Thursday, February 1, 2024

Resources for Feb 11, 2024 -- Transfiguration Sunday

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Source of Life, as people who seek to follow your Way, we echo the old song:
Open our eyes that we may see, glimpses of truth...
Sometimes we see clearly, sometimes our eyes are veiled,
sometimes we only see the whirlwind, not the gift that lies hidden in its midst
sometimes we only see the clay jar, not the treasure that it holds.
Help us see beyond the obvious, help us see where you are active in our world,
and forgive us for the times we are oblivious, when we choose not to see.
In Grace-filled Love God continues to open our eyes, to help us see, to reveal God’s power and promise. Through God’s Grace we can see beyond the veil. Through God’s love and mercy our blindness is forgiven and removed. And so we continue to sing:
Open our eyes, illumine us, Spirit Divine. Amen



COMMISSIONING:
We came together, we sang, we prayed, we looked for God’s presence.
Now we go out to serve, to pray, to look for God’s activity.
As you live and serve, may you let God’s love flow through you into the world at large.
As we live and love, may our eyes be opened to see God in friend and neighbour.
So go now with open eyes and open hearts. Go trusting that God,
      who has created and is creating;
      who is revealed in Jesus, the Word-Made-Flesh;
      who works in each of us through the Holy Spirit
Is with you each step of life’s journey.
Thanks be to God. Amen

Friday, January 26, 2024

Sermon Opening for January 28, 2024

 With a sermon title of To do or not to do I really thought I should do at least the beginning of the sermon in blank verse as an homage to Hamlet's soliloquy:

 To Do or not to do, that is the question:
whether ‘tis nobler to declare our freedom
to do what we know is permissible
or choose to follow stronger rules and limits
and by that choice build up a church, share love.
control ourselves, live out our call to be
belov’d children of God, living fully.
In this we find the pow’r supplied by limits.
We know the truth that just because a thing
may be allowed does not make it all good.
In Christ we find freedom, In Christ we find
a higher call, in Christ we know that we must
take care to build a new community.
We build through love we build through neighborly care
Some days we claim we have great wisdom
we know the truths that set us free to live
we miss the truths of how to live in Christ.


Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Opening Prayer to go with Isaiah 40:28-31

God who does not faint or grow weary, Source of life and renewal and wholeness,
we come together today, some of us full of energy and some of us full of weariness.
As we sing, pray, listen, and eat together today,
renew our strength, help us rise as on wings of eagles, energize us to be who you formed us to be.
And when we leave this time of worship,
may we carry the promise of healing and renewal to a world that is often tired and wounded.
We pray in the name of Jesus, who brings healing and renewal to our lives.
Amen

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Christmas Prayer 2023

 God of Light and Darkness,
you are present in both the shadows and the brightness.
On this Christmas night may we hear your voice both
in the laughter and singing and
in the still silence.

Source of Hope,
in a world where many live with despair,
a world where so many struggle to get by,
remind us of the Hope for a world renewed and reborn.
As we hear again the story of a baby in a manger,
strengthen our souls with hope for what the future will bring
May all those who have lost hope hear your voice bringing Good News.

Builder of Peace,
sometimes it seems that peace and justice are just words,
not a reality.
Tonight, as we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace,
reawaken in us a commitment to be people of peace,
to join you in the creation of a new world.
Share with us a vision of a time when all live together peacefully,
and all have what they need for abundant life.

Wellspring of Joy,
grant us the joy that goes deep into our souls,
joy that is more than happiness,
joy that comes from the knowledge that You are with us
whatever life might bring us.
In the dips and low times of our lives,
when laughter and song are distant memories,
may we feel your presence to comfort and support us,
leading us back to the singing.
This Christmas season we pray with all those who find joy difficult.
May they all feel your comfort and support.

Giver of Love,
tonight love shines from a feed trough,
tonight love takes flesh as a new-born baby.
We need love to live, to thrive, to be who you created us to be.
Sadly, some of us forget that we are loved,
some of us try to meet other people’s standards so that they will love us,
God who is Love, remind us that we are all a part of the world that you love.
In Jesus you call us to love each other as you love us.
As we sing with angels and wonder with shepherds,
move us to act with love for all we meet – all year long,
may those who feel alone and unloved tonight
feel themselves wrapped in a love that will never let them go.

Proclaimer of Good News,
the angel’s words echo through the centuries.
In this world where bad news gets the front page,
where we hear about all that goes wrong,
help us to not be disheartened.
Give us ears to hear and eyes to see
the places where you are at work in the world.
Help us to hear the great Good News of a Saviour.
Fill us with Hope, Peace Joy and Love
and move us to share the Good News with the world around us.
We pray in the name of the baby who comes to change the world,
Jesus, the one we call Christ the Lord.
Glory in the highest.
Hallelujah! Amen.

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Opening Prayer for Christmas Eve 2023

God we hear a rumour of good news for all of us.
We come to see if it is true.
As we sing the old songs and listen to the old story,
awaken in our hearts the joy of Christmas
give us hope for the year that lies ahead
move us to share the promise of peace with all we meet
fill our souls with love that overflows, spilling out into the world.
God who meets us in the places where we are, God who shares our lives, on this Christmas night,
remind us of the Good News of great joy. Help us wonder with shepherds, sing with angels, and bask in the glory of the new-born baby. Amen

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Commissioning for Advent 2023

Our service draws to a close.
We go out with hope rising in our souls.
In this season of shorter days and longer nights.
may you see sparks of hope in the lights of the season,
may you find hope simmering in the quietness of the night.
we celebrate the gifts that both light and darkness have to offer.
Go out secure that God who is made known in light and dark; who is revealed in Jesus, whose birth we await; and who works in us through the Holy Spirit is with you every step of the journey to the manger.
Thanks be to God who brings us hope! Amen.

Thursday, October 26, 2023

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING For November 5, 2023

God of our ancestors, ourselves, and our children,
as we live out our faith, surrounded and supported by our cloud of witnesses,
we give thanks for all those who have gone before us:
for their faithfulness to a new vision of what the world could be,
for the ways they passed on the story and the hope,
for the foundation they left for us to build on.
And we give thanks for those people in our cloud who are still living:
the ones who taught and teach us the stories of faith,
the ones who show us daily what it means to live as people of love,
the ones who give us hope for the future.
God of our children, ourselves, and our ancestors, we sing songs of thankfulness and praise
for the witnesses who have told, tell now, and will tell, the stories that reveal Your activity in the world.
for the clouds of people that have done, are now doing, and will do, things to increase the amount of faith, hope and love in the world;
We offer these words in Jesus’ name.
Amen.