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Call to Worship (based on Psalm 139)

L: O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
P: You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
L: Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.
P: You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
L: For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
P: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works!
 

Call To Worship:
(by Rev. Frank Schaefer)

L: God is near us, always ready to listen and to speak
P:  Let us draw near to the Lord.
L: God is the Light of the World, always ready to illuminate.
P:  Early in the morning, let us seek the Lord's face.
L: God is the Ruler of the universe, always ready to create.
P: Let us worship the Lord our Maker.

  

Prayer of Confession

Almighty God, we confess that we are so often swept up in the tide of our generation.  We have failed in our calling to be your holy people, a people set apart for your divine purpose.  We live more in apathy born of fatalism than in passion born of hope. We are moved more by private ambition than by social justice. We dream more of privilege and benefits than of service and sacrifice. We try to speak in your name, without relinquishing our glories, without nourishing our souls, without relying wholly on your grace.
Help us to make room in our heart and lives for you.  Forgive us, revive us, and reshape us in your image. Amen.

  

Prayer for Open Ears and a Willing Heart

L: O Heavenly Father, what is it that keeps us from recognizing you? 
P: Often we are so full of ourselves that it's easy to block you right
out of our lives. 
L: Maybe it's the way we interpret Scripture that obscures the signs pointing to you.
P:: Perhaps we are guilty of being slow of heart when we don't
recognize you in our neighbor, or in the guise of the poor or the dispossessed.
L: Our eyes and ears have become so crammed with the sights and
sounds of  living that we simply fail to see you or to recognize your voice.

All: Lord Jesus, help us to empty ourselves of all that hinders our
awareness of your presence with us.  Fill us with the joy of knowing
your continuing presence, so that, like little Samuel in the temple, we too, recognize your voice and, like the disciples, follow your calling.
Amen. 

People of Grace

Who are we whom God has called? Few of us are wise; few are powerful.
Yet to shame the wise God has chosen what the world counts folly;
to shame the strong God has chosen what the world counts weakness.
In union with Jesus Christ, we are all children of God.
Baptized into union with Christ, we have put on Christ like a garment.
There is no such thing as Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; we are all one in Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer  (attributed to St. Patrick)

May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen