RESPONSIVE READING

 

God of all creation, we gather together this day in the name of the risen Lord, your Son Jesus Christ.

You call us into fellowship with one another through the Holy Spirit,

And yet we—your church—are not united as one whole body.

Together we confess that we are divided by doctrine, by race and class, by historic wounds that have not been healed,

And we know that we cannot make ourselves whole.

Grant us, Lord, an ecumenical spirit that would see all churches throughout the world as part of the body of Christ.

Forgive us, Lord, for the ways in which we allow our doctrinal differences to be more important than your calling to love, generosity, hospitality and unity.

At the same time, Lord, grant us courage to genuinely address our differences as we engage in meaningful dialogue with one another, in prayer and in acts of worship and service together.

Together we confess that there are indeed varieties of gifts in your church,

But the same Spirit.

There are varieties of services in your church,

But the same Lord.

There are varieties of activities in your church,

But it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone—to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Together we confess that reconciliation is possible, but only because God has made peace through the blood of Christ,

And because the Holy Spirit dwells among us.

Give us strength for the difficult road ahead,

Give us grace to engage each other across the lines of division that scar the Body of Christ,

That we would fulfill your commandment to love one another,

And in so doing, that our unity would bear witness to your love throughout the world.  Amen.

 

(by Chris Liu Beers)

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

 

Lord, you are peace and reconciliation!

Forgive us Lord, for often choosing jealousy and animosity rather than confidence and respect between churches.

Lord, you give us an abundance of blessings in the unity of faith.

Forgive us Lord, for often choosing isolation and refusing to be a blessing for each other, between churches.

Lord, you have given joy to the afflicted, liberation to the captives, pardon to sinners.

Forgive us Lord, for having closed our hands and turned our faces away from those who need help.

Lord, you have gathered us together as a shepherd gathers his flock and then goes to seek the one sheep that is lost.

Forgive us Lord, for having often strayed far from you, and pushed you away, thus underlining our divisions.

Almighty Lord, no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid.  That foundation is Jesus Christ.  We admit that we have not been able to finish building on this foundation in such a way that we may become the dwelling

place of God.  We have sometimes even been the cause of its ruin.  Even if our work should be lost, save us, Lord and give us a fresh chance to work for unity. 

Create in us, we pray, an ardent longing for the unity of your church and enable us to work towards it. Amen.

 

(adapted from the World Council of Churches, “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 2005,” www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2005-5.pdf)

 

 

Alternate Prayer of Confession

 

Lord, you are the way, the truth and the life.

We praise you for the gift of your Spirit who liberates us in our uncertainty.

Forgive us when we raise barriers that divide us or prevent us from seeking the truth  which is the unity offered to us in Christ Jesus.

As we seek your will, release us from all prejudice so that we may be eager to journey  more closely with one another and with you. Amen.

 

(adapted from “Prayer for Christian Unity, 2001”)

 

Confession of Disunity

 

Merciful Lord,

We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, deed and through omission.  Pardon our sins of disunity through pride, our sins against our brothers and sisters of other faiths, cultures, peoples, those whom we have oppressed

and excluded.  Pardon our apathy and our blindness to the distress of the immigrants among us.  Christians of different denominations, we must ask ourselves if we have diligently sought ways of common witness “for Jesus’ sake” to struggle against the suffering and injustices suffered by our immigrant brothers and sisters in our homeland.  Forgive our superficiality and laziness, ignoring or even denying the riches offered by the other, rather than seeking a true sharing of values and faith.  

We have not loved you with our whole heart,

We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves,

We sincerely regret and humbly repent of our sins.

For the love of your Son, Jesus Christ,

Have pity on us and forgive us,

That we may joyfully follow your will, walk in your ways,

and lead a life which shows forth your mercy to the glory of your name.  Amen.

 

(adapted from World Council of Churches, “Week of Prayer 2003,” http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2003-6.pdf)

 

 

For Churches in North Carolina

 

Holy God, whose love has been poured into our hearts through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, and who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine, infuse us with a longing for reconciliation.

 

Help us, Christians living in North Carolina, maintain the unity of your Spirit in the bond of peace.  In these days when people across our state are affected by strife and its threat, make us light to the world.  When we get tired and confused, take us by the hand and show us the way forward.  Help us transform barriers into bridges.

 

Together this day we lift up the churches of our own town, that we would learn to work together in our community.  We pray for all churches in North Carolina, from the coastal plains to the mountain heights, that we would learn to live

together in Christian unity and thereby bear witness to your peaceable kingdom.  And we remember that we are only one small part of this vast communion of the saints that stretches across the whole world and fills the heavens, praising you

forever.

 

We give thanks for the spiritual gifts our sisters and brothers in Christ share with all your people.  Remind us that these ministries are for your whole church in your whole world.  This we pray in the name of the One who calls us to be one,

your Son our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

(Adapted from a prayer by Diane C. Kessler, Massachusetts Council of Churches,

 www.nccouncilofchurches.org/resources/downloads/EcumenicalPrayerCalendar2006.pdf, with additional material by Chris Liu Beers)

 

Thanksgiving Prayer

 

In peace let us pray to the Lord:

O Lord our God, we give you thanks for uniting us by baptism in the Body of Christ and for filling us with joy in the eucharist.  Lead us towards the full visible unity of your Church and help us to treasure all the signs of reconciliation

you have granted us.  Now that we have tasted of the banquet you have prepared for us in the world to come, may we all one day share together the inheritance of the saints in the life of your heavenly city, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.  

 

(adapted from the World Council of Churches, “The Lima Liturgy,” www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/lima-e.html#7)