Opening Prayer

         Such beauty you have set before our eyes, O Lord, such glory we behold - if only we wake up and open ourselves to see. Forgive us, God, for when our praise is more grudging than grateful, when it is not a "new song of joy and celebration." You are the source of all that is good around us. Could we really even take in all the joy that you freely share? You are joy itself. To know you is to know joy, and peace, and hope, and love, and life itself.
         Thank you for the precious gift of your Son, Jesus - the very reason we are here this day. May this worship - what we say and do, the songs and the silences, the thoughts of which we are aware and those unconscious yearnings which govern our lives - may all of it right now be an offering to you, that you might receive us where we are and move us toward where you want us to be.
         In Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Unison Prayer of Confession

Gracious God, hear our confession.
Our faith is uncertain,
         our forgiveness slow,
         our conviction weak,
         our compassion wavering.
We have exalted the proud and powerful,
         put down the weak,
         saturated the rich with good things,
         neglected the poor,
         sent the hungry away empty-handed.
We have helped ourselves.

Show us your mercy,
Help us show mercy,
         through your Son, our Savior. AMEN

Hymnal #703
Adapted from the musical "Prayer Phrases"
by Harris J. Loewen, © 1986 Harris J. Loewen

Responding

         If we were to sing the rest of that hymn, we’d give testimony to how God stands by us at all stages of life, not just when we are young. "In the midst of persecution, when (your) foes in war array, undertake to stop (your) way," he is with you. "When (you’re) growing old and feeble, when life becomes a burden, and you’re nearing chilly Jordan," he is with you.
         As our truest Mentor, Jesus stands by us. Not only is he our Savior and Lord, he is our friend. And by being our truest friend, he shows us how to be true friends with each other. Mentors, above all else, are true friends. Those of you who are responding to the call to become a mentor, you know what to do, placing your response in the offering as it is passed. Now is a time for all us to respond, with our tithes and offerings, to God who entrusts us with so great a treasure.
         Will the ushers come forward to serve?

Benediction

Go now:
         Go in safety,
                  for you cannot go where God is not.
         Go in love,
                  for love alone endures.
         Go with purpose,
                  and God will honor your dedication.
         Go in peace,
                  for it is the gift of God to those
                  whose hearts and minds are in Christ Jesus.
Amen

by Earle W. Fike jr.
p. 122, For All Who Minister
A Worship Manual for the Church of the Brethren
©1993, Brethren Press