Prayers of Adoration & Confession
Let’s pray…
As we Listen…. and watch….
Feel our heart rate slowing…. aware of our breathing…. shoulders relaxing…. jaw unclenching…. watching the water flow by…. resting in this gently flowing water…. A river of grace…. God’s grace…. Floating along on this river of God’s grace…. cradled, upheld, flowing, like a river… to the sea… through Jesus Christ, we’ll know… that God’s love flows throughout our life… like a river that flows in to the sea…
In to the sea… and drawn up again… the cycle of water… in to the clouds… falling as rain on the mountains, flowing in to rocks and streams… down to the rivers… to the sea… God’s circle of nourishing love… the cloud of witnesses… the cosmic dance of the triune God…. Lover, beloved, loving spirit… God’s grace nourishing us, renewing, upholding… surrounding those we love in the great cloud of witnesses.
We give you thanks and praise, o God.
We confess, O God, that we find it hard to love you with our whole hearts.
We find it hard to love ourselves with our whole hearts.
We find it hard to love our neighbour with our whole hearts.
We confess O God that at times we find your river of grace too turbulent, to be wary of.
To look upon with suspicion.
We don’t always trust, God, that we can and will float on your mercy.
Sucked under in to the eddies and abysses.
We confess, O God, that the cloud of witnesses, the saints,
can feel distant, disinterested, feel like we are doing this faith thing alone, isolated.
We confess, O God, that it is hard to commune with the saints. We need your help.
We need, you, God, to bridge the gap… we miss being gathered around your communion table, to bring us together.
…the words of the psalmist…
I sought the Lord and God answered me. And delivered me from all my fears.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord.
So, hear again and again, Christ’s word of assurance to us all
Your sin is forgiven.
Thanks be to God.
Amen
Dave Hall, offered for worship 1/11/2020, All Saints Day
Prayers of the people
As we come to the Prayers for the People, I will pray a few words and then provide you with time to reflect and remember. Let’s pray.
Loving God, on this All Saints day, we are reminded that death is part of life. That each of us is part of a cycle that must come and go on this beautiful earth. Knowing too, that it can be long in coming or take us by surprise in a moment. This year has been a particularly tough year for us all. We are so much more aware of the pain and loss that death brings, through the expected and unexpected loss of friends, partners, and loved ones within our community, our family and our wider connections. There are so many who we can name who we have lost over this past year with deep connections into our church community. Many whose families, we could only support from a distance.
We name them in our hearts now.
We also remember all those who have been special in our lives but who have passed into your loving arms over years gone by. We thank you for them. We thank you for the gift of our ancestors, our grandparents and for some of us, our parents, siblings and children, who have now passed on but who we always carry within us. We thank you for their legacy, their love, for the foundations they have created for us, for the memories, stories, lessons learnt, that are embedded in us, that help form who we are. We thank you for the reminder they provide to us of how precious our lives are, that we have this short moment on this earth to do our best and to be the people you want us to be.
We remember them now.
As death looms large in this time of COVID – We pray especially for all the loved ones that families have lost too early, too soon because of COVID. We think of the over 900 people who have died of COVID in Australia and over a million people who have died worldwide. All real and significant people with grieving families, who are struggling to deal with loss of loved ones and the restrictions preventing people from the important ritual of celebrating their lives together.
We remember them now.
We acknowledge too, the cycle of life and death that surrounds us on this planet, and the spirit of this country, from which we gain our nourishment, sense of connection and beauty that restores our faith in you and this creation. While we know that this cycle is part of the beauty of the earth, we also think of the heartbreak and loss that many traditional owners of this land experience each time another sacred place is destroyed for progress. We especially pray for those experiencing the loss for sacred places like the Juukun Gorge caves and now the Djab Wurrung birthing tree – just recent examples of the huge and ongoing loss of sacred places across the world.
We remember this Earth that needs our protection, now.
Loving God, we know that we will all, one day, rest in your arms along with all those who we have gone before us. Rest with us now in our beating hearts to share your love, your light, your care for this world until that day comes.
Amen
Meredith Budge, offered for worship 1/11/2020, All Saints Day
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