O God, who surrounds us all with constant love and mercy;
We enter your sanctuary this morning in a spirit of hope.
For we know that all things are possible through our faith in you;
That the music of your universe takes us to the mountaintop,
And that our hearts leap for joy in the hearing of your Word
We have had another week of emotions that move us around,
Of celebrations and joys; troubles and turmoil
And we find ourselves moving from one problem to another,
From a video screen of news to emails that announce yet another conflict.
In this whirling world of information and choices we find ourselves spinning,
Round and round, back and forth,
Unable to stop long enough to find our center, the spirit that guides us,
To hear the music that lifts us up and makes us whole.
And so we come this morning to you, Oh God,
To listen to the words and hear about the ministry of
Your Son, Jesus Christ, who walks among us still,
Whose words teach us how to live.
We are here seated in this your sanctuary,
With our friends in Christ, our fellow believers.
Here to stop the swirling of the world that pulls on us,
To be reminded--and to remember--that it is you who tie us together.
We know that through your Love for each of us, and for those around us,
That the world will stop spinning,
That the data erupting from our phones will not trouble us,
That we can be reconciled with the person we argued with yesterday
That we can share our lives openly with one another.
And in this love for all persons let us continue to care for those
Who come to us with life’s burdens: whether it be
Hunger, or shelter, or conflict, or poor health, or loneliness.
As we once again find ourselves in You, and your abiding love,
We turn towards them, sharing the Love of Christ,
A love that heals, and reconciles, feeds and protects,
The least of God’s children who come to us in need.
May it be so, we ask in your Son’s Name,
that we center ourselves once again
In You, and go out into the world as healers in your Name.
For we ask this in the Name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.