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Call to Worship (from Psalm 116)

L: I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
P: Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
L: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD
P: I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
L: In the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem.
All:  Praise the LORD!

Emmaeus Road Prayer
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Meet us, Lord, on the road to Emmaeus,
Guide us on the path toward our destination,
and renew our strength as we continue to walk and commune with you.

Open our eyes, so we see the signs of your presence around us;
Open our hearts, so we may receive your peace and love;
and empower us to pass on to others
the grace you have shared with us so freely.

Amen.

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (based on 1 Peter 1: 18,23; John 3:17,18)
by Rev. Laidlaw, used by permission;  http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/

VOICE 1: Risen Lord Jesus, what is it that keeps us from recognizing you? 
VOICE 2: Often we are so full of ourselves that it's easy to block you right
out of our lives. 
VOICE 1: Maybe it's the way we interpret Scripture that obscures the signs pointing to you.
VOICE 2: Perhaps we are guilty of being slow of heart when we don't
recognize you in our neighbor, or in the guise of the poor or the dispossessed.
VOICE 1: Our eyes and ears have become so crammed with the sights and
sounds of  living that we simply fail to see you or to recognize your voice.

Risen Lord Jesus, help us to empty ourselves of all that hinders our
awareness of your presence with us.  Fill us with the joy of knowing
your continuing presence, so that, like those travellers on the road to Emmaus, we too, hasten to share this great good news with others
Amen. 

Help us to empty ourselves of all that hinders our
awareness of your presence with us.  Fill us with the joy of knowing
your continuing presence, so that, like those travelers on the road to Emmaus, we too, hasten to share this great good news with others
Amen. 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON
We know that we were ransomed from futile ways....with the precious blood
of Christ...and have been born anew through the living and enduring word of
God."  In this we recognize God's great love for the world revealed in the
death and resurrection of Jesus...who came into the world not to condemn it
but to save it. Those who believe in him are not condemned. 

Thanks be to God!

 

Mothers’ Day Liturgy

Lord, on this day set aside to honor and remember mothers, we give you thanks for our mothers. We are grateful that you chose to give us life through them, and that they received the gift of life from your hands, and gave it to us. Thank you for the sacrifices they made in carrying us and giving us birth.

We thank you for the women who raised us, who were our mothers in childhood. Whether birth mom, adopted mom, older sister, aunt, grandmother, stepmother or someone else, we thank you for those women who held us and fed us, who cared for us and kissed away our pain. We pray that our lives may reflect the love they showed us, and that they would be pleased to be called our moms.

 

We pray for older moms whose children are grown.

Grant them joy and satisfaction for a job well done.

 

We pray for new moms experiencing changes they could not predict.

Grant them rest and peace as they trust you for the future.

 

We pray for pregnant women who will soon be moms.

Grant them patience and good counsel in the coming months.

 

We pray for moms who face the demands of single parenthood.

Grant them strength and wisdom.

 

We pray for moms who enjoy financial abundance.

Grant them time to share with their families.

 

We pray for moms who are raising their children in poverty.

Grant them relief and justice.

 

We pray for step-moms.

Grant them patience and understanding and love.

 

We pray for moms who are separated from their children.

Grant them faith and hope.

 

We pray for moms in marriages that are in crisis.

Grant them support and insight.

 

We pray for moms who have lost children.

Grant them comfort in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
 

We pray for mothers who aborted their children.

Grant them healing and peace.

 

We pray for moms who gave up their children for adoption.

Grant them peace and confidence as they trust in your providence.

 

We pray for adoptive mothers.

Grant them joy and gratitude for the gift you have provided.

 

We pray for girls and women who think about being moms.

Grant them wisdom and discernment.

 

We pray for women who desperately want, or wanted, to be moms.

Grant them grace to accept your timing and will.

 

We pray for all women who have assumed the mother’s role in a child’s life.

Grant them joy and the appreciation of others.

 

We pray for those people present who are grieving the loss of their mother in the past year.

Grant them comfort and hope in Christ’s resurrection.

 

Closing Prayer: (A Prayer of Saint Patrick)

Christ be with us, Christ before us, Christ behind us,
Christ in us, Christ beneath us, Christ above us,
Christ on our right, Christ on our left,
Christ where we lie, Christ where we sit,
Christ where we arise.
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of us,
Christ in every eye that sees us,
Christ in every ear that hears us.
Salvation is of the Lord,
Salvation is of the Christ,
May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.  Amen.

 

Closing Prayer for Mother's Day

Lord, we thank you for the gift of motherhood. We thank you for the many examples of faithful mothers in scripture, like Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Lois. Hear now the first names of other women who have inspired us by their motherly examples . . . We are mindful this day of all these women, and especially Mary the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who had the courage in faith to say “yes” to your calling. May these women gathered here today emulate these examples of faith. And may they model for all the rest of us what it means to be your disciple. Bless them on this special day; in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.