leadinginworship

Tender Call to Worship

Our call to worship comes from Luke 1:78-79

By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us,
 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.’   [NRSV]

Let’s pray:

Merciful God:
We come together to worship longing for tenderness
because this world can be hard.
We come longing for light
because our lives are crowded with shadows.
We come desperately needing direction.
Fill us this morning with your peace:
your spirit is our peace and our path.

Prayer for this warring world

God of angel armies, hear our prayer

for your beloved world.

Cast out the demon of bomb dropping.

Cast out the demon of rocket hurling.

Cast out the demon of bullet shooting.

Cast out the demon of hostage holding.

Cast out the demon of civilian persecuting.

Cast out the demon of ceasefire breaking.

Cast out the demon of perpetual despairing,

that would tell us there is no way to peace.

 

God, you are an impossibility specialist.

Send down angels to melt frozen hearts.

Send down angels to protect civilians.

Send down angels to destroy weapons.

Send down angels to negotiate treaties that last.

Send down angels to gather a scattered people.

Send down angels to heal a broken nation.

Send down angels with good news of great joy

which shall be for all people,

all people who live in this warring world.

 

Great Big Global Peace Prayer

It’s a great big world you’ve made, God,
and we are small bits upon it.
The mountains, the glaciers, the bounding oceans,
the mass of the earth beneath our feet,
the reach of the stars, and the galaxies stretching
to infinite distances, known only by you.
Give us a universal vision, to see our planet as you do.
Could there be peace on earth, could it begin with me?
Help me see beyond borders,
for there are no countries from space.
You know all that’s done under the sun,
and all that needs doing so we can get along.
We breathe this good air,
we plant our feet on this good ground,
we lift our hands and bless all your creation with thankfulness.
We look to you for all we need to survive and thrive,
walking a path to a sustainable future.
In Jesus’ name, let it be so. Amen.

Longest night prayer

There are good years and bad years,
and then there are years from hell.
Hear our prayer O God, for all who are tortured by war.
You know the anguished cries,
and the hearts that have turned to stone.
These are people who will die unless you save them.
We need a Saviour for those who sit in the shadow of death:
for children who have lost their parents,
and have no one to take care of them;
for teenagers forced to fight,
and who can’t imagine a normal life;
for all who have killed and have witnessed the killing;
for all who are fleeing the violence
and looking for a place of refuge;
for parents who have no choices
and see their children starve;
for seniors who cannot believe the losses they have seen.
God, you know the particular pain of each one,
the stories of death and sexual assault,
the stories of homes and homelands destroyed.
You gather our stories in your arms,
and in this longest night, you hold them and us.
Hope shines like an infinitely distant star,
like a star over Bethlehem,
shining over towering concrete walls
and machine gun battlements.
What we need is angels with good news of peace on earth,
lighting the sky of our lives, offering relief.
On this longest night, in the mystery of your love,
steal into our world again.
Be born again in hearts that work for peace,
who will find a way through the chaos that is war.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
and we trust that you will guide our feet
into the way of peace.
This is our prayer, may it be so.

Advent Peace Prayer for the Fish We Will Never See

Lord, you know we give thanks for fish often enough,
the ones on plates on our table, served up hot and tasty.
Today we say a prayer for the fish we will never see,
the ones who live in the streams by our home,
the ones who swim up rivers to great lakes,
and the fish in the wide and salty ocean.
Swimming in the dim light they inhabit a wilderness
of water, theirs from the beginning of time.
We see only the edges, the surfaces.
Hear our prayer for the mighty lake sturgeon,
and for the carp, the bass, the silver chub.
We pray for the salmon we will never eat,
and the sunfish, and the minnow.
We pray for sharks and clownfish,
for mackerel, pickerel, perch.
We are connected with all these by our drains,
by our sewers, by the effluent pipes of our factories.
Our plastic floats on their home,
our microbeads penetrate their flesh,
and their gills breathe water tainted by our chemicals.
You sent us a Saviour who was Living Water.
The water of life that sustains
our brothers and sisters the fish,
is part of our own flesh and blood.
We are all creatures, help us live in peace.
Give wisdom to scientists who study fish,
and bureaucrats who make policies that affect them.
Give us eyes to see what we cannot see,
and a heart to care for all who live in the deep.

Longing for Peace Call to Worship

Welcome to worship 
at this turn of the season. 
As the temperatures dip
we gather in the warmth
of God’s presence,
as the darkness grows
we seek Gods light,
as the earth rests from its labours
we long for God’s peace.
Come, let us worship the Lord!

Breath of Spring Congregational Prayer

We listen this morning to the sound of our own breath,
and the breathing of those around us. [pause for 30 seconds]
Thank you God for breath,
for life flowing in and out of each of us.
It is wonderful to be alive—thank you for life!
Thank you for the sweet scent of the breath of spring;
for blossoms--apricot, cherry, peach,
for daffodils and sweet hyacinths,
for the good earth, turned over and ready for seed,
for the strong sun and its power.
Thank you that you are a God who hears our breath.
You hear our slow steady breaths as we’ve slept,
the panting of children as they run and play,
the deep breaths of hard work and manual labour,
our slow sighs when we are weary or filled with grief.
You hear our first little baby breath,
you are the one who hears and knows our final breath.
Your Spirit moves over the earth, enlivening us all.
Help us to exhale hatred, and inhale your love
Help us to exhale greed, and inhale your generosity.
Help us to exhale despair, and inhale your hope.
Breathe life into peacemakers,
in the conflicts in our own town and country,
where class and race and ideology divide us.
Breathe life into peacemakers in ___________
where war has ruled so long.
Breathe inspiration into our government leaders and diplomats,
helping them work for peaceful solutions.
Forgive us when we are not outraged by war and violence,
and instead are numb to every new story of destruction.
On this most beautiful of days,
with your Spirit blowing over this land,
thank you for giving us this chance
to be part of your breathtaking work,
humble servants in the service of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Prince of Pieces Congregational Prayer

The world is filled with your glory,
and you’ve given us eyes to see it,
ears to hear it, a nose to smell it,
hands and mouth to touch and taste.
Thank you for the taste of fresh strawberries,
for the way their sweetness symbolizes summer.
Thank you for the beauty of roses,
red and yellow and white and pink,
their fragrance, the delicateness of their petals.
Thank you for the sun and the wind after so much rain.
Your love surrounding us in so many sensory ways.
Bring life in our own hearts,
which are in places dead and cold.
We have relationships that we’ve given up on.
We think peace can never come between warring nations.
We can’t see a way to stop environmental destruction.
Right in the midst of the muck of our despairs,
you plant a seed of hope.
Help us nurture new life with small steps towards peace;
a kind word even when someone is mean to us,
faithful prayers for the people of warring countries,
and gifts to agencies that work for peace.
Or the small step of conservation,
the step of noticing the world, not walking by,
taking care and giving care to the lives of the creatures
with whom we share this world.
Peace comes to the world in pieces,
small pieces, which you piece together
in ways too mysterious for us to understand.
The tiniest seeds growing beyond our wildest hopes.
Prince of Peace, Prince of all pieces,
be our Saviour, now and forever.  Amen.

A prayer for when I am self-destructive

Lord, I am an instrument of your peace.

Where there is self-hatred, let me sow love;

where there is negative self-talk, kindness;

where there is loathing of my body, acceptance;

where there is nursing of old injuries, release;

where there is envy of others, gratefulness;

where there is perfectionism, humanness.

 

O Divine Mother, grant that I may not so much seek

to be self-hurting, as self-healing;

to be self-denying, as self-cherishing,

to be numb, as to feel.

For it is in being loved by you, that I know I am lovable;

through your confidence in me, I confidently face each day,

it is in being yours now and eternally, that I live in peace.

 

Song of Peace Prayer

Thank you for the gift of music,
for melodies and harmonies,
for voices of every pitch.
Thank you for composers and poets,
for instruments and musicians.
Thank you for ears to hear
and minds to comprehend
the gift that was given so long ago,
Immanuel, God with us,
be the song we sing,
each and every day.
Let yours be the melody we carry,
your song of peace ringing out
through everything we say and do,
grace notes in this season of discord.

A prayer about terror (on the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre)

God of the afflicted:
On this anniversary of the Montreal massacre
where a man who declared feminists his enemy
opened fire in a school,
killing fourteen, wounding fourteen,
on this day we turn to you.
We pray for healing for all affected by acts of terror.
Terror from a bomb, or a gun,
or a knife, or a rope, or a body,
terror from any force poised for cruelty.
You know what happened next.
Be with all who are picking up,
with tears, the pieces of their lives,
painstakingly living to see another day,
and another, and another,
becoming survivors.
Be with them in the fear
that haunts them daily
and pursues them in their dreams.
Be with them in their anger,
which fuels their drive for justice,
and their certainty
that this must not happen again.
And yet it happens to another,
and another, and another.
Almighty God, where are you?
Jesus, do you see our suffering?
Holy Spirit, where is your relief?
God of the terror-stricken,
God of the terror-survivors,
God of the terror-fighters,
God of all who work for peace,
we pray to you today:
deliver us from evil.

Peace Prayer for Those Living with HIV/AIDS

Immanuel, thank you for being with us in our HIV/AIDS filled world.
We pray expecting your presence among us!
Be with all who live with the effects of this disease.
Be with those who wait to die because they have no access to medication.
Be with children who received HIV as a legacy from their parents.
Be with orphans and families who have lost loved ones.
Be with countries who have millions of citizens with HIV/AIDS.
Be with all who are stigmatized and ignored because they have this virus.
Be with researchers and scientists who work to find a cure.
Be with corporate executives who control access to affordable medications.
Be with healthcare workers and caregivers who comfort and encourage.
Be with all who have lost hope because of HIV/AIDS.
Forgive us when we don’t give a thought to this disease
because it does not personally affect us.
Help us see your face in the thirty-six million people
who live with this disease.
Lord, we long to hear the angel's song of peace:
empower people of good will to work
for justice and healing for all
who suffer from HIV/AIDS.  Amen.

A Settler Prayer for Peace

Creator God
hear our prayer for settlers everywhere,
for people living on land stolen
and traded unfairly from indigenous peoples.
You know our cruelties,
our disregard for cultures and histories,
our cavalier dismissal of treaty rights,
our personal prejudices, our institutional racism.
We are part of a colonial system so insidious,
those who benefit don’t even see it, even when it’s in front of our faces.

You are a God who names, a God who hears.
You know the name of every missing and murdered indigenous woman.
You heard the cries of every child in every residential school.
You know the original names of every landmark,
in languages that no one living knows.
You hear the earth groaning as it is torn and broken,
its holy balance polluted and poisoned.
Send us a chinook peace to melt our permafrosted hearts,
a Great Spirit of hope that blows through our land,
rearranging landscapes, upsetting tables where money is counted.
A wind that changes our hearts and gives us courage
to seek justice, love kindness
and walk humbly together,
settler and First Nations, Inuit and Metis,
for we are all God's children.

Canadian Pastoral Prayer

God of every country,
thank you for this country:
for its beauty…from coast to coast to coast,
for blue oceans on three sides,
for great prairies, vast forest and stretching tundra,
for every rushing river and great lake
for Hudson’s Bay and the islands of the north,
all created by you, giving glory to you.
We are thankful people!
Thank you for all the creatures with whom we share this country;
the polar bear and the bowhead whale,
the mighty moose and the fox,
the Canada goose and the honey bee,
the Coho salmon and the beaver.
Thank you for Canadian people, rich in cultural diversity,
from First Nations and many nations.
Thank you for cities and towns and all the little villages,
for people living on the land.
Thank you for democratic government,
we pray for wisdom and guidance for our Prime Minister _____________,
our MP ____________ and our MLA______________,
and our mayor _______________.
From local to national, give our politicians the gift of honesty,
and strength to resist temptation that power brings.
Help them use their gifts as a gift for our country’s good.
Lord, we need help in our country to live in peace.
We need help with our relationship to the land
to the air, to the water, to the creatures,
to all peoples inside our borders and outside our borders.
You have a vision of what peace is,
help us live in that peace and towards that peace.
Help us to be a people of vision, and courage, and commitment,
offering your hope and comfort to all we meet.
Be with us this week, especially with those in our congregation
who are sick in mind or body, and those who grieve,
we think especially of ______________________.
Give us strength as a church to live as citizens of your kingdom
as we work for the peace in our country, Canada.
We pray all this in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, Amen.

Song of Peace Confessional Prayer

Lord, we come in prayer to you burdened with our unhappy business:
all the deeds done under the sun that we would rather not remember,
the sound of sin in our world.
The explosions caused by bombs made in our own factories.
The cries of the hungry that are not fed in our own communities.
Our own hurtful words hurled at those we love.
The echoing silence of creatures who we have driven to extinction.
Hearer of all, you know too clearly the sorrows of our world!
Forgive us our sins, and help us right the wrongs we’ve done.
Give us words of repentance to share with those we’ve wronged,
ringing courage to stand up for the voiceless creatures of the world
and a resounding love for the lowest and the least.
Most of all, tune our ears to the voice of Jesus,
so that always and everywhere we might hear
his song of peace for every creature under the sun.

Beginner Call to Worship

Our call to worship is from Colossians 1:18-20:
Jesus Christ is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come to have first place in everything. 
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,  
and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Let’s pray:  

Jesus, we come to worship today
beginners in the school of beginning.
You are the firstborn of the dead,
harbinger of hope in despair,
bringer of light after a long season of darkness.
Begin a new thing in us today,
new ways of thinking,
new ways of living,
new ways of being a reconciling community.
We pray this together
as people of peace,
as a people longing for peace, your peace,
peace that passes understanding. Amen.

Humble Gifts Offering Prayer

Accept these humble gifts we pray
and in our hearts forever stay.
With these gifts may You bring peace
that suffering, want and war may cease.
Amen.

Path to Peace Call to Worship

Our call to worship is from Psalm 85:8 & 10:
“Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people….
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.”
Let’s pray together:
We meet you here, Lord,
at the intersection of love and faithfulness.
Here prayer and praise join hands,
scripture is embraced,
and our voices unite in hymns to you.
Speak tenderly to our hearts in this hour of worship,
God of all Creation,
and show us the path to peace. Amen.

Kingdom Come Call to Worship

God of grace, we come with all we have;
bodies, souls, minds, all here to worship you.
We have come for a glimpse
of your kingdom of kindness--
a world where love rules over all,
a world where enemies embrace,
distinctions between friend and foe
evaporating in the light of your love.
We dedicate this hour of worship to you
and to your kingdom come.  Amen.

God of Peace Congregational Prayer

God of love, wrap your arms around children who are hiding
from the violence of our families or our communities.
God of justice, cast your eyes on our hidden deeds done in darkness,
so that we may be convicted of our sin and turn to you in repentance.
God of creation, lend your strength to the hidden rhythms of our world,
to restore its natural balance and  harmony.
God of comfort, bring healing to the sick and grieving in our midst
so that they may feel your peace in stormy times.
God of hope, speak your words of light to the despairing among us,
even to those who hide that darkness deep within themselves.
God of all ages, hear the hidden prayers of our hearts,
and the longing for you that goes too deep for words.
                                    Silent prayer …
God of peace, be with us always. Amen