Sunday 30th August 2020 – Pentecost 13 (Off-lectionary)

Call to Worship

On this day, and with our voices raised,

we gather in the presence of God;

  and with all of our hearts we praise God.
In the highs and in the lows,

with our faces to the wind or the sunshine on our backs,

we praise God who walks with us,

we praise God who does not turn away from us.

In our worship, we prepare ourselves for meeting in God’s presence;

we may kneel or sit, as God prepares a feast.

Come and be satisfied,
and my God dwell in our lives forever.

Based on Psalm 22: 25-31

Opening Prayer

Shepherd of life,

You draw us close.

You speak tender words of invitation,

that offer us a place within Your fold

even when we think we do not belong.

In the midst of fear and anxiety,

You offer a clear path

that brings light and hope.

When emptiness and hunger stalk

You offer the food

that restores

heart, mind and body.

The table You prepare

is overflowing with the sustenance 

for every part of life.

Light in the darkness,

shining into the depths of our souls,

You notice the hidden corners

where we hide the pain and sorrow

of our encounters with creation

and each other.

When the guilt of the words we have said

or the actions we have taken

lays us low,

You traverse the shadowed valley with us

until our words and thoughts are transformed

to bear the love of Christ to others.

Spirit of the journey,

guide us on the winding path,

that we may meet You 

in the the pastures of this day

and this week,

and there may we share 

in the fertile telling of Christ’s story

in our world.

Amen.

Sunday 23rd August 2020 – Pentecost 12 (Off- Lectionary)

Call to Worship

Praise the Lord,

Praise God in the sanctuary, sitting room, bedroom and kitchen;

  God is praised in the heights of heaven.
Praise God for life changing moments,

praise God who has made all things.

Praise God with sound of trumpets,

with the organ and our voices;

Praise God with the drumming of the noises of our world,

found in traffic, siren, and shouts of children.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord

Based on Psalm 150

Opening Prayer

Creator of our world,

our lives,

we praise You.

We praise You with the sound of our voices,

with the stories of our lives,

with the tears of solitude,

in the company of others,

and when we are alone.

You are the presence of heaven

that dances in the wind

and refreshes with the rain,

delighting in all that has been made

and encouraging growth

of colour and imagination,

that Your creation may sing of Your activity.

Through Christ’s story Your praise is sung,

as encounters of healing

and challenging conversations

reveal Your continuing interest

in individuals and communities.

You inspire hope

where darkness has blocked out the light.

Our praises are dulled by our own actions,

when words become hollow and empty

because our tongues and deeds

have represented the worst part of our nature.

We seek vengeance,

rather than offering the other cheek.

We punish,

when kindness may encourage a new beginning.

As would be saints,

we are uncomfortable with offering praise

and even the receipt.

Silence

Breath of God,

You dispel our anxious and pondering thoughts,

blowing a fresh breeze through our lives.

May these be winds of change,

calling us to live Christ’s calling 

in our ordinary tasks.

Amen

Sunday 16th August – Pentecost 11 (Off-lectionary)

Call to Worship

It is good to give thanks to God,

to sing praises with the highest heavens;

  to declare God’s steadfast love in the morning,
and God’s faithfulness by night,

to the music of the organ,
to the melody of the hymns.

For God’s creative work is a feast for our senses,
calling from us shouts of joy and songs of praise.

Based on Psalm 92: 1-4

Prayers of the People

God in Your mercy

hear our prayer

With gratitude on our lip and in our hearts,

Creator God,

we are reminded of Your presence in every part of our lives,

and so we turn to You

with our prayers 

for the world in which we live.

We pray for markings of time:

for those who have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries;

on this day after the marking of the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day,

we pause to remember those who were still waiting

for their war to end,

the families who did not see loved ones return home,

those who did return home, scarred by their experiences,

for the continual longing for peace in our time,

and the hope that nations will speak to nations,

and negotiate better understandings of each other.

God in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

We are thankful for the small returns to a normal way of life,

and we remember all the school staff and young people

who have been and will be returning to school.

We prayer for good health and good sense,

for understanding and compassion,

as all negotiate how to work and learn in familiar spaces

in unusual times.

God in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Our prayers are for all those

who are wearing the garments of mourning.

For those whose homes have been affected by the storms

of this week;

for those who have lost loved ones;

and for those whose working life is changing.

God in Your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Source of our strength,

You shower the roots of our prayers

with the presence of Christ,

allowing living faith to flourish.

Amen.

Sunday 2nd August 2020 – Pentecost 9 (Off-lectionary) (3)

Prayers of the People

God of the waking morning and the setting sun,

God of rain, wind, storm, and the clearest of days,

God of the growing fields and the barren land,

we thank You for the gifts of the earth:

gifts that nourish and feed,

that ease the troubled mind,

that offer space for adventure and growth.

We thank You for the gifts of those

who share the passage of our lives.

The close family members

who know our flaws as well as our talents;

the friends who share our humour

or moments to whimsy;

those we struggle with

just as they struggle with us,

for they reveal where we are still to grow

as we learn to live with others.

God of justice,

we pray for those who have been given the opportunity

to provide leadership

to nations,

communities,

and the groups and organisations that we value.

In these different days,

we recognise that there are choices to be made

between the health of communities, individuals

and economies.

We pray for the governments of our world,

and their leaders,

who must choose between the health of those they govern

and the wealth of their nation.

May they listen to the wisdom of others,

and may we be willing to challenge 

where we believe in justice is being done,

but also willing to recognise the care of the wider community.

We pray for our local councils,

as they continue to respond to local needs.

As lockdown continues to ease,

and the changes of the finances begin

to mean that choices are to be made

about how to offer the best services to cities, towns and villages,

may we continue to recognise our own role

in supporting the wider community.

May we value the corporate spirit

that these months have brought,

and use this knowledge in our planning for the future.

We pray for churches across Scotland and particularly around Dunfermline.

Kirk Sessions, Church Vestries, Ministers, Priests and Rectors

are planning risk assessments and route maps

that may open doors a little 

for some to find spaces for prayer.

In the discussions that take place,

may their be sensitivity to the expectations

placed upon those who may open doors,

or clean chairs,

or offer welcome and advice.

May we hear the unsaid concerns and fears

of those who want to step forward,

and yet choose to live cautiously.

God of the marvellous deed,

may our lives speak of Your wonder,

and Your presence fill our world.

Amen.