“Come, Let Us Build”
Service Prayers for Pentecost Sunday

Call to Worship (adapted from Genesis 11 and Acts 2)

Leader:             Come!  Let us be the bricks and mortar for the Great Builder’s city.

People:            Let us build the Kingdom, not for ourselves, but for all people!

                        Come!  Let us be the wind that blows the announcement of the Good News.

                        Let us move to gather the people together in praise!

                        Come! Let us be the flame that signals the Spirit’s presence in this place.

                        Let us ignite rejoicing among the old and the young,

                        our sons and our daughters!

                        Look!  Even as we remain distinct, we are made one in Christ!

                        Come!  Let us worship God!

Prayer of Invocation (unison)

            Move among us, Spirit,

            and gather us together with you. 

            Take our many selves

            – our lives, our loves, our ideas,

            our questions, our speech, our silence –

            and unite us as your people. 

            Give us the gifts of perception and understanding,

            so that even as we dream your dreams and see your visions,

            we may be able to witness to your presence in our common life.  Amen.

Call to Confession

            We do not stop enough to listen to the Stillspeaking God. 

            And like the people of Jerusalem long ago,

            we often misunderstand the Spirit’s movement among us. 

            In the silence and stillness of this moment,

            let us draw near to God and listen.

[silence]

            Let us confess together:

            We confess to you, Renewing Spirit,

            that we confuse unity with uniformity,

            and diversity with divisiveness. 

            We speak and behave as if being a part of your family

            means assimilating others to our way of living. 

            We deny and destroy the beauty you created in each person. 

            We long to change these patterns, O Creator,

            but we do not know how. 

            Teach us to value challenge. 

            Help us to see strength in difference. 

            And empower us to build your kingdom in creativity and love.  Amen.

Assurance of God’s Love

            Hear the good news! 

            God’s Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh,

            and we have been made one. 

            We are no longer scattered or divided,

            but gathered together to build up the kingdom on this earth. 

            Thanks be to God!

Invitation to Sharing

            The Church is called to build up Christ’s kingdom,

            through its life together and through its impact on the world around it. 

            Come, let us build the kingdom with our tithes and offerings,

            our many gifts and our common vision.

Prayer of Dedication

            We have much to return in gratitude to you, O God,

            and much to share with the world around us. 

            Bless now these gifts, that they may be signs of your Spirit’s movement. 

            And accept them also as tokens of our intent to serve you

            and proclaim your good news in every way,

            through the power of your Spirit dwelling in us.            Amen.

Benediction

            Go forth from this place knowing

            that God has filled you with the Holy Spirit. 

            Rejoice in the power of the Spirit within and among you,

            and tell the Good News everywhere you go,

            trusting that God will translate where needed. Amen.

Come! Let Us Build: Service Prayers for Pentecost Sunday was written by the Rev. Mary Nelson Abbott , Pastor of Malletts Bay Congregational Church UCC in Colchester, VT, and the Treasurer of the 2030 Clergy Network.

Copyright 2010 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.