GATHERING

Greeting
L: Blessed be God, who gives us life with all creation, joins us to the saving death of Christ, and raises us to new life by the Holy Spirit. Blessed be the Holy Trinity.
Blessed Be God Forever.

Confession
Incarnate Christ, the Divine presence with,
in and under the depths of the earth and the universe: your presence
is implacable as the world and as
warm as life.
We confess:
‘In Truth You are my Lord and my God’
You were born in a manger, vulnerable to the elements,
you ask us to see your face in the face of the homelss man vulnerable to
the powers-that-be.Your hands hold the stars, your body the
trees of the forest and the towers of the city.
We confess:
‘In Truth You are my Lord and my God’
You are the first and the last, the living and the dead
and the risen again. You gather to your self
all that is good, all that is true, every type of
person, every type of searching, living, loving
and questioning.

It is in you whom our being cries out with
a desire as vast as the universe,
‘In Truth You are my Lord and my God’


Absolution

God who is both creativity and power,
You forgive us and free us from our sins
you heal and strengthen us by the Spirit
And raise us to new life in Christ our Lord

2. Word

1 Thessalonians 4: 1-12; 5: 12-18
Psalm 98


Response to the word
L: Just as the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters
C: Like wise she hovers over the pages of this text

Creed
I believe in God,
Three in one
Father, Son, Spirit
Paradox
Mystery Elemental

I believe in a God of Justice
Compassion, mercy, hope
And first, a God of love
Love personified, incarnated

I believe in God,
the mother of Creation
God the father of humanity
God, the lover of us all

I believe we are called:
To community, with each other
Through Christ the thread
Weaving us all together

I believe that God plays no favourites
Pulls no punches
Leaves no stone unturned

I believe that life is hard
I believe that life is beautiful
So, I believe, does God

Peace

Prayers of the People
We place candles on a map -
The world spread out on a damp, dusty floor,
held down by sea-gifted stones and shells,
circled by the old and young,
the searchers and seekers,
the dreamers and healers

We place candles on a map
because we know that wars are raging and
and hate and shame and fear are rising
because we know our brothers are dying
and in their arms their children are crying
because we know our sisters are starving
whilst greed and wealth and violence are harming
because we know our land was taken
and trees are cut and gifts are stolen
because we know of pain and sorrow
and our neighbours’ fears of facing tomorrow

Because we know,
we place candles on a map
chartered the contours of care
mark the lines where love lives
pinpoint places where
people and projects make peace

We placed candles on a map
one in each spot:
for the bridge builders in Belfast
and the soul-healers in Sarajevo
for the young women of 20th Street
and the earth-carers of Kerala
for the life-lovers of Liverpool
and the ministers in Maputo
for the sister in San Francisco
and the believers in Beijing
for the joy-givers in Johannesburg
and the campaigners in Chiapas...
For love, for truth,
for justice, for peace
we place candles on a map

The Our Lover

Our Lover
who is in all the world
your name and presence are holy.
May your dream be made real
and your will of peace and justice
acomplished in all of your creation.
Give us today your holy meal
and let us see a path to forgiving
the trespasses of our brothers and sisters
just as our own trespasses agains them, and you,
our creator, have been forgiven.
Let us not be lead, lead ourselves or lead others
into unhealth, but deliver us from injustice.
For yours is creation, the presence and the glory.
AMEN

Blessing


4. Sending

May prayer feed your actions
and may your actions feed the world
Amen