Prayers of Adoration & Confession

Eternal healer,
the one who walks with us,
the divine who created every one of us
in your own image,
whose compassion and wisdom
is present in all of creation,
help us to know your witness in ourselves.

When there is pain in us
and in the world, oh God,
we confess that we are not always able
to feel your presence in others
who may see your creation
through different eyes.

Lead us from our weariness;
let us see the divine already present
in ourselves and in the stranger
so that we may not feel the need
to be protective, nor defensive.

We know that amidst the chaos,
the anger and the pain,
there is your tenderness,
your wholeness and your eternal love.

Help us to come to you
with our wounds wide open,
with our defenses down.
Help us be vulnerable to your glory,
so that we may see others and ourselves
in both our flaws and our perfection.

We confess that we do not always see
those who seem different to us
as your children, our siblings.
Forgive us and give us the faith
to see the godliness present
in all people and living things.
As you came to us in Jesus,
you come to us in others.
Guide us to dwell in
and enact your eternal hope,
so that we may know your love for us,
and all of creation. Amen.

Through boundless love,
God see our flaws, our doubts,
our worries and our pain,
and still we receive God’s joy.

Hear the word of hope:
Our sin is forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

Anika Jensen, offered for worship, 13/8

Prayers of the People

Unseen God, invisible Spirit,
the world calls out and seeks your face…

We are the frightened and the threatened,
Who tremble at words of ‘fire and fury’,
or turn away despairing, in disgust:
Show us your mercy, show us your face

We are the drowning ones, dear God,
We are the bony hands
that cling to boats that push away
from flailing arms and desperate cries:
Show us your mercy, show us your face.

We are the captive ones,
displaced and desperate
imprisoned and broken,
ensnared in traps where evil thrives
and freedom falls away:
Show us your mercy, show us your face.

We are those on the margins,
forgotten and neglected.
Who lean on walls in lonely rooms
where no-one ever calls
and sorrow is our friend:
Show us your mercy, show us your face.

We are the jaded and the weary,
despairing of it all,
the restless and the drifting,
searching for refreshment
in the drift and doldrum of each day:
Show us your mercy, show us your face.

Loving God, living Spirit,
We are the dancing ones,
awake to the joy of living,
reborn and renewed, free and forgiving,
We are your church –
We are your mercy and your face.

We are the hopeful ones,
that happy lot who move
to the rhythm of a different song,
who have heard your call to follow
and step lightly in your shadow.
We are your people, electric and alive:
We are your mercy and your face.

We are the healing touch,
the outreached hand, the extra mile,
the glue that binds the broken,
Remind us each day of who we are
and what we have been called to be,
that sign of love to all we meet.
For, in such a way,
We are your mercy and your face.

We give thanks, our God,
for our small moments of community,
the magic moments of our days,
the signposts of your presence:
The one who smiles when we pass on the street,
The one who calls me by my name;
The gracious one who gives way in traffic
the one who gifts their seat to another:
There is your mercy and your face

Peter McKinnon, offered for worship, 13/8