And now we come to worship.
And now we are gathered as one.
And now we turn our hearts.
And now we bless the God of all,
who everywhere works great wonders.
Great God, we long for your deliverance
from this world’s sorrows and troubles:
in your mercy give us gladness and peace, Amen.
Thank you for the wind!
Thank you for the way it sweeps across our great country,
over the Pacific ocean, up the mountains,
flying across the plains and the great lakes,
whooshing over the boreal forest
till it arrives in Ontario in great gusts, [adjust to fit your geography]
making everything alive and lively,
blowing our hair and clothes into tangles,
filling our lungs and then blowing away
up the St. Lawrence all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Fill us with your Spirit this morning like this wind,
enlivening us, moving us, stirring us….
God of great gifts,
for the world as we know it, we give you thanks!
The world in all its nearness,
our own special corners, our own dearest vistas,
the way it meets us each morning when we open our eyes.
For the food you provide, we give thanks,
the shape and feel of it in our hands,
the taste of it in our mouths,
a rich harvest produced by your rain, your sun, your soil.
We open ourselves to this bounty.
We give thanks for the way you people the world,
the particularity of each special person we know and love,
This morning, God,
we want everything to be for your glory.
We want our thoughts, our words, our songs,
our church, our community,
our resources, our time, our lives–
all to be for you.
Everything ours is yours,
and we come together to declare this to be so,
on this Sunday, your holy day.
Bless our time together with your holy presence, Amen
God, let this be a fruitful day!
In this hour of worship,
open our eyes to beauty,
tune our ears to harmony.
The fragrance of your love
permeating every moment.
The touch of your hand
guiding all we do.
Together, we want to taste with delight
the joy of your presence here today.
We are waiting for your presence, God–
patient, like a lover sitting by the telephone
waiting for the voice of their beloved;
attentive as a farmer watching clouds for rain
waiting for the parched soil’s relief;
intent as a child standing by the road
waiting for the parade to appear;
empty as a satellite dish scanning the heavens
waiting for a message from the stars;
poised as the still arms of a windmill
waiting for the wind’s inspiration;
open as the wide sand beach
waiting for the tide’s embrace.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
God of all the earth,
we pray today from the piece of the world we call Canada,
land of mountains and prairie, boreal forest and tundra,
a land of beauty from coast to coast to coast.
Thank you for peace in our time,
for democratic government, for health care,
for social safety nets and municipal services
delivering reliable electricity and clean, drinkable water.
In a country with so many blessings
we confess that these are not distributed equally;
there are First Nations communities without drinking water,
1. In the name of Christ, First Born of all Creation,
2. in the name of Jesus, the Second Adam, born of Mary,
3. in the name of Immanuel, the Nazarene, who lived among us,
1. in the name of Christ, the Baptized One, first in obedience,
2. in the name of Jesus, Wilderness Dweller, tried and tested,
3. in the name of Immanuel, Word of Love for all people,
1. in the name of Christ, Healer of our Every Ill,
2. in the name of Jesus, Welcomer of Children,
3. in the name of Immanuel, Beloved Teacher,
1. in the name of Christ, Transfigured Son of God,
2. in the name of Jesus, Bread of Life for the whole word,
When a day opens
like a beautiful blank page,
I give thanks, God of my life, for time.
Time to stretch, time to curl up;
time to eat, time to digest what I’ve eaten;
time to read, time to put the book down;
time to walk, time to look at where I’m walking;
time to be alone, time to call a friend;
time to work, time to lay my work down;
time to rest, and time to feel energized from resting.
I give thanks even for this time to pray,
this poised moment at the open door of the day.
Good morning.
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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