Month: April 2015

Sunday 19th April 2015 – Easter 3B (3)

Offertory Prayer

Giver of all gifts,

we praise You for all that we receive from You

in every moment of our lives.

We wonder at the gift of our relationships,

the skills and abilities

of those with whom we share our world.

In what we give this day,

we offer praise,

and a sign of our willingness to serve Christ

in what ever way we can.

Amen.

Sunday 19th April 2015 – Easter 3B (2)

Opening Prayer

With words of peace,

Risen Presence,

You step into the turmoil of life.

Surrounding the creaking and groaning

of the cogs of creation,

Your peace lets us view

the colour and hue ,

the pattern and design.

You open our ears

to listen to the message found

in the simplicity

of gurgling water

and buzzing insects.

In the peace and stillness of our worship,

You inspire us

to rest and settle in Your living presence.

 

Active Spirit,

even in the call to peace,

You bring the turmoil and the tension

of our lives to bear.

Travelling through

the depths of our experiences

You sense the impatience and anguish within.

Winding around the inner pandemonium,

You bring new vision of how to live,

caught between the need to rest ourselves

and the urge to serve You.

 

Forgive us, Holy One,

for not living in Your peace,

and instead allowing the potential of our rage and unsettlement

to burst forth

into the lives of others.

We turn to You remembering those times

when we have unnecessarily rocked the boat

and brought others to difficult places in their lives.

And we remember those who have disturbed our peace,

with their own anxieties,

and seek Your presence in their lives.

 

“Peace be with you”

says our Risen Lord.

May we place our will in You hands,

Sustainer of our lives.

Amen.

Sunday 19th April 2015 – Easter 3B

Call to Worship

Who answers in the long, dark nights of our souls?

Who relieves the distress we feel

at the ways of the world,

and brings mercy to our lives?

When we wallow in shame and self pity

and our delusions of grandeur,

do we hear the call of the Creator

that sets us ready for His ways?

Let us trust in the Lord,

who leads us from anger and sin,

to silence and searching.

May His light shine upon us,

filling our hearts with joy,

feeding our minds

that we might be sustained;

and refreshing us

that we may sing with the newness of this day.

Let us dwell in the presence of the Holy One

and find peace in this place.