RESPONSIVE READING

 

God of creation, we give You thanks for the many gifts of Eastern North Carolina.  

 

We thank You for the stunning beauty of the coast and the vast expanse of the sea, whose pounding waves and changing tides remind us of our limited mortality.  

 

We praise You for being more majestic than the waves of the sea and God even of the storms of life.  

 

We thank You for taking us safely through these storms and the flood of troubles that daily seek to swallow us up.  

 

We thank You for speaking to the raging winds saying, “Peace.  Be still.”

 

God of abundance, we thank You for this fruitful land, which has been yielding crops for countless generations by the goodness of Your sustaining care.  

 

We thank You also for the hands that labor to bring Your bounty to our tables.  

 

We pray that You would bless those who work in the fields, give us seasonable weather, and enable all to share in the fruits of the earth as we rejoice in Your goodness.

 

We pray for the heart and vision to tend lovingly Your creation and protect it against overdevelopment, pollution and destruction so that those that come after us may also rejoice in Your creation.

 

God of the nations, we give You thanks for the diverse peoples of this land and for the histories that have brought each of us to these particular days and times.

 

We can thank You because all our days are in Your hands.

 

God of peace, we pray that we might learn to live in love and in community, both near and far, despite the differences that often divide us.  

 

Help us to love even our enemies and be our strength as we work together for justice here in our communities.

 

Guide us in Your sure and holy decrees and raise us up to new and abundant life together in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

(by Chris Liu Beers and B. J. Morton, with some material adapted from the Book of Common Prayer, Prayer #29, “For Agriculture,” p. 824)

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

Gracious God,

We confess before You and before each other today that we have failed to live as an obedient church here in Eastern North Carolina.  We confess that we are divided one from another, by race, by class, by denomination.  Give us the

courage and perseverance to love one another and to seek unity and prosperity for all.  We confess that we are often complicit in the devastation of Your creation.  Give us the wisdom to protect our natural resources, and give us hope as we challenge those who attempt to destroy the natural order, whether out of convenience or ignorance.  We confess that we are still learning how to share with one another and how to live our lives in harmony with Your creation.  We ask for Your grace, that we—Your church—would be a hospitable people who open the doors of our churches, our homes, and our hearts to one another and bless, rather than curse, Your good earth that feeds us.  In the name of Christ, Amen.

 

(by Chris Liu Beers and B. J. Morton)

 

A Prayer of Confession Concerning Unjust Treatment of Workers in Eastern North Carolina

 

Gracious God,

We confess to You this day that we have placed unfair burdens on our sisters and brothers living and working in Eastern North Carolina.  We have asked them to work at lower wages than we would accept.  We have asked them to bear the

burden of the hog lagoons, with their harsh impact on the environment and on people’s health and well-being.  We have asked them to live in poverty, that we might live in wealth.  And we have asked that they not complain too loudly, that

they accept the demands of the “New South,” while reaping none of its benefits.  Forgive us, Lord, for our complicity in their poverty and hunger.  Forgive us, Lord, for we are quick to respond to “disaster relief” but slow to recognize the everyday disasters of homes still without plumbing or heat, of children receiving inadequate education, of environmental destruction without regard for those who will come after us.  Together we confess this truth: when one part of the body suffers, we all suffer.  Remind us of our suffering today, and give us hearts of compassion and justice.  In Christ’s name, Amen.

 

(by Chris Liu Beers)

 

 

 

 

God of All Consolation

 

God of the fields and the seas, God of the sun and the mighty waters -- the awesome powers of nature that can be both a wonder, as well as a source of tragedy -- we cry out to you saying, Lord, have mercy.

 

For those who seek shelter from the hot sun, water for their thirst, food for their hunger, and medicine for their ills:

Lord, have mercy.

For those who live in worry and anxiety and on whom the light of deliverance may not appear to shine:

Lord, have mercy.

For all people in urgent need or daily suffering:

Lord, have mercy.

For those who provide rest to the weary and relief to those in need: 

Lord, have mercy.

For government leaders at all levels that they might act for the common good of all people:

Lord, have mercy.

 

God of all consolation, we welcome Your Word of hope and pray that all Your creation may experience Your abundance and peace.  Amen.

 

(Adapted from a prayer vigil at St.. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Waverly, Iowa on 9/1/2005, and from a prayer by Rev. Charles Cox, Forest City, Iowa)