Getting on board the disciple ship
was not what I expected.
I imagined clear sailing,
Jesus at the helm,
the congregation a happy crew
learning the ropes together.
Back then, I didn’t know how close quarters
can sometimes drive us
to gnawing on the ties that bind.
Conflicts rolling over us like sea billows.
Psalm 29:1-4 and
It’s your voice we long for this morning, Lord,
thundering into our lives, mighty and powerful.
The voice of wisdom instructing us,
the voice of justice inspiring us,
the voice of hope encouraging us,
the voice of love calling us home.
Give us ears to hear this morning,
we pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thank you, God, for the good news you proclaim every day:
the good news of beauty and life, proclaimed by every creature.
We hear this good news in the song of the red winged blackbird balancing on a reed,
we see it in the green life galloping up in every plant and tree,
we smell it in the damp earth, we taste it in the tang of rhubarb.
Your world, new and fresh each day…
thank you for giving us life and breath to enjoy it.
Thank you for the good news we have been hearing this week;
for those among us who have experienced healing,
for conflicts that have been resolved,
for the hungry that have been fed,
for your work through millions of people,
Here we are God!
We believe in your power to change us;
your creating power making relationships new,
your redeeming power saving us from despair,
your sustaining power giving us courage and strength.
In this hour, as we sing and pray and listen together,
we open ourselves to the seismic power of your kingdom,
changing our hearts, our lives and our world. Amen!
Psalm 102:18-22 and
God of grace,
we are a people gathered together in your name.
In your name we pray, we sing,
in your company we find peace.
Bless each person who has come today
with the knowledge that they are heard.
Help us to hear your call to freedom
ringing out over all the earth. Amen.
Go into your week
confident of God’s strong arms around you.
God’s arms will support you in your work,
and they will hold you when you rest,
they will keep you safe
every moment of the day and night.
Amen.
Alone at the table,
I pray in solitude.
For food on the table,
I pray with gratitude.
With Christ at the table,
I pray with hope renewed.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
God of farms and fields,
God of the earth’s rich harvest,
God of markets and grocery stores,
God you Great Provider:
each day our bodies meet you
in tabletop worship.
Thank you for giving us food for life,
for our bodies’ deepest hunger. Amen.
God our Creator,
when we entered this world as tiny babies,
you gave us caregivers who watched and waited on us,
who fed and clothed us, who taught us how to live.
We pause in this moment of silence to give our own thanks
for one special person who has changed our life:
For their work, and their love which has shaped us,
we give you thanks! [Silence]
[or alternatively if you have a small congregation, invite people to come and light a candle in memory and thanks for a caregiver]
We pray today for caregivers;
mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers,
aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters and cousins,
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
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