Season – Summer

Prince of Pieces Congregational Prayer

The world is filled with your glory,
and you’ve given us eyes to see it,
ears to hear it, a nose to smell it,
hands and mouth to touch and taste.
Thank you for the taste of fresh strawberries,
for the way their sweetness symbolizes summer.
Thank you for the beauty of roses,
red and yellow and white and pink,
their fragrance, the delicateness of their petals.
Thank you for the sun and the wind after so much rain.
Your love surrounding us in so many sensory ways….

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Rainy Day Congregational Prayer

Thank you, God, for rain.
Thank you for the way we taste rain in the air,
for the feel of rain running across our skin,
for the sound of water hitting the roof above us,
for its transformative greening power,
for the smell of wet earth.
We give you thanks
for the grace of water falling from the sky.
We confess that we are parched for your presence.
We go through dry times,
times where grief stretches us out,

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Summer Congregational Prayer

Our souls magnify the Lord.
Our souls amplify the goodness of God–
we take a good close-up look at all our blessings.
Thank you for plants:
for the deliciousness of fresh lettuce
and the sharp tang of dill,
but also for their beauty, their leafy wonder,
their greenness, their fragrance.
Thank you for the miracle of growth,
for sun and rain which has made them grow
and for the mysteries of photosynthesis.
Creation at work at a molecular level,

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Good News Congregational Prayer

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,

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Call Congregational Prayer

Thank you God for the glorious weather we are having;
summer is still calling us to come out and play.
Tall trees are still filled with dark green leaves with just a hint of yellow,
combines are harvesting long golden windrows,
there is a fragrance of mint in the garden,
we’re enjoying the golden taste of fresh corn,
and the cool breezes on days that still feel hot.
You extend a call to live each day to the fullest.
Jesus, we also hear your call to love, expressed again and again
through many kind hands and warm hearts around us.
Thank you for giving us intricate networks of family and friends and church 
who embody your love, and invite us to love in return.
Open our eyes to this call, which is not narrow, but as wide as the world.

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Living Water Congregational Prayer

Thank you for water;
for its smooth cleanness as it runs from our taps,
water that is safe for drinking,
water that doesn’t stop running.
Thank you for beautiful blue of lakes,
for the chortling of streams, for the rushing of rivers,
for the richness of water resources.
Thank you for water from the skies,
for water that falls on gardens and crops,
fuelling green growth, food for the world.
Thank you for water for fun;
for swimming pools filled with laughing children,

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God of Gardens Congregational Prayer

God of gardens,
thank you for the garden of [name your area]
for tree peonies and white lilacs,
for graceful roses, and sweet honeysuckle [name the flowers that bloom in your area]
For fields carpeted in green, for vegetables growing, for fruit setting,
for the whole wide earth teeming with life everywhere we look,
for the birds that sing choruses of praise every morning.
The kingdom of God is like this;
beautiful and rich and many faceted,
blooming in hearts around the world for those who have eyes to see.
The news tells us every horrible thing that happens,
but you bring good news:
that people do love each other, that people do help each other,
that you care for us, that we can make a difference.

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Gentle Shepherd Congregational Prayer

Gentle Shepherd:
Thank you for the way you have led us to green pastures and still water;
you’ve shown us beauty this week that has fed our souls.
The brilliant green of the trees glowing in the morning sun,
the delicate symphony the birds sing each morning,
the caress of the warm sun on our upraised cheeks,
the fragrance of honeysuckle in the evening.
Some of us have walked through dark valleys this week,
and all of us know someone in a dark valley,
valleys of sickness, grief, uncertainty, fear.
You meet us there in the darkness, you protect us.

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Summer Sun Call to Worship

Summer sun sends its heat

and the earth lays wide.

Flat fields shimmer, tall wheat ripens,

the earth bakes.

All creatures seek shade

as the haze builds and thickens.

This summer day compels repose.

This heat a benediction,

a heavy warm hand

pressing down….

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About Carol Penner

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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