Pentecost Year B
Invocation
When the gentle morning breezes
carry news of loss
cushion our tender hearts, O Lord
that we might bear to carry the news
of your children
for one more day
Call to Worship
Stories of success
held in tension with stories of despair.
For the ambiguity that clouds our vision,
Lord hear our prayer.Our highest human achievements
paralleled by our most ingenious evil.
For the streakiness of our humanity,
Lord hear our prayer.In each of us the capacity to cherish and also to destroy.
For the already but not yet of your bloom in our lives,
Lord hear our prayer.
Prayer of Dedication
Cure our warring madness, O Lord.
Use these offerings gathered
in the service of bending our will
that our lives might be armored
not with gold
but rather with love.
Amen.
Summer Year B - Reflections on the David Story
These prayers written for the summer cycles which includes the amazing stories of David. Written for Evangelical United Church of Christ, 2000. Copyright Katherine Hawker.
Invocation
God of Bathseba, we come yearning for
wisdom to embrace life
despite its tragic complexity.
God of Tamar, we come in search of
strength to endure
the horrific consequences of untamed greed.
God of Michal, we come claiming
courage to name the insults offered even now
that belie your goodness.
God of the Story, meet us today
with living waters abundant
to quench your thirst.
Litany of Confession and Promise
David loved Jonathon
yet he wore the uniform of Jonathon's killer.
David danced for joy in the streets
while Michal bore witness to his drunken excess.
David's power and status grew
as did his scorn of the blind and the lame.
David wanted to build a temple
thus proving his devotion.
David built a legacy of broken lives
thus proving his culpability.
We are David,
mourning the loss of our love and our innocence.
We are David,
guilty of exploiting those entrusted to our care.
We are David,
unexpected hero and unrepentant scoundrel.
We are David,
we belong to God.
Prayer of Dedication
Gather the gifts of our hands and hearts, living Spirit.
Use these gifts to build not monuments to your distant glory,
but testaments to your intimate love. Amen.