Opening
PRAYER
God
who is always present,
we
open our hearts and souls to your presence.
God
who would be with us at the ends of the earth,
we
give thanks for your presence.
God
who made and knows us, in this time of worship,
renew
us, refresh us, remind us what it means to be your children.
We
pray in the name of Jesus, who taught about your love, who showed us
the Way to live, and who encouraged his friends to pray saying...
PRAYER
FOR AND ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Search
me, O God, and now my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
You
know us more deeply than we know ourselves.
See
if there is any wicked way in me.
You
know our capacity for love. You know our capacity for indifference.
You
know our ability to serve each other. You know our ability to serve
ourselves.
And
lead me in the way everlasting.
Keep
us, we pray, on the path of wisdom. Help us be who we were made to
be.
...time
of silent prayer...
The
God who watched us grow in the womb is the God who is with us every
day of our lives. God is there to love and to guide and to correct.
God will continue to lead us in the Way everlasting.
Thanks
be to God. Amen.
COMMISSIONING:
Here
today we have worshipped.
We
have prayed, we have celebrated a new life,
we
have been reminded that we are made and known by the God who loves
us.
Now
today we go out to a world hungering for Good News.
May
we help everyone we meet know that they too are wonderfully made,
wonderfully known, wonderfully loved.
Go
with God, who watched us grow in our mother’s womb, who is in every
breath we take, who walks with us wherever life may lead.
We
go with joy and thanksgiving.
