Tag: Far

Gathered from far

Call to Worship

inspired by Jeremiah 31:7-9

Sing aloud with gladness:
    God is gathering the people!
From the farthest parts of the earth we come:
    All who struggle; all who labor with new life!
Those who are weeping, God will console;
    Those who get lost find a clear path home.
Let us worship the God who gathers us!

Prayer of Invocation

Ever-calling God,
We give thanks that you have gathered us into your church
    and graced us with your faithful presence.
We ponder our history, ancient and still developing,
    and marvel at the many expressions of your church.
Grant us the vision to be a part of a new reformation for the Church
    that will bring ever more joy and justice to the world.
Continue to gather us, the diverse lot of us,
    into Jesus’ vision and dream
    that your faithful people may be one in you.
Amen

 
~ written by the Rev. Bonnie Tarwater, and posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways website.

From the blog
Seed
Do this remembering
Baby steps
 

This far, no further

Praying for Wisdom

based on Job 38

Lord, you laid the earth’s foundations;
    you placed its cornerstone;
while the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy,
you set limits for the sea and said,
     “This far and no further!”

You gave orders to the morning
    and showed the dawn its place;
you moulded the earth until it took shape.

You alone know the springs of the sea;
    you alone comprehend the vastness of the universe;
    you alone know the laws of heaven:

Lord, give wisdom to our hearts
    and understanding to our minds.
Amen.

 
~ written by Michael Perry, and posted on re:worship

From the blog
Song in the night
In the school of prayer with Eddie Askew
Continually curious
 

Far horizon

Drawing Near

A Blessing

It is difficult to see it from here,
I know,
but trust me when I say
this blessing is inscribed
on the horizon.
Is written on
that far point
you can hardly see.
Is etched into
a landscape
whose contours you cannot know
from here.
All you know
is that it calls you,
draws you,
pulls you toward
what you have perceived
only in pieces,
in fragments that came to you
in dreaming
or in prayer.

I cannot account for how,
as you draw near,
the blessing embedded in the horizon
begins to blossom
upon the soles of your feet,
shimmers in your two hands.
It is one of the mysteries
of the road,
how the blessing
you have traveled toward,
waited for,
ached for
suddenly appears,
as if it had been with you
all this time,
as if it simply
needed to know
how far you were willing
to walk
to find the lines
that were traced upon you
before the day
you were born.
 
 
~ by Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace,
      posted on paintedprayerbook.com

From the blog
On pilgrimage
In a new light
In the school of prayer with Pádraig Ó Tuama