Loving God, Grant me a vision Greater than any barricade Daring me to despair At signs screaming out ‘No possible way forward, This road is closed.’ Yes, lift up my eyes To Your emerging light Stretching a horizon of hope Bearing Your resurrection rising Larger than any obstruction Of the world’s weary making Or of […]
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Luke 9:51 – 62 Easily adapted for use relating to any country or people. Loving God, thank you for your welcoming embrace. Your acceptance of our imperfection is ever an example for us to strive for. Forgive us when we fall short – when we are quick to reject and quick to condemn. Inspire us […]
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20 June — Refugee Day Compassionate One, our society has failed you. You were a refugee, seeking safety and freedom, and we did not welcome you…. Click here for the full text of the Prayer for Asylum-Seekers.
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God of the sun and the moon, God of the wind and the rain, God of the sea and the sky, For many of us, the season is changing; Summer is coming, and our hearts are light. We look forward to time to relax, sunshine to bask in, longer days with more time for ourselves. […]
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To download an illustrated worship page for World Refugee Day (20 June), visit the Church World Service website. LEADER: We give praise to our God who gathers us as one people. PEOPLE: We delight in our God who has mercy upon us. LEADER: We seek to be one with refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants. PEOPLE: […]
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Prayers of the people, with response & song, including the lighting of 5 candles We pray for the countries and regions that have hosted refugees. Knowing that refugee camps can be overcrowded, we pray for the continued safety of the camps and offer our thanks to those who work toward providing the basics of shelter, […]
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Tune: Dominus Regit Me Title: Ministering to Christ The sacred role of ministry Of caring for the broken – Christ can be heard, but silently As if his pain has spoken. The ministry to Christ is known In caring for the stricken; He comes to us in flesh and bone Of those caught in affliction. Christ […]
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Tune: Darwall For the lyrics, music and a power point, click here. A dream of dignity For all humanity It is a dream so bold; ‘Can’t happen,’ we’ve been told; But we can strive To keep alive This hope for human harmony A dream of dignity For all humanity; A dream that Jesus saw Was […]
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We celebrate, Creator God this diverse world you have created— its lands and its peoples. We give thanks for your gift of trust in us to preserve, conserve, and take care of it and offer all the hospitality you have already given us. We lift up your co-workers serving in areas of need. We are […]
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To download an illustrated worship page for World Refugee Day (20 June), visit the Church World Service website. Holy and merciful God, you have created us all in your image. We exist because of the radical welcome that you granted each one of us at birth. You have created us as refugees, asylum seekers and […]
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World Refugee Day — 20 June World Refugee Day Prayer Service This service may be downloaded as a Word document on the United Church of Canada website. Click here. It uses the Exodus story of the Israelite refugees to highlight the sufferings of today’s refugees.
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Le’el she’chafetz teshuvah, to the One who desires return: Receive with the fulness of your mercy the hopes and prayers of those who were uprooted, dispossessed and expelled from their homes during the devastation of the Nakba. Sanctify for tov u’veracha, for goodness and blessing, the memory of those who were killed in Lydda, in Haifa, in Beisan, in Deir […]
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Power of Wholeness, sweep through each nation on the face of this globe. Fill us with the will and conviction to work towards reconciliation. Unite us as indigenous and invader settled in a new home, As settled colonizers and more recent immigrants and refugees seeking a new home, As Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus — […]
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20 June is World Refugee Day. Click here for more Worship Words resources related to refugees. As we recount the centuries of human history, We pray that one day bondage will lead to freedom; We pray that indifference will give way to mercy; We pray that hatred will turn to compassion, and fear turn to […]
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We were wrong: We were wrong when we closed the door and you needed us most. The people who claimed to follow a man who never closed doors appeared to slam ours when you were despairing confused hurt hopeless broken hungry thirsty for more. We were wrong when we pretended we couldn’t see didn’t know […]
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Ruth 1: 1 – 5 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land …. Hospitable God, who teaches us to welcome the stranger; we pray for all refugees and immigrants: those who have been displaced through famine, those who have been displaced through climate change, those who have been […]
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Tune: “Fairest Lord Jesus” (Crusaders’ Hymn: 5.6.8.5.5.8) Seeker of justice, turner of the tables One who made sure that the poor were fed Land for the landless, home for the homeless And baskets filled with fish and bread. Friend of the friendless, lover of the enemy, Love that conventions cannot contain, Boundless compassion, put into […]
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