Prayers of Adoration & Confession

God of Creation,
you are far beyond our understanding and imagination,
and yet you know us and have called us here.
We remember your faithfulness throughout history,
your mercy and love in giving us your Son.

Loving and compassionate Christ,
you give us hope, strength and courage when we despair,
and help us see a world of joy and possibilities.

Holy Spirit,
You are the very breath of our lives,
and we know, even in our isolation,
that you are one with us.

Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine

Watch: https://youtu.be/LD0lEtrX5hc?t=403

Holy one,
we confess that we fail to care for your creation as we should.
We have been a witness as the climate has changed, as ice has melted,
storms, and fires destroying the land, the animals and our homes.
We have watched on in thoughtlessness, not daring to dream that we
could have a beneficial influence, in the future of our world.

Christ in your mercy,
We confess that thoughts of our own problems in isolation
prevent us from seeing the need in others.
Forgive us that we become angry when we can’t see our loved ones.
That we are short tempered with children or partners,
angry with shop assistants when the shelves are stripped bare.

Holy Spirit
Forgive us, that we do not see or hear the world crying out in need and sorrow.
We confess that we often choose the easy way and fail to learn from our mistakes.
That we want forgiveness but fail to give it to others.

Come, we are part of God’s dream for the world.
And we know, even in our brokenness that our sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine

Do not be afraid:  Words and Music by David Haas © 1991 GIA Publications, Inc.
Used with permission under ONE LICENCE # 604502

Watch: https://youtu.be/LD0lEtrX5hc?t=1033

Helen Burnham, offered for worship 09/08/2020, Pentecost 10A

Prayers of the people

Let us pray

Mother God,

We are exhausted.
Our bodies are heavy
Tension steals through our limbs like a cold fire.

We gasp in great gulps of air
As though emerging from an ocean.

This time of grief sits like a weight on our chests.

We wander in bewilderment, trapped in this wakeful dream.

We remember the psalmists writing
About going down to the river
To weep, and remember their pasts.

We weep. And we remember our pasts.

The people of Lebanon are crying out.
Covered in blood, they cry for their loved ones, lost in a horrific explosion.

We cry for them, shocked by the destruction of their city.

We hold out these laments to you, God.
Take them from us
They are too heavy for us to carry
Lift them from our arms.

…

In stillness, we feel a tiny warmth of hope, too faint to see.
A hope that some day this will not be our reality
A hope that things will change.

That our lives will not be ruled by a daily press conference.
That we will be able to move with freedom

To smile at others
And feel the salt air of the sea on our skin.

Sit with us in this tiny flicker
In this hour of darkness

We pray

Amen

Watch https://youtu.be/LD0lEtrX5hc?t=2177

Simone Alesich, offered for worship 09/08/2020, Pentecost 10A