Call to Worship- based on Psalm 25
Pastor: To you, Abba, I lift my soul.
People: In you, Amma, I trust.
Pastor: Let us take solace in you.
Pastor: Let us learn your ways.
People: Make straight our paths.
Pastor: Teach us truth and wisdom.
Pastor: Let us leave our troubles.
People: Revive our hopes.
Pastor: We wait for you.
Invocation
God of slow time, in our impatience we try to direct. We like to demand things in our time and in our way. In this time though, right now, encourage us to let go of the reins and listen for you. Amen
Prayer of Transformation
Holy God, You created us in your image. Help us to continue to develop and mature in that image. There is so much that draws us away from you and taints our reflection. Call us back to your dream and hope. Help us trim the waste and release the build-up on our original sacred form. Teach us to listen to your still small voice within and give us the strength to follow wherever you might lead.
In you,
Through you,
And for you,
Let us develop to the fullness that you imagine. AMEN
Assurance of Pardon
May you know God is always working with us, in us, and through us. God loves you just as you are and seeks to help you grow. May the love and acceptance of God offer you the nourishment you need as you continue to heal and bloom.
Pastoral Prayer
Today, O Lord, we lift the world in prayer:
The places of strife,
The places of civil war,
The places of poverty, hunger, and pestilence.
We pray for the places, where there is what seems to be an impenetrable chasm between the rich and the poor.
We pray for those places that turn a deaf ear to the needs of the people and only line their own pockets,
We pray for those places where the rule of law is being side stepped for the enrichment and comfort of a few,
We pray for people being displaced and disappeared for those being deported, and for those living in fear that they are next.
There is so much on our mind and our heart.
Search for that which we have forgotten to say.
We pray also for the individuals known to us who are in need today. Hear now as we name them.
We pray all of this in the name of your son and our teach, Jesus, who taught us to pray together saying:
& Lord’s Prayer
Invitation to share
We are invited now to share. It is not a demand. It is not a requirement. It is not a key to heaven. It is an invitation into the reciprocity of creation. Seeds are sown. Plants grow. Fruits are harvested. Meals are made and served. We are invited to participate in a system of grace, gratitude, and giving. May you hear the invitation and respond with joyous love and appreciation.
Prayer of Dedication
God of all that was, is, and ever will be, acknowledge the gifts that we have brought forth. Like the fall harvest, you have long ago planted seeds within us. They have grown and born fruit; and so, we return a portion to honor what we received first from you. May these gifts represent our gratitude and thanksgiving for all that you have done, and may they go forward to plant and assure a crop of the future. AMEN
NOTE: Permission granted for use for religious or educational purposes with citation.
The blessing took place in lieu of our chancel steps time. The kids helped to bless the animals. Each animal was given a certificate and a cookie if it was allowed by their owner.
The sermon was based on the story of Balaam’s Donkey Numbers 22:21-33. This reading does not appear in the lectionary and is rarely shared in Sunday School stories so often is unknown to a congregation.
Wandering and Wondering 