As requested: Worship elements

Group 236

16synasmworshipcomponentsAfter we affixed our nametags, glugged a bit of coffee (and those scones… did you try the scones?) and smiled welcome to new and old friends in Christ, worship set the tone of the 2016 Metro D.C. Synod Assembly: “For the Healing of the Nations.”

“Will these prayers be posted somewhere?” Our worship coordinator, the Rev. Heidi Moore, responds to that inquiry here by making available some components from the Opening Worship developed with the synod’s Racial Equity Team.

READINGS

  • Shaping the Synod Assembly theme was Revelations 22:1-2
  • First Reading: Genesis 11:1-9
  • Second Reading: Acts 2:1-11

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS (full text – pdf file)

  • Opens with: We who believe in the Holy One, in whose image humankind was created; We who believe in Jesus Christ, who gave his life for the redemption of the earth and its inhabitants; We who believe in the divine Spirit, who gathers, nourishes, challenges, and equips us for the work to which we have been called; Gather today in the name of the blessed Trinity to dedicate ourselves anew to the proclamation of God’s Word in all that we say and do.

PRAYER

Gracious God,
Let us come to you with open eyes and feet firmly planted on the ground.
Let us listen to the many languages of sight, sound, taste, and touch which reveal the God we have failed to heed.
Righteous God of justice and truth, in your mercy, show us our complicity in acts of oppression, convict us of our indifference, forgive us when we remain silent, equip us with a zeal for righteousness, and never let us grow accustomed or acclimated to injustice.
That living forgiven lives, we may boldly proclaim your gospel of unconditional love and welcome with our words and with our deeds.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION (full text – pdf file)

Including: In the midst of tragedy, dear God, teach us to imagine a way forward: to love through hate, to move through fear, to loudly proclaim NO to hate and YES to love, to reach out, hand in hand through our tears, through our doubts and into a better tomorrow. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.