race, or gender, or belief system, or traditional values, or status ... those judged unfairly because of their appearance, their gender identity, the people they love. Put your words in the mouth of your church, we pray, and send us out to speak truth to power, to right the wrongs that have created such evil, and to walk in step with those who suffer. Out of your great compassion, Lord, build up the marginalized, and give them hope. The storm spins, O God, and your people cry out for mercy. Speak calm into the chaos of creation. Redirect the winds and rain, the fire and flame, that your created order may be spared of its fury. Hear the prayers of those who are grieving as Job. Commission your church to go to places of devastation and serve ... to build and to plant, to restore and renew, to uplift and encourage, that all who have been affected may know the wonder of your unending love for your people. The rhetoric whirls, O God, and your people cry for mercy. Heal our brokenness, and make us whole that our relationships may reflect the love in which you created us, and carry healing to the world in the form of grace. |
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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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