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,
God of Great gifts,
we give you these gifts today
knowing that you are the Father of gifts.
You mother us constantly
providing for us, caring for us.
As we have been abundantly provided for,
so we give abundantly to the work that you give us to do,
the work of the church,
the care for those who are poor.
Accept these gifts in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Father of us all, Mother of each one,
thank you for your love for us from the beginning of time.
You formed us when we were in our mother’s wombs,
you knit us together lovingly,
your devotion to us has not failed,
your care has followed us our whole life long.
All we are and all we have, we owe to you,
and so on this first day of the week,
in this house devoted to your glory,
we give honour to you
with our hearts and hands and voices.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Serve them joyfully.
Listen to their stories carefully.
Hear what they are not saying.
Laugh and cry with them.
When they hurt each other, forgive them.
When they hurt you, don’t take it personally.
Affirm good things out loud.
Pray for them and with them.
Preach good news faithfully.
See the big picture, and address it.
Love everyone, in every age group.
All praise to you, God, the giver of light!
We give thanks for the sun, whose rays give life,
and the moon that illuminates our darkest nights.
Praise for fire, the flickering flames of candles and lamps.
We give thanks for electric light
that twinkles around the world, shining into space.
Thank you for starlight that travels light years
and for lasers which circle the globe in fibre optic cables.
You give us light, which is bright and serviceable and pure.
We cannot live without light.
Listen up, all you people! Pay attention!
Everyone…from highest to lowest,
the proud and humble together,
tune your ears to hear good news!
Christ is revealed in worship!
We come with hope and open ears
to meet the One who is our all in all.
Come Lord Jesus!
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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