These liturgical texts are appropriate for use throughout the Time after Pentecost and may be repeated from week to week.
Confession and Lament
1
People of God, if we say we have not sinned,
we deceive ourselves, for we have all sinned.
We serve a merciful God,
so we come to God together and ask for forgiveness.
God, we join in one voice
to confess our sins before you.
We confess our desire for power
and exchange it for your peace.
We confess our pride
and exchange it for your perfect will.
We confess our fears
and exchange them for faith.
We confess our desire to be right
and exchange it for your righteousness.
Forgive us, we pray.
We are your people,
and we submit ourselves to you again. Amen.
People of the triune living God,
believe the good news.
In Jesus Christ, we have been forgiven. Amen.
2
Friends, though we may mean well,
we have not always given what God requires of us.
We serve a gracious God
who welcomes us to come and start again.
Let us confess our sins before God and one another.
God of welcome,
from generation to generation,
you have heard your children
humbly seeking forgiveness,
and you have embraced us all.
Forgive us when frustration and overwhelm
keep us from following you
and when we fail to seek forgiveness
from our coworkers, neighbors, and enemies.
Hear the concerns of our hearts,
examine our motives,
and forgive our faults.
Help us to welcome all persons
as you have welcomed us,
through your Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
who died and rose again
that we might learn your love. Amen.
Friends in Christ,
God welcomes us again and again,
embracing us with grace.
Let us rejoice, for in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
3
We come to confess the sin that separates us
from God and one another.
God meets us with grace:
morning by morning, new mercies we see.
Humbly acknowledging the fresh start we need,
Let us pray together:
Spirit of grace,
you are beyond our understanding,
the one from whom we come
and the one to whom we will go.
You delight in us; you accept us.
Yet, so often we find it hard
to accept your forgiveness.
So once again,
we come to your fountain of grace.
Forgive us for withholding grace from others.
Help us to accept that we are accepted,
to find freedom from our mistakes and messes,
and to breathe in your liberating love,
that we might join you in the great renewal
of creation and cultivate hope and justice for all people. Amen.
Hear now these words of assurance:
Beloved children of God,
in the name of Christ, grace abounds.
We are forgiven.
God’s love is making us new.
May you rest and rejoice
in the peace of God. Amen.
Invitations to Discipleship
1
We belong to God.
This assurance makes us part of something
greater than ourselves,
welcomed into the ever-growing family
of our triune God.
We are invited to respond
by praising God with our lives.
2
In Genesis,
God made humans for companionship.
In Christ,
God spreads a table of love
and welcomes all to the household of faith,
that we might never feel lonely.
Go from here to share God’s love with others
and make spaces free from loneliness.
Prayers of Great Thanksgiving
1
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to God.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
God, we thank you
for breathing this world into existence,
proclaiming its goodness from its birth,
and remaining faithful.
We come with gratitude for your endless blessings,
revealed to us on our journeys of life.
We praise you,
joining in the song that echoes
across your church and in all of heaven:
The Sanctus may be sung (GTG 551-609) or spoken.
Here at your table,
we remember the simple meal
you shared with disciples,
which marked a new way of being in this world.
We remember your radically inclusive love
made real in your life, ministry,
death, and resurrection.
We remember the One who befriended the forgotten,
embraced the outcast,
and saw the image of God in all people.
We remember the One who confronted every power
that alienated, marginalized,
oppressed, and excluded,
the One who suffered death that all might have life.
We offer our lives in thanksgiving.
Great is the mystery of faith:
The memorial acclamation may be sung (GTG 551-609) or spoken.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this feast of grace,
that in sharing this bread and cup
we may be drawn into communion with Christ
and made members of his body.
Open our hearts at this table,
that in this meal we may serve you with joy
in the midst of life’s challenges
and trust that we are loved,
fiercely and forever.
Through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor are yours,
almighty God, now and always. Amen.
2
Gracious and sovereign God,
we gather at your table with hearts full of gratitude.
We praise you for your work in creation
and for your faithfulness through the generations.
We thank you for the life of your Son, Jesus Christ,
who shared our burdens and bore our sins,
reconciling us with you.
We thank you for this sacred meal
in which we remember Christ’s sacrifice,
his body given and his blood shed for us,
proclaim the hope of his resurrection,
and celebrate the new covenant of grace
that makes us whole and unites us in service.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this bread and cup,
and strengthen us to live as one body,
serving you with love and seeking your justice.
Teach us your boundless love for all people.
With humble hearts, we thank you,
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost,
and we offer our lives to you anew,
that we may travel faithfully
in the way of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
All glory and honor are yours, Triune God. Amen.
