Prayers of Adoration & Confession

Holy God, with your breath you create all things
You are the source of all love and grace
You breathe life and peace into us, calling us
To be your people in the world.

Jesus, you stir our hearts with stories
Shaping our lives with words of compassion
Calling us out of our safe places
To be your people in the world.

Holy Spirit, breath of compassion
You fill our hearts with abundant joy
Renewing us when we are weary
To be your people in the world.

by Saide Cameron, offered for worship, 14/7

God of love, Flame of love,
Spirit and Soul of love.

Lover from the beginning, and Lover until the end.
Lover of quiet things and broken things.
Lover of small things and of brave things.
Lover of hidden things and precious things.

Root and branch of love, and flower of peace.
Your reign is only love, and in love your Law is fulfilled.

In the end, when we have loved, it is you we have known.

For before and above all things that are or were or ever shall be,
you are Love.

by Daniel Broadstock, offered for worship, 14/7

Hear the word of love that makes all things new.
Your sin is forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

 

The prayers offered for this worship were developed during our second worship workshop,
in response to the story of the Good Samaritan. All the prayers that formed our liturgy can be found here.

 

Prayers of the people

Loving God, we bring our prayers to you today,

In the midst of storms, wind and heatwaves, we pray for the world.
We pray for the tiny birds and insects that are disappearing.
We pray for the communities whose lands are disappearing.

We pray for those who suffer when fears about our future lead us to turn away from them.
For refugees, and victims of violence, when we respond in silence to their calls for help.

We pray for the strength for all of us to work together,
across the world, to heal this climate brokenness.

Mother God, in this, NAIDOC week, we thank the indigenous people of these lands we call Australia,
for their generous sharing of culture, and land, with us.
We thank them for helping us to reimagine our relationship with the earth and the Creator,
who the people of the Kulin Nation call Bundjil.

We look to them as leaders.
We pray that we may continue to listen to them and that their voices may grow louder.

Compassionate God, we pray for the church in the world today.
We pray that it may be a place that welcomes all, a place where we can all find a home,
whether it is at the heart of the church, or in the wilderness.

We listen to the parable of the Samaritan, and we are reminded that we are all one family.
There are no strangers amongst us, and our common humanity binds us together, closer than blood.

We pray that the church may be humble and listen to others,
to be compassionate to all those seeking help, and to know that we are all kin.

God of wisdom, we pray for ourselves.
We are all the walking wounded, even though for some of us, our scars are hidden.

We pray that the church may be a refuge where all feel welcome to share their hurts.

Creator God, we thank you for the goodness of community,
for the blessing of family and friends, and for the boundless love of this world,
your creation.

Amen

by Simone Alesich, offered for worship, 14/7