ENTRANCE
REFLECTION
I have come to understand that the voice of God is all around me. God is not a silent God. God is speaking to me all the time. In everything. Through everyone. I am only now beginning to listen, let alone to hear.
Joan Chittister,
Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir, p.18
LIGHTING THE ALTAR CANDLE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Holy One in Three,
your voice is not silent.
People: We rejoice and praise you, Holy Wisdom, for your voice is always with us.
Leader: Holy One in Three,
you are with us all the time.
People: We rejoice and praise you, Holy Power,
for you surround us with your presence.
Leader: Holy One in Three,
you are in everything and in everyone.
People: We rejoice and praise you, Holy Love,
that you are incarnate in our world.
Leader: Holy Wisdom, Holy Power, Holy Love,
open our hearts and minds.
All: Help us to truly listen to your voice,
feel your presence with us,
and see you in everyone and everything.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
SILENCE
CONFESSION
Leader: Holy Wisdom, Holy Power, Holy Love,
you whisper to us in the wind
that rustles through giant oaks,
reminding us that you
are in every leaf and branch.
People: We close our ears to your voice,
preferring to believe
that the sound of wind is merely physics,
the mechanical operation
of air pressure and matter.
Leader: You shout to us in the blare of sirens,
announcing fire and flood,
accidents and heart attacks,
reminding us that pain and suffering
are all around us.
People: We cover our ears to shut out the sound,
complaining about the noises of city life.
Leader: You call to us
in the cries of your hurting creatures,
yearning for mercy, aching for wholeness, begging for peace.
All: Forgive us
when we believe that you are silent,
when we refuse to hear your voice,
to listen for your call.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: Wisdom speaks around us
and in us and through us,
telling us that we are forgiven and loved,
even before we think to ask
People: Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE
INTERCESSION AND PETITION
COMMITMENT
All: O Holy One, we come today
to claim our relationship with you.
We pray for the commitment to grow together,
sharing the gifts you give us with others
here and in the wider world.
Forgive us for the hurt we have inflicted,
and help us forgive those who have hurt us.
Give us strength and discipline
to nurture our relationship with you;
to care for every part of your creation;
to foster justice and be in solidarity with those in need;
to work to end all war, and violence, and discord;
and to respond joyfully when you call,
freely giving our selves as you have shown the way.
We open our hearts to you and your creation
in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.
HYMN
THE WORD
SCRIPTURE
SERMON
SILENT REFLECTION
OFFERING
COMMUNION
PREPARATION
Leader 1: This is the table of the heavenly feast,
the joyful celebration of the people of God.
Leader 2: We gather now as one body, joined around the table.
Here we celebrate God’s presence among us,
united in Christ’s spirit, broken and whole all at once.
All: Nourished and hungry, loved and loving,
sinner and forgiven, we make one circle
of knowing, believing, rejoicing, being,
as God lights and rests among us.
GREAT THANKSGIVING
Leader 1: Holy Wisdom,
we give you thanks and praise
that you are not silent
but always speaking.
People: We give you thanks for Jesus, the Christ,
who by his life, death, and resurrection
made your presence visible and human.
Leader 2: We give you thanks for your Holy Spirit,
breath of life and love,
continually nudging and confronting us
as we live and listen.
All: We give you thanks for your Holy Church,
proclaiming your presence in the world
with justice and compassion.
BLESSING THE ELEMENTS
Leader 1: Christ invites everyone to eat the bread of life,
to drink the cup of the new covenant.
Leader 2: Jesus said, I am the bread of life.
You who come to me shall never hunger;
you who believe in me shall never thirst.
Leader 1: On the night he gave himself up,
Jesus took bread,
and after giving thanks to God, broke it and said,
This is my body,
broken for the healing of the world.
Whenever you eat it, do so remembering me.
Leader 2: After supper, Jesus took the cup and said,
This is the cup of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for all.
Whenever you drink it, do so remembering me.
All: O Holy One, send down your Spirit
that these gifts of grain and grape,
and work of human hands
may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
Unite us with Christ forever
and bring us with the whole creation
to your eternal realm.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION
All: God of abundance and mercy,
we give joyful thanks
for your eternal love and healing presence
in our celebration of bread and cup.
Bless this Body of Christ
that we may attend faithfully
to our call to be your servants,
with each other and throughout the world. Amen.
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Wisdom calls
in our hearts,
in our community of faith,
in nature and all beings.
Let us answer with loving service,
greeting one another with signs of peace.
All: Amen.
