For June 17, 2012 -- Proper 6B

OPENING PRAYER

God, you have gathered us together again,

here we come to celebrate your presence,

here we come to listen for your Word,

here we come to wrestle with how you are active in our lives.

God, you call us to see the world as you see it.

In this time together open our eyes that we may see,

glimpses of Truth you have for us.

And with eyes that have been opened, send us back into the world,

ready to see others for what they are worth, ready to look beyond the surface.

We pray in the name of the one whose name we bear, the one who saw others as Your Beloved children, the one who taught his friends to pray together saying...

COMMISSIONING:

God has seen into our core, seen our potential, seen who we are

God has anointed us with oil, set us apart for a task

though the road to the future may not always be straight or easy,

May God help us be the people God would have us be,

may God help us live out the task with which we have been charged,

may God push us forward when the road seems too hard.

As you go out to the world where we live and serve, remember that you do not go alone.

May God walk with us, re-create us, sustain us every step of the way. Amen.