To go with The Church in the World: IN But Not OF

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

We are called to be people of faith in the midst of the world,

and so we mix our worship and our work, our faith and our life.

We gather here as people who live in the world and yet,

we gather as people who have been called to see the world from a different viewpoint.

God has called us together, God has called us to be part of a community.

God challenges us to consider questions of priority as we engage with the world.

In this time together,

may God open our hearts, minds and eyes,

allowing us to see deeper, helping us to live in the world while still offering a challenge to the ways of the world.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

God of Grace, you call us to be different from the world,

but the world is seductive, and so we come here to be strengthened.

God of Vision, you hold before us an alternate way of life,

different priorities, different loyalties, different values.

But we know that the world is not only seductive but powerful,

and so we are drawn in to following its priorities, accepting its values, showing loyalty to its gods.

God who blesses the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful,

forgive us when we lose sight of these qualities, when we misunderstand their role in the world.

...time of silent prayer...

Rejoice and be glad! God is gracious and God offer blessings. God calls us to life in the world, God offers us the chance to explore how to live out God's vision. We are called, we are forgiven, we are blessed.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

We are Holy people, set apart from the world.

No. We are ordinary people, just the same as our neighbours.

We are both ordinary and holy,

we live in the midst of the world even as we name that there is a different Way to live.

As you go into the world,

may we share our understandings of how the world could be different.

And may the God who has set us apart in the midst of the world go with us.

To strengthen and embolden. Everywhere and always. Amen.

Closing Prayer for an Annual Meeting

God who has called us to be the church,

in this place today we have worshiped.

We have prayed, we have sung, we have listened for your challenge.

In this place today we have met.

We have talked, we have shared, we have made decisions.

Now our time together draws to a close and we go back out into the world.

As we go out fill our hearts with hope.

As we live as followers of The Way embolden us to share our light with the world.

As we are parts of various communities, challenge us to build community wherever and however we can.

Over the year to come, move within and among this community of faith,

help us to live up to the goals that have been set before us,

strengthen us in ways we hope for and in ways we do not expect,

so that next year we will gather again to share the good and the bad, to look back on another year past, and continue to hope for the years that are to come.

This we pray in the name of the One whose name we bear – Christ.

Amen.

Opening Prayer for an Annual Meeting

God, you call us to be the church,

to celebrate Your presence within and around us,

to love and serve each other,

to seek justice and love for all that You have created,

to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, calling us to be followers of the Way.

Periodically along the journey of faith we pause to reflect on the journey

and to prepare for the next few miles.

Today is one of those times.

Here and now we pause to give thanks for the gifts of the past year.

We raise up our celebrations.

Life-Giving God, over the past year there have been days when, as a faith community,

we have taken time to welcome people into Your family through the waters of baptism.

And so we name them [read list of names]

And also this year we were witnesses as [read list of names] stood before this faith community

to renew the vows their parents made at their baptisms.

As a baptized and baptizing community may we continue both to:

grow in our understanding of what it means to be faithful followers of The Way

and to provide opportunities for people of all ages to question, to explore, and to grow

in their own way as beloved children of God, called to be creatures of love and faith.

God of love, over the past year people have gathered together in this place to make a public statement of their love, of their commitment to each other.

We name them and pray that they are blessed in their lives together [read list of names]

And yet God of Life, we know that the past year has not only brought celebrations.

And so we also give thanks for the realization that even as you have laughed and rejoiced with us,

so too you have mourned and wept and struggled with us.

And so now we name those whose lives have been celebrated and deaths mourned in this place this year [read list of names]

God who has called us to be the church, be with us as we listen, as we discuss, as we dream.

In this time of meeting may we feel and hear you moving us forward on the road of faith...

Amen.

To go with The Church in the World: Witness & Testimony

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

We are called to be people of faith in the midst of the world,

and so we mix our worship and our work, our faith and our life.

We come together to hear again form the old old story,

knowing that in that story we find clues about life in the here and now.

We come together to be prepared to be sent out,

to share the story, to share The Way of life.

Story-telling God, in this time of prayer and song and listening,

remind us that we have a story to tell, renew our hearts that we can tell it.

This we pray in the name and memory of Jesus,

the One whose story is written in our hearts,

and who taught his friends to pray together saying...

  

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE

It is said that evangelism is one beggar telling another where they can find a meal.

But God sometimes we are reluctant because we are unsure the news would be of interest.

It is said that evangelism is one injured dog leading another to the vet's door.

But we are reluctant, not wanting to force our idea of a cure on others.

It is said that evangelism is cutting holes in the blackout curtain so the light can shine through.

But we are reluctant, because people might prefer the darkness.

God, you have called us to share the story of life and love with the world in our words and our deeds.

For the times we have chosen not to share that story, for the times our words and deed have told an opposite story, forgive us and through your Grace renew us to meet the challenge.

...time of silent prayer..

The story we share is the story of a God who is Gracious, Merciful, and Loving. Through Grace God forgives us where we miss the mark and restores us to relationship. We are forgiven, loved, and accepted.

Thanks be to God! Amen

COMMISSIONING:

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

Go out to share the story of faith, the story of life, with the world around you.

We share the faith in word and in deed, in speech and in action.

As you go to giving a living witness, as you go out to testify to God's love active in the world, go knowing that God goes with you, sharing the laughter and the hope, the fears and the tears.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

To go with the sermon The Church in the World: Gospel in One Hand, Paper in the Other

CALL TO WORSHIP & OPENING PRAYER

We are called to be people of faith in the midst of the world,

and so we mix our worship and work, our faith and our life.

As we gather in this place for our singing and praying and listening,

we carry with us the worries and the stories from the world around us.

Creating and re-creating God, in this time of worship,

open our hearts and minds to hear and see you in the world around us,

grant us the bigness of heart to hear the stories of the world,

help us to view the world through the eyes of Gospel.

And when our worship is finished,

lead us back out into the world where faith shapes our lives.

We pray in the name of Jesus, who openly embraced the world around him, and taught his friends to pray saying...

 

COMMISSIONING:

As people of faith we have gathered for worship.

As people of faith we now return to the world.

Go out with open eyes and open ears,

we go to see and hear the laughter and tears of the world.

Go to interpret the world through the eyes of Gospel people.

And in doing so we will carry the Gospel hope to that same world.

Go with God, who has created and is creating the world in which we live.

Thanks be to God, who is active and alive in the world. Amen.