EW Opening Worship (04 mar) - Prayers
Our prayers today will bring a visual focus of a tree.
Trees are prevalent in the bible, and all around the world: without them, our ecosystems could not survive. Trees give us the air we breathe, the food we eat, the beauty we relish. We use them for shade, for structure, as signposts to guide our way.
As we honour the connection of trees, we consider our connections to one another as we pray.
God of wholeness: we heal when we surround ourselves with living things. Let us see this symbolic tree as a reminder of your gifts to us, and of our commitment to each other.
In this time of prayer, we hold before you all who seek healing: those who grieve; those who struggle; those who are sick in mind, body, and spirit.
We pray:
ALL: Heal us Lord, and make us whole.
God of compassion, we are rooted and grounded in your love. May we, your church, be assured of our connection to you, and the blessing of our connection with each other. As we gather in your name, and create holy space in our hearts, inspire our actions to reflect your glory. Help us to find new ways to care for the lost, the least, the left-behind. Empower all those who seek innovative and inspired ways to work for justice and equality.
We pray:
ALL: Strengthen us, Lord, for the work of your Good News.
God who moves.
Keep us strong in our foundation, and sturdy enough to weather the storms we face. Keep us flexible enough to sway and dance with the Winds of life. As you provide us with all that we need, call us to action in our communities, that we may continue to extend what is necessary and good for the benefit of all.
We pray:
ALL: Grow our gratitude, Lord, that we may share our abundance.
God of joy:
You tell us that trees clap their hands and shout for joy; and you invite us to do the same. We hold before you our past: the wounds that are healing, the celebrations, the unrealised hopes.
May we mark, like rings in a tree, that our history has formed us; and may we grow – always grow – to be stronger and healthier from the journey. Turn our sorrows into dancing; raise our hearts to Your Son; brighten our lives with the joy that you unceasingly lavish upon us.
We pray:
ALL: Empower us, Lord, to bring gladness to your world.
God who speaks; help us to learn: to listen to the voices of women and girls; to uphold the dignity of all, to dare to work courageously towards justice, and to celebrate new days, new joys, and new possibilities. God who speaks, help us to speak now; as we offer this place and this tree as a means to communicate our vision of your will.
May we bless one another with our journeys, as we bless this space and this ‘tree’ with our visions.
May it be sturdy for our work this CSW and beyond; may we be as sturdy as a tree in our commitment to justice.
We pray:
ALL: Speak Lord; as we listen. Hear us Lord, as we pray.
Amen.
TEC Opening Eucharist (06 mar) - Prayers (with Ryan Zavacky)
God of all, you call us into communion: with our siblings, our friends, and our enemies. Your church is larger than anything we can ask or imagine. Inspire us to seek innovative ways to serve you and glorify your name throughout your world. God of justice,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for the Nations of this world, those who have gathered here at the United Nations, and those who are absent. We honour all voices, acknowledging those who are silenced, intimidated, or ignored. In this context today, We pray for the Member States, delegations, the members of the Commission on the Status Women and all others who are involved that their work may lead by love to promote equality and equity of all people in your creation. O Ruler of the Nations,
Hear our Prayer.
We pray for the welfare of the world, asking you to encourage us in the work for justice. Help us to protect the delicate ecosystems that sustain us, celebrating our niche as a part of your creation. Stir within us the desire to establish safety and equality for all women, girls, and gender oppressed people.For those of us with privilege, may we use our situations to lift up the well being of those who suffer and struggle. God who empowers, inspire us as agents of your will. God of compassion,
Hear our prayer.
We pray for those in our world who suffer in mind, body, or spirit. We lament the suffering of your children. Open our eyes to the struggles in our midst, that we may actively engage in the challenges of the lost, the least, and the left behind. Where there is apathy, may we speak up. Where there is injustice, may we take action. Where there is violence, may we extend your healing balm. Quiet our minds and open our hearts that we may love all your people the way that you love us. God of wholeness,
Hear our prayer.
We ask you, God of New Life; to give rest to those who have died, and give us faith that we all may join in your resurrection. We especially remember your servant, Frank Griswold III, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church. We thank you for his service to us all and ask that your grace be known to Phoebe, his children and all whose lives were connected to him. May he be grant peace and rise with you, Perptua and Fecility and all your Saints in glory. God of Hope,
Hear our prayer.
We pray with gratitude to you, as you invite us to celebrate the abundance of blessings that you have placed in our lives. As we pray to you, in this place and around the world, we pause to consider our thanksgivings. (Pause). Keep our lives, and our work, a constant expression of gratitude and hope, as we look to New days, new joys, and new possibilities.God of goodness and grace,
Hear our prayer. Amen.
TEC/ACC worship (CCUN, 10 mar)
Prayers and Benediction:
Open our eyes to the realities of our unjust world, and stir up in us the compulsion to do what is right.
Strengthen the convictions of all who work for peace.
Help us to overcome our fears, our apathy, and our ignorance, in the face of the struggles of those that you love.
Remind us to use the abundant gifts that you have given us (and continue to lavish upon us) in order to create communities that celebrate your glory.
Heal your people, through your grace, to know wholeness and safety.
Overwhelm us all with your Vision of justice, equality, and love.
God, you have never been silent. Help us to proclaim your glory, today and always.
Amen.
So as We leave this place but never God’s presence…
We ask God to bless those who continue their work here at CSW
We commend to God those who are travelling home this weekend to continue their work towards justice there.
We uphold before God every person who strives to bring about the work of Gender equality, wherever and whenever you are.
May the God of hope empower you.
May the God of joy overfill you.
May the God of love send you into the world in peace.
Reflection on Romans 5.1-11
REFLECTION: On epistle for Lent 3
We Anglicans and Episcopalians love our lectionary. That gorgeous 3 year cycle of scripture that guides our daily and weekly worship. And today we’re going to delve into some of the Lectionary for this coming week.
But.
Oh, there’s a but. A BIG but.
Sometimes our stories need to be edited. They need a rewrite. We’ve heard the scriptures time and again. And sometimes, they don’t sound holy. Because they can sound like they aren’t always upholding the dignity of every human being.
So we tend to just ignore them… shy away from them… acknowledge that we dislike them, but leave it there… shift our focus to something else in that lovely lectionary selections.
But not today. Today, we’re going to grapple with this week's text, to hear the scriptures in a way that speaks to us. In Our context. Our story… that we are hearing, internalizing, and making our own.
So Paul (not always writing from a feminist perspective) writes to the Romans (not exactly the community known for equality) about how the faith brings peace and joy. But chapter 5 has been co-opted in some interpretations over the years, and misunderstood as a call to just accept suffering. You all know this passage… suffering produces endurance, produces character, produces character, produces hope. So suffering is good, right?
Nope. That’s a big nope.
God doesn’t want us to suffer. Not for our gender, not for our race and colour, not for our ancestry, not for anything.
Instead, if we go back to the Greek as Paul wrote it, Paul is writing to inspire us to move beyond suffering… by persisting in the call for justice. And this is a call to move not just individuals, but the church… the world. All of God's people are called to move us all beyond suffering.
So. With some poetic license, and the grace of God, I offer to you the following re-telling of Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 5.
We, beloved, have peace with God through our Lord Jesus. Jesus has given us access to the immeasurable grace that holds us up. God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
This gives us hope… holy hope that strengthens our character as children of God. This character fuels us in our ministry, our activism, our advocacy …. So that we can endure the hard work that is before us.
This endurance then speaks of a righteous persistence… . Nevertheless, we persist.
And this persistence counters the tribulations of the world.
Well now! That’s a different message, isn’t it.
That’s the good news that we are meant to carry with us.
Not that injustices are meant to be tolerated…
But instead, that our faith, which has been justified by God, brings us to the position of resisting the evils of this world. Of rejecting systems and structures that oppress. Of acting against anything that would deny the fullness of humanity that God has given us.
This is why we persist. This is why we lean into the hard work of gender justice.
This is how we are living the good news of God… not somebody, somewhere else, in some other time, but here. Now. Us.
We are agents of change for a just world.
So let us take the stories that we know
The ones we have heard
The ones we have been taught
The ones we have shared…
And the ones that we will share.
Sometimes, we need to flip the story. We need to look at what the core message was - and IS, and recognise the divine vision for just society, and hear how God is speaking… then, and now.
We are called to tell the story in ways that the world will hear the liberating freedom of God’s word.
To empower this and future generations to live into the story.
God’s story is the story of justice… of peace… of equality for all.
This is our story … this is God’s story… this is the story that God is calling all of us to tell.
So persist.
Overtake oppression. Empower the weak, encourage the exploited, advocate for the voiceless. Persevere against normalized evils. Do what you need to do to fulfill your calling. Do what God has spoken into your heart to do. Persist.
For when we persist in this work, and lift God’s beloved out of suffering, we embrace the glory of God.
This is the hope we have been given. This is the work that we are equipped to do.
This is the foundation of our faith, and the glory of God that is worth boasting about.
So take the story that has been given to us all!
Take your favourite passage. Take the passage you’re neutral about. Take the passage you avoid.
And flip them… into good news; the good news of God.
make it plain, and share it so the world can hear the holy word that God intended.
Amen.
