CALL
TO WORSHIP
God
calls us to gather as sisters and brother in faith and life.
We
gather with the members of our family.
God
calls us together to be prepared to be sent out
we
gather that we would be refreshed as servants of God.
As
we gather together we turn to our friends and neighbours and exchange
words and signs of Christ's Peace...
PRAYER
FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God
you call us to name as family the people whose lives we share.
Help
us to commit ourselves to care for them, and to allow them to care
for us.
We
know that sometimes our families, the ones we are born into and the
ones we choose, fail us.
And
we know that we sometimes fail them.
And
so help us move beyond the failings to find the way where we can all
flourish,
forgiving,
giving another chance, taking the risks of love and commitment.
God
of grace, God who calls us beloved children, God who challenges us to
see brothers and sisters wherever we look,
give
us the grace, the courage, the ability, to see beyond our old
boundaries as we share the love you have shared with us.
And
when our vision is limited, when we ask “who is my brother?”
open
our hearts and souls to the breadth we find in Christ Jesus.
As
part of the family you have chosen,
help
us God to live in grace, in love, and in mutual support, committed to
each other. Amen.
