Open Table Worship Using inclusive language and imagery for intimate worship settings at which everyone is welcome and valued Theme: Stand firm in our faith A complete worship service weaving together scripture, drama, reflection, conversation & communion Compiled & written by Ana Gobledale for Open Table This service is designed for a congregation gathered around […]
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Our bodies are so fragile Our time here is so brief Our lives are but a single drop in the ocean of eternity And yet… We are known We are loved We are held May our fears about our death be transformed And may all our suffering be transfigured. May we discover, within ourselves, a […]
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What words do we use to lift up the history of oppression, current struggles and future hopes? How is our language in worship shaped by race? What colours do we see as we speak the words of our faith? Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. -Psalm […]
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Adapted from a prayer written by Terri Hord Owens God of Love, our hearts break at the violence in our world, the loss of life, the dishonouring of children of God, the vile insults hurled and the wounds of history reopened. We pray for the families of those who have died and all the wounded. […]
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Inspired by Genesis 32: 22-32 God, thank you for your love which perseveres, touching our lives, not just in an hour of worship but every day. Your persistent love attends the world, day in and day out, year in and year out. Grant us perseverance, like Jacob, to stand steadfast in our convictions, to hold on […]
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‘Last week one of my daughters and I had a terrible argument, and we remain quite distant. It is from that event that this prayer poem surfaced.’ — William Stephenson O God, I come to you now, even when my heart has been closed to someone I love. Even as I am aware of the […]
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Loving God, When devils in disguise Threaten to unhinge my life Grant me the grit of grace Turning temptations around Into opportunities to grow Strong in my desire for You Instead of the sneaky things So easily demanding attention Dressed up in pre-occupations Too numerous to count Their constant flow daring me To give my […]
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Wild God – words to Jesus It seems to us that things would be much easier if you would just do what we ask, Jesus, If you were more compliant and co-operative, more flexible and adaptable, more open to follow agendas other than your own. But frustratingly, you refuse to be tamed, Jesus. You won’t […]
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God in solidarity God takes on flesh and joins life in the struggle – this is what radical solidarity feels like. Lives and souls and bodies entangled. Risks and possibilities shared. We’re in this together. The mess, the beauty, the work. Don’t be afraid to feel hopeful. God’s promises are kept. God won’t opt-out or […]
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Words for reflection and sharing when preparing for worship Too often the best doesn’t happen to us because we don’t expect it to happen. Too often we fasten our attention on the obstacles and not on the possibilities. Too often our fear of failure robs us of the need to risk for what we could […]
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Epiphany 4 and Pentecost 11, Year C Loving One, all I want is to be safe with you; keep away the people who only come to mock me. Let me feel your strength coming to my rescue, hear me and stand by me when trouble comes. Be like a rock to me, my security and […]
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Lyrics are sung in Bemba and translated below into English. Here’s a link to Cephas Ng’oma singing this song. Chorus Uku Yahweh ekukabila kwa mutima wandi (YHWH, this is my heart’s desire) Uku Yahweh ekukabila kwa mweo wandi (YHWH, this is my life’s desire) Isusheni umutima wandi (Fill my heart) Isusheni umweo wandi (Fill […]
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O Love, Help me entrust Everything to you For I am at risk Of forgetting it is you Who gives me life And calls me to a work Seen and often unseen. Help me remember It is not mine to do alone But rather your work of love Awakened in me by you For whatever […]
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O Love, Center us in your heart Pulsing with Christ-love Healing and holding Challenging and changing Everything necessary For your vision to rise. Take every weariness And form resurrections Small and large in us Offering a strength Beyond our own Binding us to you And to each other And your whole creation. By this, O […]
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O Love, Stretch me just enough To ready me for You And the calling You offer Already supported by You On Your great trellis of love. By your stretching grace Help me live expectantly Trusting You will reveal The holding and releasing Necessary to answer Your call often overlooked As daily or ordinary. Grant me […]
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Grant us, O Lord, The royalty of inward happiness And the serenity which comes from living close to Thee. Do Thou daily renew in us The sense of Joy so that by Thy Spirit, We may bear about us The infection of good courage. – Thomas More 1478-1535
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Walking through the valley of the shadow of death… Death accompanies us all. Waiting silently for acceptance. Not frightening, except for those who fear shadows. Peaceful. I’m grateful for those who show me how to transition from the life we know into this unknowable mystery. So many names and angles of understanding: eternity, resurrection, dust-to-dust, […]
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Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away to the next room. I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, That, we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. […]
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Tune: In Christ alone You are my rock, safe and secure All that I treasure comes from you When others fade, you will endure Your promises are always true Chorus From where I stand, from what I know You are my strength, you are my guide Wherever I am called to go Your love will […]
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No matter how bad things get, there’s always hope. Even when things were at their worst for the young Anne Frank, she wrote: ‘The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does […]
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Our bodies are so fragile Our time here is so brief Our lives are but a single drop in the ocean of eternity And yet… We are known We are loved We are held May our fears about our death be transformed And may all our suffering be transfigured. May we discover, within ourselves, a […]
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Prayers of approach and confession Loving God Our souls sing out in worship And all of creation bursts forth with praise! For you look with compassion on all who suffer. You shed tears of sorrow with those in grief. You reach down into the dark pit of hopelessness. You kneel in the dust to lift […]
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A reflection on Dame Julian of Norwich’s text from Revelations of Divine Love: ‘All shall be well. You shall see yourself that all things shall be well. That which is impossible for you is not impossible for me. I shall keep my word in all things and I shall make all things well.’ ‘All shall […]
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God, prepare me. Proclamation Channel Instrument Prepared yet overtaken Connection Identification ‘That’s me!’ Mouth of God Beyond words translated Interpreted Confirming purpose and usefulness Use me, God. Keep me humble. Use me beyond my perceived limits. Today may I be on fire With your spirit With your word Consumed yet refined Given yet received Blessed
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Inspired by 1 Corinthians 4:3-6 (Eighth Sunday after Epiphany, Year A) This prayer arises from a homily given at Morning Chapel, United Church of Zambia University. Wellingtone’s words have been adapted as a prayer by Ana Gobledale. My parents, sisters and brothers in Christ, join me in prayer. Creator God, how wonderful it is that […]
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God, forgive us for the many times that we rely on our short-lived strength. Help us see that all good gifts come from you, and that you are the never-failing source of our strength, hope, and joy. When we draw near to you, our minds are refreshed and our strength is renewed.
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Let me be kind when tiredness overwhelms my weary brain and turns my legs to lead; let me brave when truths must be conveyed, confronting the past and all things left unsaid; let me fight on for you when various rules make nonsense of your rights and reinforce your fears; grant me the stamina to […]
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Inspired by Psalm 23 God is my shelter, my protection, and my guide. I want for nothing, and I will practice thanksgiving! God invites me to places of peace and beauty where wildflowers bloom and mountain streams flow. God will restore me, and I will practice sabbath rest. Even when anxiety and fear threaten to […]
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I am Somebody! I am Somebody! I may be poor, But I am Somebody. I may be young, But I am Somebody. I may be on welfare, But I am Somebody. I may be small, But I am Somebody. I may have made mistakes, But I am Somebody. My clothes are different, My face is […]
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Sun light fades shadows blend united into layers Darkness shrouds The Night is not alone. Aged with patience Saguaro keeps watch his feathered guards at the helm ready The Crown is not alone Steady, enduring, branches like steel reach yearn cradle the stillness The Ironwood is not alone Vipers tucked in hiding coyote sings lullaby […]
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By your side There is peace, A quiet place Of beauty and realisation, Where wisdom Seeks reason and understanding, Where myth is laid to rest By the reality of knowledge. By your side There is hope, That arrogance and greed Will not destroy, That selfless love Will prevail. By your side Life is sacred, A […]
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Written April 2018 during a time of personal reflection in the Lady Chapel, Ely Cathedral, UK, following the bombing of Syria by the US and the UK. Broken Bombed Darkness descends How did it come to this? God groans The world whimpers. We cower Fearfully crying out, ‘Which way?’ What about our grandchildren? Follow the […]
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Stilling the storms of life, a guided reflection Text: Mark 4:35-41 NRSV (Lection 5th Sunday of Pentecost, Year B) Prior to reading the passage, set the scene: Jesus’s days, filled with healing and teaching by the lakeside, have tired him and the disciples out. In chapter 3 he asks for a boat to stand […]
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There’s a dip in the stone step in the threshold of the old cathedral, worn where thousands of pilgrims have stepped as they entered the darkness to pray. Even in the old country church the railing is rubbed bare where the faithful have grasped, have leaned, have hoped. There is a worn spot at […]
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Appropriate for sharing with the dying, at a funeral, crematorium service or at a memorial service O my God, fill our souls with holy joy, courage and strength to serve you. Enkindle your love in us and then walk with us along the next stretch of the road before us. We do […]
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Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak… Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ —Genesis 32.24, 26 The angels you’ll have to wrestle with most often are no strangers: they’re your anger, fear, […]
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Written for a Longest Night (21 December) service in Colorado, USA God is with us in our suffering, loving us, walking with us, comforting us. I do not believe God is the cause or author of such suffering, I do not believe God “allows” bad things to happen. I can’t imagine why God would “allow” […]
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Tune: Sursum Corda 10.10.10.10. (How Like a Gentle Spirit) (Use freely, with attribution) One truck delivers us our wine and bread Another swerves and leaves our children dead One driver sings a hymn of love and life Another chants a call to holy strife One phone is used to set a bomb alight Another used […]
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Inside hopelessness darkness Nothing more, impossible to be less silence, deafening Only fears and despair Echoing off cavern walls I’ve been there, lived there Have you? A hole so deep, so cold No one to hear the screams Hopeless Alone Exhausted longer the stay deeper it becomes The darkness becomes thick Suffocating hopes Choking out […]
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May you greet each day as a gift And look for the treasure within it. May the story of your life hold meaning, For you and for those who will follow. May you have time enough to say all that needs to be said; To do all that needs to be done. May your relationships […]
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