Peace!  Be Still!

Service Prayers for

The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 7

Call to Worship

One:              It’s awesome when all of the people live together in unity!

Many:            When waters are rough,

                      We hold each other tightly.

                      When the sea begins to swallow us,

                      We encourage one another to trust and call on God.

                      But we also need God and each other

                      when there are no looming waves.

                      We can splash and play in the shallow end

                      And venture into deeper waters with trusted friends.

                      Delighting in refreshing currents of community

                      And savoring each burst of laughter,

                      Let’s invite others to join in the fun! 

Unison Prayer of Invocation

                      O God, you are like the sea:

                      Powerful and endless,

                      yet soothing and constant.

                      Let us feel your refreshing presence

                      as we gather near your waters

                      to wade in the possibilities of life

                      that you offer us this day.

Confession

                      O God, sometimes we are like David, and sometimes Goliath:

                      forgive us for our two-sided nature.

                      We face the powerful with righteous anger,

                      but cling to any sense of power that we attain.

                      We are grateful when grace is extended to us,

                      yet remain absent-minded of this when others have wronged us.

                      We treat our own as family, yet ignore sisters and brothers

                      whom we see only from a distance.  

                      As people of paradox, we long for oneness with ourselves and others,

                      with Christ and creation,

                      so that justice and love may flow freely. 

(Moment of silence and reflection)

Assurance of Pardon

                      With Christ as the uniting element,

                      God’s grace washes upon the turbulent shores of our lives;

                      and we are forgiven to begin again

                      to live at peace with ourselves and others,

                      with Christ and creation,

                      allowing justice and love to flow freely through our lives. 

                      Let’s offer each other a sign of Christ’s peace.

Call for the Offering

                      O God, you have offered unique gifts to each one of us.

                      Teach us to celebrate and share those gifts

                      so that we may create communities of  graciousness and love.

                      Through Jesus, we are reminded of the difference

                      that an individual contribution can make.

                      Let us offer our gifts generously for the service of all.

Dedication

                      Bighearted God,

                      we ask you to take these gifts, bless them, and use them

                      to calm storms and create in our communities

                      new, imaginative, and life-giving streams. Amen.

Benediction

                      We are the waters in which God swims!

                      Through the currents, crashing waves, and depths of the unknown,

                      a Holy Presence remains.

                      May God continue charting new courses and ways of being in the world

                      that unites creation in a collective call of

                      “Peace! Be still!”

Peace! Be Still!  Service Prayers for the Third Sunday after Pentecost was written by the Rev. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi. 

Copyright 2009 Local Church Ministries, Congregational Vitality and Discipleship Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved. 

The Rev. Lizardy-Hajbi currently serves as Minority Student Life Specialist at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO and was ordained to this position in 2007. Previously, she served as an on-call hospital chaplain and has also worked in several capacities with FaithTrek: Theological and Vocational Exploration for High School Youth, a Lilly-funded program at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. As a biracial Latina/Italian and a first-generation college graduate, her passions include: racial justice, equal rights for all, diversity/inclusion education, spiritual formation in higher education, and immigrant rights.