 Rabbi ... Teacher ...
you have taught us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have been looking for wedding banquets and hidden treasures. Instead, we find the kingdom of heaven in hospital COVID units and peaceful protests. Prophet ... Priest ... you preached to us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have been looking for the mustard seed or the pearl of great price. Instead, we find the kingdom of heaven right under our noses in our siblings in Christ whose gifts are undervalued and whose voices are silenced because of who they are and the places from which they call. Physician ... Healer ... you offered comfort to us by reminding us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have been looking for it in yeast and seeds. Instead, we find the kingdom of heaven in grace-filled conversation and ears that are willing to listen and hearts that are open to being changed. Reconciler ... Redeemer ... you sent the Spirit to us as a sign that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Move among us now, so that the lost can be found, the wounds can be healed, the untouchables embraced. Make your presence known, O God, so that the kingdom of heaven is evident in our midst. In Jesus' name we pray ...
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 Call to Confession
(God's) people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold. (Jeremiah 50:6) Let us confess our sin before God, and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession (based on Ezekiel 34:3-6) Good Shepherd, forgive us, though we are hardly worthy. We feast on good food. We clothe ourselves well. We choose the best of the best, and then we hoard it for ourselves and our own. We do not strengthen the weak. We do not mend the broken. We do not heal the wounds that long have festered. We do not actively seek those who have strayed, nor do we look for the lost to bring them back home. Instead, we bully and badger those who are alone and voiceless and suffering. Your own people have left our siblings in Christ exposed and vulnerable. Hear our cries of repentance. Hear our pleas for forgiveness. Stop us in our tracks, and open our eyes to the extent of our sinfulness. Help us confront our wicked ways, and teach us to listen to those whose stories we have shaped in painful and destructive ways. Give us humility, compassion, and empathy, we pray, and make us into the people you have called us to be: a people born of Love. Assurance of God's Grace All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) 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.  Come, you ill and suffering.
The Lord has compassion on you. Come, you harassed and helpless. The Lord is your shepherd. Come, you laborers. The Lord is longing to send willing workers into the harvest field. Come, you teachers and preachers and healers. The Lord is ready to equip you for the work of education and proclamation, of healing and justice and peace. Come. Let go of your demons, your fears, and your biases, and hear the word of the Lord. We can't breathe, Creator God!
We fear for the lives of our siblings in Christ. We fear for those unfairly targeted based on the color of their skin. We fear for those seeking to promote peace as well as those seeking only to maintain order who have each been met with violence and injury. We fear for business owners and congregations who have suffered at the hands of riotous acts. Almighty God, hear our prayers. Speak love to your children everywhere through your children everywhere for your children everywhere, and grant us the courage to humble ourselves and listen. Precious Redeemer, we can't breathe! We recognize our own contributions to the hatred and division that exists among your people, and we are devastated by the terrible pain we have caused. We acknowledge that we have been part of the problem and not part of the solution because we have made fear-based choices, rather than faith-based choices. We confess that we have failed to look beyond our biases to see and celebrate our similarities as well as our differences. Jesus, Savior of the world, hear our prayers. Change our hearts, and renew a right spirit within us, transforming us into people who seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly in the name of love. We can't breathe, Holy Spirit! We are grieving. We are angry. We are hungry. We are ill. We are broken. We are lost. We are in pain. We are done. Spirit of Wisdom and Truth, hear our prayers. Breathe new life into our beings. Breathe new hope into our hearts. Breathe peace into our communities. Breathe wisdom into our leaders. Breathe truth into our beings. Creator, Christ, and Spirit, ordain THIS moment as a moment of transformation and lead us ever forward, we pray, toward a justice where the the last shall be first, the least the greatest, and your people everywhere can breathe.  Call to Confession
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." Acts 2:38-39 Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, Year A This is us, God. We are the ones who bow in worship, but still doubt: we doubt that you mean it when you say that we must love our neighbor as you have loved us; we doubt that making disciples means of all nations really means ALL nations, because that would mean opening our doors to welcome people who are not like us -- surely you did not mean that; we doubt that teaching them to obey all you have commanded means standing up for what is right, actively resisting the passive prejudicial and even apathetic attitudes which have created this socio-economic disparity, calling for justice in the face of injustice, braving ridicule for walking alongside our siblings in Christ whose lives we have devalued and diminished. God, in your mercy, forgive our ignorance, our blatant arrogance, and our cowardice. Though we do not deserve it, have mercy, we pray, and ignite in us a passion for listening and learning from our neighbors in an effort to understand their pain; replace our pride with humility and empathy, and give us courage to be the people we claim to be. Assurance of God's Grace But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 In the name of Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God's grace covers our sin. 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~  Jesus' disciples are called to the mountaintop,
to stand apart from the world while in the world ... to view the larger context ... to see what God sees. And then they are sent back into the valley to make disciples ... to baptize and to teach ... remembering always, that even in the worst of times, God is with us still. Come to the mountaintop, Christ-followers, and stand and view and see and worship, and to be equipped for the work of justice that awaits us in the valleys below. 5/27/2020 0 Comments Call to Worship, Pentecost Add People of the world, listen:
The church is not closed! God has poured out God's spirit upon all flesh. Sons and daughters prophesy through technological mediums. The young see visions. The old dream dreams. People of all nations hear and are transformed! Praise be to God! Let us continue to worship the Lord! 5/23/2020 0 Comments Sunday Prayer, E7ABefore the beginning of the world, Lord,
you knew this moment would come. Before the beginning of the world, you prepared for it ... you called us to follow ... Sunday Prayer posted: https://revgalblogpals.org/2020/05/23/sunday-prayer-a-prayer-for-life/ 5/19/2020 0 Comments Call to Worship, E7A May all God's people know God
and know God's Son whom God sent to glorify God. In the name of God, we come to worship and to glorify. May all God's people receive the Truth, believing in the One who brings it, and the Truth that dwells within. In the name of God, we come, receiving, believing, proclaiming. May all God's people be one as Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit are One. In the name of Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit, we come, one Body, one mind. Praise be to God! 5/13/2020 0 Comments Prayer of Confession, E6A Call to Confession
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 1 John 2:1 Let us confess our sin before God, through our advocate, Jesus Christ, and seek God's mercy. Prayer of Confession, E6A Almighty God, we deserve to be condemned. We have not kept your commandments. All we can think about is our own desires, our own needs, our own wants, our own fears, instead of paying attention to the Spirit of Truth. We are not loving our neighbors well at all, and we certainly aren't loving you. We're too busy making demands to consider what we might learn from the journey we are taking. We are too busy whining about inconveniences to pay attention to the voices of those who are sacrificing their very selves for the good of the whole. Forgive our self-centeredness, O God of mercy! Come alive in us, and shake us out of our tunnel vision. Remind us that it is NOT we who make ourselves, but YOU who create us and care for us and provide for us. Turn our fearful hearts to you, we pray, and teach us again, what it means to wholly rely on your grace, that we might remember what it really means to be your people. Assurance of God's Grace Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Romans 8:34 In the name of the risen Christ, who lives and reigns with God and who intercedes on our behalf, 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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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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