Worship – Congregational Prayer

Joy to the World Advent Prayer

December 15, 2018

God, giver of joy,
thank you for the open sweet gaze of babies,
for the irrepressible giggles of toddlers,
and for the sight of preschoolers holding hands as they play.
Thank you that we are made for joy
and that advent reminds us of this.
Help us wait in hopeful anticipation for this gift of joy–
an incongruous Saviour, the Prince of Peace
come down to us as a baby in diapers.
Jesus, give joy this week even to those who are suffering:
joy in the midst of illness, through a keen sense of your presence,
joy in the midst of grief, through an awareness of love deeper than death,

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Loving Advent Prayer

December 8, 2018

Thank you that your love falls down like snow, covering everything.
We need your love now, more than ever.
We confess that we hate some people:
people who have hurt us,
people who think differently than us,
people who look differently than us.
And we are careless enough to let hatred grow,
underestimating its power in our world.
God, we need a Saviour who can save us from ourselves.
Thank you for your love that covers our world like oceans….

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Earthy Congregational Prayer

November 17, 2018

God of sea and sky,
God of this great earth laid out under the sun,
we come with thanks on our lips and praise in our hearts.
Thank you for life and breath,
and senses to experience the beauty all around us.
Thank you for the dear ones we love, those around us, those far away,
and those who we will only see again in heaven, by your mercy.
We ask for your comfort for those who grieve
and those who are sick, especially…
Today, we come with prayers for this earth,
and help for humankind as we live upon it.
Show us the way to live responsibly, not wastefully.
Open a curiosity in us to learn about the fish in streams and lakes nearest to us,
curiosity about the birds that fly over us,

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Coming Coldness Congregational Prayer

October 27, 2018

Creator God,
thank you that you order the change of the seasons.
Thank you for the great upheaval that is fall.
Billions of trees dropping every leaf.
Birds heaving themselves across oceans to warmer continents.
Animals burrowing, amphibians tunnelling, everyone going deep
to escape the coming coldness.
All of this orchestrated by you.
Be with us in these changing times.
We pray for people without shelter,
or who have to choose between being warm and being fed.
Give workers in social service agencies patience and compassion.
Give politicians in government the will to help.
Open our hearts to help our neighbours.

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A Prayer for Muddlers

June 27, 2018

Hear our prayer for muddlers everywhere.
People with good intentions doing the wrong thing, diligently.
Seekers heading in the wrong direction, energetically.
Helpers choosing the wrong methods, heartily.
Do-gooders rushing in to make a difference,
not realizing that the difference they are making
is not in a positive direction.
It’s so easy to see this in others;
give us insight into our own missteps,
our own misguided blunderings.
We aren’t setting out to do harm,
and we truly want to help,
help our unhelpfulness.
Give us ears to hear the voices of victims,

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Constant Calling Congregational Prayer

April 4, 2018

Great God:
Thank you for the constant call we hear from you every day.
The wind whispering around our ears,
the birds singing to us from the trees,
rain pinging on the window,
the good earth inviting our steps.
We hear that call again and again,
through kind hands and warm hearts around us.
Open our ears to your call, 
which is as expansive as the world,
and as particular as a poor man walking a dusty road
to a cross on Calvary.
Like him, help us to love, not just in word, but in deed:
love for our neighbours who are hard to love,

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“It is the Lord” Congregational Prayer

March 29, 2018

God, thank you for the dawn that comes every morning,
even after our darkest nights.
We give you thanks for life resurrecting from the death of winter.
For birds singing their spring songs in the dark before the dawn;
for the ice on rivers, shattered,
for the first green spikes of spring poking up through the melting earth,
for the smell of spring air fresh when we open the door,
for the sun’s rays on our face, warming us.
For every sign of spring, we give you thanks!

We give you thanks for your son Jesus Christ,
for his sacrifice for us, for his teaching.
Help us to grasp resurrection; to understand its power,

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God of Resurrection Prayer

March 29, 2018

God of Resurrection,
we come on this most holy of mornings,
thankful and awed by your power to save us.
Thank you for the gift of your son Jesus Christ
whose resurrection brings us life. 
You know us, Lord, in our humanness.
You lived and breathed and walked among us,
you know us inside and out, every word and action;
our secret thoughts are known only to you.
You know the areas in our lives that are dead;
you are familiar with our tombs.

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Journey of Love Congregational Prayer

March 29, 2018

Holy Spirit,
we need your presence here on planet earth.
Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem,
it is there he was crucified.
Today many still suffer in that same city.
Racism and oppression are rampant;
a giant dividing wall of hostility runs near it.
Jerusalem struggles to find the things that make for peace.
We need your Spirit to shine there in dark places,
and to offer hope for those who are mired in hopelessness.
Raise up peacemakers who reject hatred,
whose integrity can inspire loyalty,
whose wisdom can chart a path for peace.

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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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