Prayers for October 7, 2001

Proper 22, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 37)

Leader: Evil abounds but it will not flourish:
People: Let us dwell in the land where we may be fed.
Leader: We may fall ourselves and descend into the darkness:
People: But God's hand will raise us up.
Leader: The righteous will not be forsaken:
People: The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell there forever.

Prayer of Confession

Help us to see that evil is not outside us but inside us, O God. Help us to see beyond the trouble to Your grace.Guide us back to the land that is the source of our seed—and remind us that no matter what we do, we shall not be cut off. Remind us that eveil is everywhere and so are the possibilites of good.Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

The fruits of our fields, the yield of our hands, the abundance of our links, we offer to You, O God. May good come of it and us. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

In hand shakes and hugs, good mornings and good nights,free days and busy days, time off and time on, we live our allotment of days. Let us not be too busy to give thanks.

The shots ring out in school corridors, the children are afraid. We lament and worry with those of old and in our lament find Your Holy Presence. In anxiety for our children and for those of others, in concern for our parents and those abandoned in nursing homes, in gratitude to our teachers and those who work hard for little recognition, we find our way to You. Beyond the lament is where we live, O God, in hope that gets up every morning and carries on. Live with us there. Nudge us there. Keep us from falling in love with our laments and worries, instead, let us fall in love with You and Your persistent hope. Amen.