Thursday, June 12, 2014

For June 22, 2014 -- A service Celebrating the Goodness of Creation

CALL TO WORSHIP
In the beginning there was God,
calling forth light, land, and life.
As this week begins, there is God,
calling us to gather together, calling us to live and love in the world.
Let us worship together, let us open our hearts to God...

OPENING PRAYER
God who has created and is creating...
we gather for worship, we gather to reflect on what is and what will be.
In this time of speech and song, prayer and reflection,
open our eyes, our hearts, our souls,
so that we would see the goodness in all creation,
so we would celebrate the goodness in all creation.
And when our worship is ended,
lead us out into the world to share the Good News of blessing and love and life.
These things we pray in Jesus' name, as we also pray together the words he taught his friends...

PRAYER FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, you look at creation and call it good.
All of creation? Really? Including mosquitoes and boll weevils? Including us?
You look at all of creation and call it VERY good.
And sometimes we have trouble believing your grace extends that far.
We look at the world, at our neighbours, at ourselves, and see the flaws.
Help us look and see the blessings. Help us live as though the blessings count more than the flaws.
...time of silence...
The grace of God extends beyond our wildest dreams. The grace of God shows in the beginning of our faith story. God knows the world fully, deeply, the good and the bad. And still God's final statement is “it is very good”.
Thanks be to God, who calls us loved, who calls us good. Amen.

COMMISSIONING:
Our time of worship comes to a close,
our time of service continues.
We who have heard the story of creation,
go out to celebrate, to care for, to love that which has been created.
As those who have been reminded that God calls God's world good,
we go out knowing that we also have been called good, we go out to remind others that they are Beloved children of God.
Go with God, who has created and is continuing to create and re-create
Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment