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Call to Worship (based on Psalm 78)
L: We do not hide God's Word from our children and children's children.
P: We will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
L: In the sight of our ancestors God worked marvels in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
P: He divided the sea and let his people pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.
L: In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light.
P: He split rocks open in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
L: Come let us worship our almighty and most gracious God!

Call to Worship (based on Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16)
L: Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her.
P: She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
L: One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for she will be found sitting at the gate.
P: To fix one's thought on her is perfect understanding, and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,
L: Because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.

Canticle of Covenant Faithfulness (Quarite Dominium)

 

Seek the Lord who now is present,
     call upon the Lord, who is near,
let the wicked forsake their way,
     and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return that the Lord may have mercy on them;
     that our God may abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
     neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
     For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
     so are my ways higher than your ways
     and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
     and return not but water the earth,
     making it bring forth and sprout,
     giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
     it shall not return to me empty,
     but it shall accomplish that which I intend,
     and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

 

Prayer of Confession:

God of Mercy, God of Grace we confess that we have walked in darkness and sin, we have not remembered your covenant and lived according to your statutes.

Forgive us for not loving you with our whole heart, mind, and soul. Forgive us for not loving our neighbor as ourselves. Forgive us for making wrong choices that have caused you and our neighbors grief.

Forgive us and help us to be generous in love and giving. Help us to walk in the light of your truth. Empower us to reach out to those who need help.

 

An Autumn Prayer

Dear God, the world is aflame with your glory and the trees sing out your praise. Let the fires of your Holy Spirit, burn the self satisfaction and pretense from our souls. Let it set us on fire with the joy of serving others in Your Name. Let it dance among us gathered here as the falling leaves dance to your glory on the hillside. Give to us new hearts that your song may be sung in the face of grief and fear, in spite of sickness and loneliness, and in the knowledge that wherever we go, you are there before us holding those we would serve in the arms of your gracious love. Teach us to love as you love, through Jesus our savior and guide. Amen

A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt,
rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low by thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Closing prayer

Thou who art over us,
Thou who art one of us,
Thou who art:
     Give me a pure heart, that I may see thee;
     a heart of love, that I may serve thee;
     a heart of faith, that I may abide in thee.
Amen.