RESPONSIVE READING

 

Gracious God,

In Your kingdom, all human notions of “giftedness” and “disability” become unimportant,

For there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit (I Corinthians 12:4). 

In Your kingdom, faithfulness cannot be measured in terms of “productivity,” but rather is characterized by loving service, gentle care, and incarnational presence with people across the barriers of race, class, gender, and “disability,”

For there are varieties of services, but the same Lord (I Corinthians 12:5).

In Your kingdom, spending time with those “in need” is more important than our many accomplishments.  Often we discover that those we deem to be needy have already been given many gifts, and those of us who are not “disabled” find that we have been the ones in need all along,  

For there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone (I Corinthians 12:6).

By Your grace, O God, we in the church need one another: healthy and sick.  Weak and strong.  The hopeful and the depressed.  The friend, the enemy.  The “abled” and the “disabled” - only together do we become the Body of Christ,

For to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (I Corinthians 12:7).

In Your kingdom, everyone is welcomed and celebrated as a child of God regardless of “ability.”  When Christ dwelt among us, he came as one “despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity… as one from whom others hide their faces… and we held him of no account” (Isaiah 53:3). 

Together, we affirm our commitment to welcome those of differing abilities from ourselves, that in acts of hospitality both great and small we would respond to God’s calling upon us to be a people marked by love for one another.

Teach us, O Lord, to be mindful of the many hurdles that people with “disabilities” face daily.  Show us how to create a physical and emotional environment that is truly welcoming, that in body, in mind and in heart we would be a gracious people.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ (I Corinthians 12:12).  Amen. 

 

(by Chris Liu Beers) 

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

O God, we know you tell us to welcome people with physical, mental or emotional disabilities so that we may share your goodness.  However, out of fear, we often cling to the old ways and deny anyone we perceive as different their place at your table.

Forgive us, merciful Creator, for following human wisdom when we should be following yours.

O God, we know that those we consider to be weaker are indispensable to you and yet we treat them wrongly by forbidding them access to your sanctuary.

Forgive us, merciful Creator, for failing to care for one another.

O God, we know there are varieties of gifts, and it is you who activates all of them in everyone, but we often say in word and deed, “You do not belong to the body; I have no need for you” to those members of the body we perceive as less

honorable.

Forgive us, merciful Creator, for our failure to remember that all the members of the body, though many, are one body with Christ.

O God, we know you chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise and what is weak in the world to shame the strong, and yet we make excuses for the divisions that exist within the body and our own desire for greater honor.

Forgive us, merciful Creator, for boasting of our own wisdom and our own discernment rather than recognizing the source of all life: Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from you. Help us to live in the one Spirit remembering we

are all baptized into one body - broken or whole - and are all made to drink of the one Spirit that comes from you and you alone. Amen.

 

(adapted from the Association of Brethren Caregivers, “Worship Resources,” www.brethren.org/abc/disabilities/worship.html)

 

 

For All God’s People

 

Let us pray for all God’s people: 

For people who are blind or cannot see well, and for people who can see but do not see those in need;

Lord, in your mercy make us see you and each other.

For people who are slow and cannot move well, and for people who are fast but will not slow their pace,

Lord, in your mercy help us move in step with you.

For people who are deaf or cannot hear well, and for people who can hear but block out cries of pain;

Lord, in your mercy make us hear you and each other.

For people who learn slowly or cannot think well, and for people who learn quickly but who close their minds;

Lord, in your mercy help us search and learn from you.

For people who are sad and cannot cheer up, and for people who are happy and avoid all pain;

Lord, in your mercy make us know you and each other.

For people who are sick and cannot get better, and for people who are well but do not thank you for health;

Lord, in your mercy help us serve you while we can.

For people who are kind and serve the needy, and for people who are awkward in the face of need;

Lord, in your mercy make us know we need each other.

For people who feel trapped by their impairments, and for people who feel strong and add to that despair;

Lord, in your mercy help us set each other free.

For people who feel worthless and unlovely, and for people who feel proud and do not recognize your love;

Lord, in your mercy make us know your love together.

For all the people in your whole creation, that we may cherish each other and learn to live in peace;

Lord, in your mercy teach us love and give us peace. Amen.

 

(from “Reformed Worship,” www.reformedworship.org/magazine/article.cfm?article_id=1690)

 

 

A Communal Affirmation

 

On this day we stand to open our hearts and minds to the unique gifts that people with disabilities and their families bring to our congregation. 

 

To the church of Galatia, Paul paid this rare tribute, “Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself” (Galatians

4:14).  

 

It is Christ's expectation that we embrace everyone within our church regardless of intellectual, emotional or spiritual abilities. 

 

We ask God's guidance as we welcome those with disabilities or mental illness and their loved ones into the life of our congregation with a compassionate and sustained response. 

 

(from the Association of Brethren Caregivers, “Worship Resources,” www.brethren.org/abc/disabilities/worship.html)

 

Statement of Affirmation and Commitment

 

We will labor so that all persons may be enabled to gather before God in worship.

We will try to see all persons as sons and daughters of God.

We will seek to let God's love living in us cast out our fear of others who are different from us.

We will look for what we have in common with others who have disabilities.

We will labor whenever possible, 

So that all persons with disabilities have the freedom to enjoy life's opportunities as we do.

We will seek out the gifts, abilities and strengths of each person with a disability.

We will give thanks for God's faithfulness in the midst of our common humanity, 

Trusting in the Lord all the days of our lives.  Amen.  

 

(adapted from the Association of Brethren Caregivers, “Worship Resources,” www.brethren.org/abc/disabilities/worship.html)