Close can be comfortable
and close can be uncomfortable.
Knit together in our mother’s wombs,
we emerge and…
the fabric of the family holds us tight.
Loved and cherished from a young age,
we feel close-knit and strongly supported.
Or the opposite.
Abused, neglected or abandoned in childhood,
we can feel frayed at the edges,
unravelled at key points,
at loose ends in the world.
Our call to worship is from Psalm 24:1-2
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. (NRSV)
Let`s pray:
We are yours Lord,
life and breath, all belong to you.
Thank you for this time today,
make it holy and precious,
so that all we say, all we sing, all we think and all we do
will give glory and honour to you. Amen.
God of all people:
We pray…it’s to you
We sing…it’s for you
We read scripture…to learn about you
We come together as your church…following your call.
As we gather in your house
we dedicate this time to you,
with all our heart and soul
and mind and strength.
In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.
We come to prayer this morning
at the crossroads of summer and winter.
Summer still shines, asters blooming with yellow and orange vividness,
warm days calling us to walk outside and enjoy the sun,
fresh fruit and vegetables still fill our tables and delight our tastebuds.
And yet, the nights grow cold, we see our breath in the morning,
yellow and red creep into the leaves of the trees,
the days get shorter, the earth tilts
and there’s no stopping the coming of winter….
We worship you with our words,
and with our songs, Lord,
and we praise you with our money.
Everything we have is yours,
and these offerings are for the work of your kingdom come,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
God in heaven,
you are the God of rushing winds
swirling over mountains and across the plains,
the God of mighty gusts
driving clouds and current around the earth.
The winds of time are yours,
a century is but a moment in your sight.
This morning we ask for the wind of your Spirit
to blow through your church,
stirring us with your courage,
moving us with your compassion,
filling us with your hope.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
God breathes and the world answers in a symphony of faithfulness.
Songs of services in chapels, halls and tabernacles,
arias of councils and conferences and conventions,
oratorios of missions and campaigns and committees.
The devoted bursting forth in a hundred million hymns,
harmonious, dissonant, raucous and serene.
The voice of the church exhaling its devotion,
praising Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer and Friend.
Angel voices and the saintly crowd of witnesses
hum along as God’s kingdom call echoes in the world.
For so long we’ve tuned into only one part, ours,
examining it, analyzing it to the nth degree,
arguing over our notes, perfecting them, enjoying them.
I always feel sorry for the man in Jesus’ story
who buried his money and returned it intact to the master,
only to be scorned for his trouble.
He is remembered forever as the man who didn’t get it,
the man who missed the stewardship boat,
the man who was profoundly untalented.
What brought him to that inearthly choice?
What circumstances put a shovel in his hand,
and only preservation in his heart?
“I was afraid,” he said.
Maybe it was a deathly fear of change,
God of great wonders,
we join with you in the joy of giving.
You give us life and breath,
you fill the world with beauty,
our hands with bounty,
and our hearts with the desire to give.
Accept these gifts, and ourselves in your service.
Amen.
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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