leadinginworship

Repenting and Lamenting in Times LIke These

You are the God who hears:
hear our prayer today for all who lament or repent.
For those among us who face discrimination every day
because of their skin colour,
we lament.
For those among us with white skin who benefit
from racist systems sometimes even without realizing it,
we repent.
For those among us who have struggled and waited so long
for the Promised Land of freedom and equality,
we lament.
For those among us who have acted in racist ways
and have hurt people of colour, 
we repent.
For those protesting injustice who face police brutality
and a justice system rigged against them,
we lament.
For those who think racism is someone else’s problem,
and not a problem for humanity,
we repent.
God of hope, show us how to work for justice together,
standing up for what is right,
stepping in when something's wrong,
shouldering each other’s burdens,
holding each other accountable,
righting the wrongs we’ve done,
speaking truth to power.
We pray for change, lasting change,
for protection for protesters,
for a de-escalation of violence
and for government leaders who listen.
Deliver us from evil, within and without,
in Jesus' name we pray, Amen

Confession on Thanksgiving

We confess that we sometimes forget how to say thank you;
         we get used to saying, “I earned this,”
          thinking we have only ourselves to thank. 
We confess that we are sometimes too jealous to be thankful;
          we compare ourselves to others who have more, “Why do they get everything?”
          and we rarely compare ourselves to those who have less.
We confess that we are sometimes too busy to be thankful;
          we asked ourselves this morning, “Do I have time to go to church?”
          and even in worship we are thinking about our to-do lists.
 We confess that we are sometimes grudgingly thankful;
          saying, “I guess this will have to do,”
          while believing that God has given us a raw deal.
We confess that sometimes we are too tired to be thankful,
          as we sigh, “I just want to get through this day,”
          having no energy to open our eyes to the blessings around us.
We confess that sometimes we are not thankful enough to be generous;
          we bargain with God, “I’ll be unselfish when you give me more,”
          rather than being generous today.
We confess that sometimes we are barely thankful;
          we say the words, but don’t feel grateful in our hearts,
            knowing “I don’t know how to be really thankful.”
And so today we pray a simple prayer.
For what we have received, Lord,
make us truly thankful. 
We want to be filled today with thanksgiving. 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.

Mercy and Love Responsive Prayer

Lord, you give us choices each and every day.
This week we have seen your path,
and turned away from it.
We have seen our brother or sister in need
and we did not turn to help.
Lord, have mercy.
We have said cruel or unkind words,
or refrained from saying helpful words
when they were needed.
Lord, have mercy.
We have been critical of those
who failed to offer us a helping hand,
while ignoring our own apathy towards others.
Lord, have mercy.
We have used our resources, gifts from you,
to help only ourselves.
Lord, have mercy.
We give you thanks that in spite of ourselves
you show your love to us in many ways
each and every day.
Lord, your love sustains us.
We give you thanks for life and breath today,
for health and food to eat,
and a beautiful world to live in.
Lord, your love sustains us.
We give you thanks for the many people in our lives
who love us, who care for us,
whose presence brings us joy.
Lord, your love sustains us.
We give you thanks for this community of faith,
faithful in every season, singing your praises,
encouraging us to give our utmost to our Saviour.
Lord, your love sustains us.
We give you thanks for sending your son Jesus Christ
through whose death we receive pardon,
through whose resurrection we have hope.
God of grace, everything we are belongs to you,
be with us this week as we go from this place.
Lord, your love sustains us and gives us peace.

 

Congregational Prayer for a Winter Morning

Thank you God for the slanting rays of the sun in the morning,
making everything golden and new.
For the blessing of snow, falling on everything,
covering everything like a benediction.
Thank you for the shock of cardinals against bare branches,
and the liveliness of squirrels running through trees.
Thank you for the smell of coffee and tea in the morning,
for warm houses and comfortable clothes,
for days off and time to relax.
Thank you for this day, which we have been given as a gift!

We long to know you, and your will for our lives.
We confess there are places in our lives where we are confused and puzzled.
In difficult family relationships, we don’t know where to turn.
In heavy financial difficulties, we feel stuck.
In scary health problems, we feel overwhelmed.
In complex political dilemmas, we long for answers.
Give us insight into your word,
so that we can understand your will for our world, and for our lives.
Helps us to be a community for each other,
and for those on the margins,
extending the peace of Christ in practical, everyday ways.

Today especially we pray for the children in our church.
Thank you for the promise of hope for the future that children bring.
Thank you for our babies, out toddlers, our school age children;
thank you for our high schoolers.
We pray for health and strength for these precious ones in our midst,
especially those with chronic health challenges.
Thank you for the way children are a gift in our church,
their unbounded enthusiasm and excitement is like yeast and salt for us.
Help them in their schooling, to learn well,
and give them insight as they reach out in friendship
and are themselves befriended by others.
Give parents and caregivers patience,
help them to find creative solutions in stressful circumstances.
Give them soft hearts and open arms
as they model how to say “I’m sorry”, and how to say, “I love you”
with more than words.

Today we also pray for children in our community who are frightened,
and alone, who face abuse, and hunger and uncertainty.
Help the teachers and social workers and medical staff who meet these children
to recognize their pain and do as much as they can
to bring peace into their fractured lives.
Help our political leaders to have a heart and a will to help children in trouble.

Our communities are far from perfect, far from peaceful,
we have a long way to go to find your kingdom,
and yet you are here even now.
Open our eyes to see your presence.
And now we pray together, as you taught us to pray [Lord's Prayer]

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

A Confessional Prayer

Gracious God,
we confess before you our complicity in the sins of this world,
sins which Jesus felt in his own body and soul.
Our hands are not clean.
We confess that we have desired power and status,
and have neglected our duty as your servants.
We have allowed ourselves to become preoccupied
with things we own or want to own,
freely putting on the chains of consumerism.
Open our eyes to the way our lifestyles
affect and shape the suffering of those here and far away.
We confess that we have turned away
from the hungry and the homeless in our own cities and towns,
thinking that they were someone else’s problem.
We fail even in our most intimate relationships with those we love,
showing our worst side to those who care for us most.
Forgive us for sour faces, for cold shoulders,
for clenched fists, and icy stares. 
Forgive us for the sins we know and remember,
and which weigh heavily upon us,
as well as the sins which we have forgotten,
which meant almost nothing to us,
but which have resulted in pain for others.
You called us to carry a cross,
and yet we complain as soon as the way is hard,
forgetting how much we have received,
and how little we have sacrificed.
Take away our hearts of stone,
and give us hearts of flesh,
which beat to the rhythm of love,
of faith, of hope,
and love, always love.
Amen.

Teach us to pray prayer

We are told that we are not alone, you are with us.
You are as close as a prayer, close as our heart.
Yet why do you feel so far away, God?
Teach us to pray! 

For those among us who have not prayed this week;
forgive us for not turning to you,
for prioritizing many things, while missing what is essential.
We have failed to find the comfort and wisdom you offered. 

For those among us who wanted to pray,
but didn’t know how to pray this week:
show us that we can long for you,
even when there are no words. 

For those among us who prayed,
but prayed selfishly or for only our own benefit;
enlarge our horizon to see your big picture,
to see the needs of others and not just our own. 

For those among us who prayed,
but felt that you were not listening,
or did not answer the way we wanted;
give us patience, and trust in your timing. 

For those among us who are not sure you are even there to pray to;
may the prayers of our community
lead us into your presence,
drawing us into your love and deepest care. 

Hear the concerns of our hearts in this time of silence;

 

We pray, confident that you hear us, Amen.

Good Friday Congregational Prayer

We come gingerly to prayer on this Good Friday
holding the pieces of our broken world.
So much is ruined and spoiled,
so much hatred and anger,
so many acts of violence.
Our eyes turn to the cross
as evidence of our sinfulness,
we crucified even the one who loved us most and best.

There is no talk today of who is greatest,
no talk of triumph and victory.
Instead we stand quietly here at the foot of the cross,
joining the few friends who stand in silent witness.
In this solemn hour,
as we remember the death of our Saviour,
crack open all that is hard within us,
every place that is self-satisfied and self-serving,
every attitude that is superior and smug.

We come before you as your broken people,
penitent, sorrowful, anguished. 
Our comfort lies in words spoken at death’s door;
Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Maundy Thursday Confession

Jesus,
you loved us in the beginning
and you loved us to the end.
Even on the night you were betrayed,
you took a towel, and washed our feet.
We confess that we are reluctant to think of you
doing such a humble task, least of all for us.
Like Peter, we protest.
We fail to see how love takes the lowly way,
how it is worked out in a thousand small acts of kindness,
a thousand humilities.
For ourselves we prefer the grand gestures,
love that can be seen and applauded,
love that first and foremost makes us feel good.
You showed a different way.
Jesus, Towel-bearer, Foot-washer, Cross-carrier,
you have set us an example
for our own good Friday journeys.
We long to follow you, wherever you lead us.

Good Friday Prayer of Confession

Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
We come to you, Jesus, burdened with our own sin.
Our own calls for revenge and violence,
which may or may not have included the words, “Crucify, crucify!”
Our own betrayals, with or without the thirty pieces of silver.
Our own denials, whether or not we have heard the cock crowing.
You know the sins we carry, secretly or openly,
the way they crush us, the weight of them.
We bring these to your cross…*

You carry our burdens, Lord.
These, the simplest and gravest of sins,
are magnified into organizations and systems,
amplified in the actions of corporations and governments.
Selfishness, revenge and violence unfold on the largest scale,
bringing forth misery and destruction  in our world every day.
You carry all of our burdens.

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:4-6 NRSV)

 *(Option…On entering the service, people are given a small square of paper.  Ask people not to write their name on the paper, but to think for a quiet moment about the burden of their own sins. They can write words or symbols on their paper or leave it blank. At this point in the prayer they are invited to come forward and  nail their paper to a large wooden cross placed on the floor of the sanctuary…hammers and little  nails provided by the cross.  When everyone who wants to do this has participated, the cross is raised up, so that it is visible to all.  You can also do this more simply with sticky notes, which is less visceral, but more doable for a large congregation.)

Spring Cleaning Prayer of Confession

Here’s a prayer for the corners of our lives
messy with yesterday’s business.
There’s the guilt about what was thrown in the garbage,
the regret about spending too much on extra things,
the time that was frittered away agonizing about details,
the energy wasted on trying to meet someone else’s standards.
Our memories are cobwebbed over with regret
of how it could have been different:
it could have been more responsible, more selfless,
more organized, more healthy, more something.
Even now, looking forward, there’s the sinking feeling
that bulldozers will not be able to clean up the mess we'll make.

We need you like a woman cleaning in May,
opening windows, pulling down dusty drapes,
chairs and rugs dragged out onto the lawn.
Every surface of our lives open and revealed
scoured by soap and spring winds.
The Spirit at work,
hope and new directions moved in like furniture.
Create in us clean corners, Lord,
ordered, uncluttered, functional.
Minds clarified, set to rights,
filled with the freshness of new beginnings.

Confession and Assurance from Isaiah 58:6-7

Open our eyes, Lord, to the modern yoke;     
the burden of our consumer culture,
the debt that holds people fast,
the myth of success which has us by the throat.
We confess that we are trapped.

You offer the possibility of release;
you loose the shackles of greed,
freeing us from the urge to acquire at any cost,
relieving us from the treadmill of busyness.

We are your new releases,
telling a story for this generation.
Feeding the hungry. we whisper peace,
clothing the naked, we murmur hope,
sheltering the homeless, we declare your faithfulness.

Peace with Our Own Two Hands

God of Wisdom,
As we remember the atomic blasts, the gas chambers, the killing fields,
as we remember the war machines and the military establishments,
as we remember Hitler and Pol Pot, Jim Crow and the Indian Act,
call us to account for our own whispered innuendo,
our own snubs, our own finger pointing,
our own eyes averted from injustice, our own cutting words,
our own shove, our own furtive slap.
Do not allow the grandstand atrocities to blind us to our own cruelties.
From the darkness of our bedrooms to skyscraper boardrooms,
from schools and churches to houses of parliament,
give us ears to hear your call to peace in our time,
peace with our own two hands.

People here at worship

We are people here like Peter sinking.

We step out in faith because we want to follow you,

    but we fall short.

We are afraid of what other people think of us.

We are not sure we have the ability to do what you ask us.

We think the job is too big for us.

 

We are people here like Thomas doubting.

We are not sure what it means to be a Christian.

We are not sure what good it does to come to church.

We are not sure what you can do in this world that is so wounded.

We won’t take one step until we see the whole way ahead.

 

We are people here like Mary weeping.

We stand at the foot of the cross, where sin’s power does its worst.

We weep for people who are persecuted for the colour of their skin.

We weep for people whose lives are shackled by poverty.

We weep for people who hear the sound of gunshots aimed at them.

We weep for all who are tortured.

 

We are your people here at worship.

Fill us with grace and power to be your disciples,

to be faithful, to be true, to be filled with love to the end.

We ask this in your name, Amen.

Sanctuary Prayer

I weave a circle of prayer around this sanctuary

Protect, dear God, this space from sin.

Let evil thoughts be dropped in the parking lot

along with petty quarrels and all bitterness.

Let selfishness be relinquished on the steps

and pride be renounced at the threshold.

Let quarrelling be left at the door

and all hard feelings be hung up in the cloakroom.

Help us enter this hour of worship simply,

as children, eager to meet you here.

 

I weave a circle of prayer around this sanctuary.

Equip, dear God, this space for worship.

Let love be present in every handshake

and every meeting of eyes.

Let spirits be open to your presence,

and let our hearts be eager to feel your embrace.

Let music touch our deepest chords

and let our prayers be the melody we hum as we go.

Let us leave this hour of worship carrying no baggage,

only the blessings of your sacred congregation.

Abusing a Precious Gift

When all is not what it seems,

when evil masquerades as good,

when it seems the wrong path is calling us,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When sexually explicit images appear before us,

when curiosity and desire urge us to linger,

when it seems innocent just to look,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When we make sexual comments in a social setting,

when our words make another uncomfortable,

when it seems funny at the time,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When affection turns to passion,

when we are not committed in marriage,

when it seems there’s no point in waiting,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When sexual desire sparks inside us,

when we know we are committed to someone else,

when it seems harmless just to imagine,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When we touch someone who does not want to be touched,

when we trespass where we should not go,

when it seems that no one could prove it happened,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When having sex is all about me,

when we give hardly a thought to our partner,

when it seems normal to live this way,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When we want to act on our sexual desires,

when that person is a child,

when it seems that they will never remember,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When we use our sexuality carelessly,

when we abuse this precious gift,

when we are confused and broken,

Jesus, your help saves us.

From the Brokenhearted

Such a good idea, the family.

Generations supporting each other,

the network of love binding us together,

stronger than any genetic tie.

How can such a good idea fall so flat?

Here’s the damage:

broken trust

broken vows

broken feelings

broken futures.

We are all broken up about it.

We know, God, that you can break into our lives

--we’ve let everything else break in.

And so this is a prayer

from the broken hearted:

take all the little bits and bind them together

find every chip, fill every fracture

--we long for the mended family.

Thanksgiving Prayer: Confession

For what we are about to receive,

may the Lord make us truly thankful.

We pray today for all who are too jealous to be thankful,

          who complain, “Why do they get everything?”

          and who are always comparing themselves with those who have more.

 We pray for all who have forgotten how to say thank you;

         who have gotten used to saying, “I earned this,”

          and who truly feel they have only themselves to thank. 

We pray for all who are too busy to be thankful;

          who asked themselves this morning, “Do I have time to go to church?”

          and who even in worship are thinking about their to-do lists.
 We pray for all who are grudgingly thankful;

          who say, “I guess this will have to do,”

          while believing that God has given them a raw deal.

We pray for all who are too tired to be thankful,

          who sigh, “I just want to get through this day,”

          and who have no energy to open their eyes to the blessings around them.

We pray for all who are not thankful enough to be generous,

          who bargain with God, “I’ll be unselfish when you give me more,”

          or who are stingy in spending time with others.

We pray for all who are barely thankful;

          who say the words, but don’t feel grateful in their hearts

          who go through the motions, but think,

          “I don’t know how to be really thankful.”

Today we pray a simple prayer.

For what we have received, Lord,

make us truly thankful.  Amen.

Prayer of Repentance

Even in the small schemes of our lives

there are times when we come upon the big mess

which we may or may not have caused.

The challenges given, the first shots fired,

volleys of words thrown like grenades,

the bodies prone, the revenge promised…

war even on the tiniest scale wreaks havoc

and rejects consolation through the years.

The fog of war never completely lifts

but the casualties are completely clear.

Trust and innocence blown to smithereens,

hope sidelined in the trenches

with bitterness like a rat

gnawing on grudges.

Jesus, make it stop.

 

Give us imagination

to see relationships restored

forgiveness offered

good will renewed;

give us vision to see this battlefield transformed.

We long for a field of winter wheat

green after the fiercest season,

friends embracing enemies,

an armistice to the cold war--

a white flag in the spring of peace.