God, I confess my idolatry: the illusion of independence. On this day I declare my dependence. I am free. I am capable, and responsible; but I am dependent. I am dependent on generations, on neighbours, on peoples I can’t know, in many lands, on nations and their peace, on the earth and its fruits, its […]
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Confession and assurance God of love, you know us inside and out. With you there is no point in hiding or pretending. You invite us into your presence, and we come as we are. We confess that we often forget to listen for your voice. That moments of stillness are few. We hurry about with […]
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Where is the love? Prayer of confession and intercession When we treat our faith as nothing more than a self-help system and you, God, as simply a cure for whatever ails us, Where is the love? When we use the gifts our planet gives us with little care for our wastefulness and destruction, Where is […]
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God our creator, The glory of this season reminds us of your artistry As nature displays a riot of colour: Bright berries on the hedgerows, Trees aflame with oranges and reds, Golden leaves carpeting the rich dark earth. Let all creation sing your praise! God our provider, The bounty of this season reminds us of […]
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Merciful God, we approach you asking for forgiveness, For healing and reconciliation To once again feel the power of your Love. As individuals and as a nation we have tempted fate. We have stretched our grasp with greed. We have protected our privacy with isolationism. We have ravaged your creation with entitlement. Forgive us. As […]
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Written in Antalya, Turkey, upon hearing the 11:15 am call to prayer after a coach tour visit to a gold and gemstone showroom. Call to prayer slicing through the cold bended knee bended heart contrite God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gems of your earth Shining bling catch the eye catch the heart God, […]
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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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Christ, Brother, Teacher, Friend, As we look upon your face transformed by the light of Love, we confess that we have chosen to walk in the darkness of fear, prejudice, selfishness, shame and pride. As we marvel at your ability to forgive and heal, reconcile and make new, we confess that we have chosen to […]
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Echos of the Jesus Prayer Loving God, we know that you forgive us our trespasses as we must forgive those who trespass against us. And yet how hard we find it to follow your loving example in our day to day lives. Help us to resist the temptations of revenge and retribution and turn instead […]
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A prayer of confession and an entreaty for transformation, inspired by the contrast between the simplicity of life in Zambia and the complexity of life in the United Kingdom. (To create a group prayer, change ‘my’ to ‘our’ and ‘me’ to ‘us’.) God, forgive my/our barns My cupboards My bureaus Full to overflowing. Invade my […]
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With the knowledge that God’s compassion is bigger than all our sins, let’s pray together. Forgiving God, we admit that we don’t really like praying prayers of confession. To speak aloud our imperfection, our failings, our actions that caused harm and the good we refused to do… it makes us vulnerable. Not only that, but […]
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You promised us the earth and you delivered. You gave us a home – a dwelling of delight; a good place to be. You gave it to us, saying, ‘Here. This is my gift to you. Live! Make it yours.’ We have made the world in our own image. We have treated it like we […]
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You call us to be your voices in this world and we stay silent. You call us to be your hands in this world and we keep them hidden. You call us to be your feet in this world and we go our own way. You call us to stand up for our faith And […]
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Call to Confession Face the music. Jesus calls us to follow him, not just to another party of praise, but to the hard work of bringing God’s love and justice into this world of violence and fear. Let us prepare ourselves for this task by confessing our sin. Prayer of Confession One: Source of all […]
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Prayer of confession and assurance of pardon written for Second Sunday of Epiphany, Year B God of love, you know us inside and out. With you there is no point in hiding or pretending. You invite us into your presence, and we come as we are. We confess that we often forget to listen […]
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Creator of the Universe, Lover of all that you make, We thank you for this marvellous world Which you have given us for our home. Help us to show our gratitude As much by our lives as by our words. We acknowledge that so often Our best efforts are tinged with greed, The desire for […]
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