Wednesday, February 22, 2017

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT (for an Annual Meeting Sunday)

(This prayer references and indeed quotes both A New Creed and A Song of Faith, parts of the Doctrine section in the United Church of Canada's Basis of Union)

God, you call us to be the church;
to celebrate your presence, to explore how to live lives based on love and justice.
God you call us to be the church,
to proclaim the Good News of the Risen Christ, to be made ready to live and serve.
God we acknowledge that the church has not always lived up to its vision
and so we pray that the Holy Spirit would reorient it and us
helping us balance faith and tradition,
so that the church might be a blessing to the earth.
God you call us to sing of a church with purpose,
faith nurtured and hearts comforted,
gifts shared for the good of all,
resistance to the forces that exploit and marginalize,
fierce love in the face of violence,
human dignity defended,
members of a community held and inspired by God, corrected and comforted,
instrument of the loving Spirit of Christ,
And so we sing of your mission O God,
pledging ourselves anew to answer the call to be the church in the world. Amen.

Monday, February 6, 2017

For FEbruary 12, 2017 -- John's Question of Jesus "Are you the One"

OPENING PRAYER
God of the table, you call us to break bread together.
As we gather for worship we open ourselves to your presence.
God of community, you call us to share our lives with each other.
In this time of prayer, song, listening and eating
reveal your self present among us.
God whose kingdom is growing in the world,
help us see signs of the kingdom in places we expect and in places that surprise us
This we pray in the name of Jesus, teacher and guide, preacher and saviour,
 in whom we see you active in the world. AMEN.

COMMISSIONING:
We have gathered, we have eaten, we have prayed,
and now we go out into the world where we live and serve.
We go out with eyes open to see God in ways that surprise us.
We go out to tell others what we have seen and heard and experienced.
AS we go we share the promise of faith:
God is with us, in this place, in every place.
Go with God.
Amen.


Call To Worship for February

CALL TO WORSHIP
The Peace of Christ be with you
And also with you.
We have been called together in this place and time
Here we celebrate God’s presence,
here we explore what it means to live in God’s way,
here we share our lives and faith with each other.
As we open ourselves to worship, we turn to our neighbours and greet each other with words and signs of Christ’s peace....