Lighting the Christ Candle Responses for Pentecost and the Season After

We light this candle as a sign of God's Spirit at work in the world,
may its light brighten our spirits, may the light of God shining through us brighten the world.

For June 5, 2011 -- A service focussing on Scripture in light of the KJV turning 400

CALL TO WORSHIP/OPENING PRAYER
This is the day which the Lord hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.              (Psalm 118:24, KJV)
O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together           (Psalm 34:3, KJV)
O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.                    (Psalm 95:1-2, KJV)
God, you are made known to us in many ways,
in stories and songs, in words and letters, in family and friends.
As we gather here this morning,
open our hearts and souls and minds to your presence. Help us to experience the many ways we come to know your love, your hope, your path.
We pray in the name of the One we meet in Scripture and in our lives, the Risen Christ, who taught his friends to pray by saying together...

PRAYER OF CONFESSION              (Based on Psalm 51)
God we join with the Psalmist and cry out:
Have mercy on me for I have done what is evil in your sight.
Gracious God, you desire that we live in the path of truth and life,
so teach us wisdom in our heart.
For those times we have strayed from your Way,
Forgive us and change us.
Cast us not out of your presence do not take your Spirit from us.
Create in us a clean heart O God, and put a new and right Spirit in us
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
God is Gracious. God is Love. God is Forgiving. God gives us a new start, washes away our guilt, and sets us free to live again. We are a liberated and forgiven people!
Thanks be to God! Amen.

For May 29, 2011 -- 6th of Easter

COMMISSIONING:
Now our worship ends, and so we go back out into the world,
A Cosmopolitan world where we meet many different faiths and philosophies.
We go to share the God we know, the Love we have been offered, the Hope we have for the future.
We go knowing that God, in whom we live and move and have our being, goes with us wherever life takes us.
Thanks be to God!
Amen

For May 22, 2011 -- 5th of Easter

CALL TO WORSHIP
We come to one of the many crossroads of life and ask:
Which way do we go? Where do we turn?
In a world with many voices claiming to have the Truth we ask:
How do we know? Is there one real Truth?
In a world where abundant life is denied to many we ask:
What is life in abundance? How do we find and share it?
We bring all our questions to this place.
Here we trust that we will find answers.
God has called us here to explore life, to challenge truth, to find the way,
God open our hearts and minds and eyes as we pray together...

COMMISSIONING:
Our time of worship draws to a close
our time of service continues.
We go from this place out into the world,
we go as people committed to following the Way of Christ, to sharing the Truth of God's bountiful love, to seeking the abundant Life of the Spirit.
Go with God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer
Always and everywhere, God is with us. Thanks be to God!

For May 15, 2011 -- 4th Sunday Of Easter

CALL TO WORSHIP/OPENING PRAYER
Listen! Do you hear the Voice?
A Voice that is familiar. A Voice calling us out. A Voice that we trust.
We hear the Voice. We know the Voice. And so we come.
Trusting that we will be led to green pastures and clear waters. Trusting that the Voice will stay with us to comfort and protect.
Shepherding God, always beside us,
lead us in paths of righteousness. Guide us on the daily journeys of life.
And way the way grows dark,
protect us with your rod and staff, help us find the path back into the light.
In our time of worship this morning,
remind us that we can trust in the Good Shepherd who leads us. Remind us also that we who have been led by the shepherd are also called to lead others.
May this time of song and prayer and reflection,
empower and embolden us as we go out to feed and tend those of your flock who share our lives. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:
The Risen Christ asks us: Do you love me?
And calls us to feed his lambs, to feed his sheep.
As people who have been fed, who follow the Good Shepherd,
we go into the world where we live and serve, a world where so many need feeding, comforting, who need to know they are loved.
We go to share the love of the Shepherd, to help people find the path through valleys of darkness, to work together to find green pastures and clear water.
As we go out to serve the Shepherd may we always remember that we are not alone, that the Shepherd never abandons the flock.
Thanks be to God!
Amen

For May 8, 2011 -- 3rd Of Easter

COMMISSIONING:

We have gathered as a family of faith.

In our gathering the Good News of faith was shared.

And now we go back out to the world where we live and serve

We go out to share God's Good News with the sisters and brothers we meet on life's path

As part of God's larger family,

we go out singing praises to God our Mother, our Redeemer, our Sustainer.

And may our hearts burn with God's love as we journey together.

Amen