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12/17/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, Advent 4A Do not be afraid, you who find your lives upended,
you whose futures feel tenuous at best. Do not be afraid, you who have decisions to make, you who are feeling alone and anguished and betrayed. Do not be afraid, for God is with you. God will guide you. Do not be afraid. Come and worship.
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12/14/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, Advent 3A Spirit God,
you love us so much you came into the world as flesh and blood, just as you promised through the prophets of old. Incarnate among us, you brought love and light, healing and wholeness, mercy and compassion, justice and righteousness, forgiveness and grace. As we journey toward the manger this Advent season, looking for you to make yourself known in the darkest corners of our lives, in the angriest mobs, in the poorest of neighborhoods, in the most corrupt of our systems, in our brokenness and in our pain, we beg you to come to us ... and to your people of every shape and color and gender and orientation, in every culture and every practice, in prison cells and refugee camps, in congressional meeting halls and student classrooms, in hospital rooms and funeral parlors, in low-income housing as well as palaces ... and speak to us of hope. Embolden us to speak truth to power that those who suffer needlessly may suffer no more. Teach us to be peacemakers, we pray. Open our ears to listen to the voices of those who have been sent to prepare the way of the Lord, and fan into flame the spark of joy you breathed into us in the beginning when all of creation was declared good. 12/12/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, A3A Call to Confession
Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. (Isaiah 35:4-6) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, A3A We claim to be your disciples, to follow you, to be your people, yet with John we ask, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are you still coming?" We see your acts of mercy, your extravagant grace. Your miracles surround us, yet we have to have them pointed out to us, because we have closed our own eyes to the truth of your presence among us. Our ears are still closed to your Word, our spirits still dead. Forgive us, we pray. Help us reevaluate our expectations. Cleanse us from the sin that distorts our perceptions. Stand us on our feet and give voice to our experience of your presence in our midst that the world might know that you are the One who has come and is still coming, who is present with us in Spirit even as you have been present with us as the God Incarnate, Word-made-flesh. Assurance of God's Grace Through the prophet Isaiah, God said to God's people, "I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness." (Isaiah 42:6-7) In Christ, God has kept God's promise. In Jesus' name, 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. 12/10/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, Advent 3A The one for whom we have been waiting
has already come: Those who were blind are able to see. Those who were crippled are walking. People with skin diseases are cleansed. Those who were deaf now hear. Those who were dead are raised up. The poor have good news proclaimed to them. Thanks be to God! 12/6/2019 0 Comments Prayers of the People, A2A The wilderness is lonely, O God,
and your people are longing to see you. In anticipation, we follow the path to Bethlehem, listening to the prophets and crying out for change. Encircle your children with protection, we pray, from those intent on harm, from those armed with anger, from those spewing hatred, from those screaming lies, from those seeking to destroy. Embolden your prophets, we pray, to speak truth to power, to call for justice in the face of injustice, to free those enslaved by greed, to comfort the grieving, to call us all to a new way of being. As we journey toward Christmas, open our hearts to receive the light of your love incarnate in your Son, Jesus, humbly born of those whom we would turn away. Open our eyes to see Christ in each person we meet along the road, remembering that each one is traversing their own wilderness on the way to Bethlehem as well. 12/4/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, A2A Call to Confession
Hear the voice of the one crying in the wilderness: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. (Matthew 3:3) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, A2A Vipers, God. Snakes. That's what we are. We slither in unnoticed to create harm and havoc and then hiss defensively when we are caught. Trees, God, bearing rotten fruit. That's what we are. We are bold and pretentious in our exclamations about what is right and what is wrong, and oh, how sure we are of ourselves as we proclaim it, but we are the first to ignore your law of love ... to ignore your call to worship, to refuse love to our neighbor -- especially in times of need, to build walls to keep out the stranger, to imprison those who cannot defend themselves, to leave the widow and the orphan to struggle alone. The fruit we bear betrays our hearts. We are not worthy of the grace you bestow upon us. We are not worthy of your steadfast and unfailing love. Forgive us, we pray, in spite of our unworthiness. Turn our hearts to you, and lead us in paths of righteousness. Baptize us with the Holy Spirit and cleanse us with the waters of baptism and with refining fire. Make us into the people you have called us to be that our actions will show our love for you. Assurance of God's Grace Our Savior has come and is coming, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. In Jesus Christ, we have forgiveness and new life. 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. 12/3/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, A2A Prepare the way of the Lord!
Make his paths straight! Bear fruit worthy of repentance for God is able to raise up children of Abraham from stones! The waters of baptism wash over us to cleanse us from sin, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of fire. Prepare the way of the Lord! *photo credit: Karsten Wurth, unsplash dot com  Where are you, O Lord?
We are busy making lives for ourselves, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, having children and growing old, and we have forgotten to keep watch. Is the time for your return near? The wait for your reign has become interminable, and we are drunk with self-perceived power. Humble our hearts, we pray, and open our eyes to your presence in our midst. Help us to hear your instruction to worship you in spirit and in truth, to love you with all our hearts and minds and souls and strength, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to love our enemy, to honor our parents, to welcome the stranger and care for the orphan and widow, to visit the imprisoned and secure justice for the oppressed and heal the sick, and help us to follow that we might not only be ready, but might also help to usher in your rule on earth as it is in heaven. 11/27/2019 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, Advent 1, Year A Call to Confession
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:20) Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, A1A When are you coming, Lord? We want to mark the calendar. We want to schedule the appointment. Knowing when will allows us to get our affairs in order. Don't get in a rush, God. We are still busy holding grudges and wallowing in self-pity, busy behaving badly and judging others doing the same in different ways. Forgive us, O God. Forgive our failure to be ready at all times, to live lives worthy of our calling, to reflect your love and light to all around us. Grant us courage to restructure our living in the example of Jesus, who taught us to live in grace and gratitude. Assurance of God's Grace Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:7) In the name of 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~ 11/26/2019 0 Comments Call to Worship, Advent 1, Year A Awaken!
You who have fallen asleep, awaken! The time for watching and preparing is upon us: Our Lord is coming! Thanks be to 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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