Prayers of Adoration & Confession

Watch or 8:04

Come let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Holy One, Mother and Father, you are the Creator of the song and dance of life.
You sang our world into being, so from the dust, the soil, the stone, the rocks, the mountains,
everything shouts a hymn of praise to God, the Creator, the designer, the artist.

From the microscopic to the majestic,
everything that has life, that crawls, flies, jumps, runs, swims, and breathes,
everything shouts a hymn of praise to God the Creator, the gardener, the scientist, the architect.

From our thoughts, our minds, our words, our actions, our watching and our waiting,
with the whole earth we join together to offer our praise.
To sing and to dance, to laugh and to cry, to live the life we have been given.

Holy one, Mother and Father Creator of our past, present and our future,
just as the disciples did in the garden of Gethsemane,
we find ourselves falling asleep, failing in our faith.
Forgive us for the wars we fight, for wrongs committed in the name of God.
Forgive us for the exploitation and enslavement of people, all over this earth.
Forgive us when we discriminate because of our fear
of what we don’t know or understand, when we have so much to learn.
Forgive us when we despoil the earth for profit instead of caring for the earth that sustains us.
Forgive us for all the things we allow to come before you, our God,
when our hearts are cold, our eyes look the other way, and our mouths remain closed, when we should speak out.
Amen

Word of Grace
Children of God, though we fall asleep, wander away,
and fail in so many ways, we know that when we turn back,
our God is there with open arms to embrace us, and set us on the path again.
So that in Christ, through Christ and because of Christ,
our light in the darkness, we are confident to say, our sin is forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

Helen Burnham, offered for worship 12/03/2023, Lent 3A

Prayers of the people

Watch or 57:25

Generous God of mellow evenings
We pray for the World: We pray for victims of earthquakes in Turkey.
We pray for victims of war in Ukraine. This Lent we wait for a new world.
May the world draw the strength from the Easter story
and follow the command: love one another.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Leader: We breathe in, we breathe out.
Response: We hope, we expect, we wait quietly.
We imagine Jesus in the garden, praying among the olive trees.

We pray for the Church: may the Uniting Church
help those who find Lent and Easter empty, lonely.
We pray that the Uniting Church will stand for
social justice and inclusion, in strong, wise ways.
May the church draw strength from the Easter story
and enable the command: love one another.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Leader: We breathe in, we breathe out.
Response: We hope, we expect, we wait quietly.
We imagine Jesus in the garden, praying among the olive trees.

We pray for those in need: may those in poor health find support.
May we think of our own burdens and journeys this Easter.
May prisoners suffering ill-health in jail, find help.
May residents and carers in nursing homes find hope.
May helping professionals find meaning.
We observe Neurodiversity Celebration Week, celebrating difference and creativity.
We stand with all those who are oppressed.
May we live the command: love one another.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Leader: We breathe in, we breathe out.
Response: We hope, we expect, we wait quietly.
We imagine Jesus in the garden, praying among the olive trees.

In the name of Christ, loving, leading, rising: praise. Amen

Jim Kilpatrick, offered for worship 12/03/2023, Lent 3A