Tag: gathering prayer

Worship Resource: All Saints Sunday

* Call To Worship (from Psalm 37)

            One: Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

All: While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

One: Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions before the LORD,’ and you forgave the guilt of my life.

All: You are a hiding place for me; you preserve from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.

* Gathering Prayer

         Holy God, you invite us to consider the possibility that we, too, might be holy. You embrace the mess we’ve made of our lives even when we would rather turn away. Our culture tells us that the key to happiness is culivating a carefully curated public image. Polish, shine, perfection–this is the currency of the world we live in. Teach us never to compare our inside with someone else’s outside. You see past the facade. You know our hearts and love us still. Teach us to nourish the seeds of new life you have planted in the soil of our broken, humble hearts. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

God, your saints teach us the way of service, sacrifice, and joy. We follow their example trusting that we, too, will find rest in your presence. Amen.

Worship Resource based on Psalm 100

Call To Worship (from Psalm 100)

One: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness. Come into God’s presence with singing.

All: Together will all beings we offer ourselves in worship. What is our true worship? Returning to this very place. Returning to this very moment. Breathing in, we breathe in the Spirit of God. Breathing out we release our worn out stories, our tired regrets, our distracting fantasies. 

One: Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and God’s courts with praise. Give thanks to God and bless God’s name.

All: For the LORD is good. God’s steadfast love endures forever, and God’s faithfulness to all generations. 

Gathering Prayer

God of creation, you made us for joy. You don’t want us to hurt forever. We recognize that suffering is a part of life; nevertheless your Scripture tells us that suffering doesn’t define who we are. We are your children and nothing can separate us from your boundless love. We confess that too often we find ourselves stuck in what once was. Instead of dealing courageously with what is, we find ourselves  paralyzed by fears of what might be. Create in us a new heart, O God. Teach us how to be open, honest, transparent, and courageous. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

Creator of this beautiful, fragile planet, we recognize that generosity is the fruit of a joyful heart. May our offerings bring joy to us and others. Amen.

Worship Resource based on RCL for Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

Call To Worship (from Psalm 8)

One: O LORD, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

All: When I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

One: Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet.

All: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Gathering Prayer

God of the universe, we sometimes feel small in the face of that which is so far beyond our understanding much less our control. Does my life matter? What does it all mean? Why bother doing anything at all when my efforts seem so insignificant? Give us wisdom to discern your creative activity in every moment of our lives. Give us the courage to meet you right here, right now, for this is the meaning of our lives. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

God of this and every moment, God who gives everything its time and place, we thank you for meeting us in this time and place, right here, right now. We offer ourselves wholeheartedly to you. Amen.