We’ve been encouraging each other to light a candle wherever you are on Sunday mornings as you read or listen to the Call to Worship. Candles (and other forms of fire) are ancient symbols of the presence of God.
We are met in the presence of the Sacred
And we do not meet alone.
With saints and guides, our own and those we share,
We gather to worship this present God.
With those of every time and place who work for justice,
We gather to celebrate this present God.
With people of faith and conscience throughout the world,
We gather to honor this present God.
We are met in the presence of the Sacred we name God
And we do not meet alone.
Opening Prayer
Adapted from "Prophetic Witness: A Prayer of Remembrance and Hope" by Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan
Loving God of righteousness, of mercy, and of possibility:
We bless you for lovingly creating us to be in community, to be in relation.
Thank you for the beauties of creation, of life, of our very being.
You call us to do justice and to be in relationships of loving-kindness
with our neighbor, our community, our country, our universe, and ourselves.
We confess our failures to love our neighbors, ourselves, and you.
We confess our failure to address systemic injustice in the forms of racism, patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and ageism.
We confess our failure to love our neighbors, as poverty abounds domestically and globally.
We confess our failure to love our children well.
We confess our failure to have a flexible society, one where people who are deemed different are free to be themselves without harassment or harm.
Merciful God: we have perpetrated and defended violence by church, by state, and by individuals. We have failed to take action that would help transform our culture into one that more closely reflects your dreams for our species.
In these times, help us to do justice, to honor the humanity of each person, to transform our systems of family, church, education, and government. Our prayers join those of many people in many places this day. Amen.
