UNCSW68 ACO/TEC Worship Docs (Intimate Partner Relation ships; 1 Cor 13)

OPENING PRAYER (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, The Rev. Dr. Laura Marie Piotrowicz)
God of relationships;
We come this morning with hearts that seek you.
We come with the desire to speak your truth;
We come with the intention to share your goods;
We come with the passion to serve your people with love.

We know we have let you down;
We know we have injured one another.
We ask for your help in all our relationships.

Where there is doubt, cover us with faith.
Where there is despair, enfold us in hope.
Where there is anger, embrace us with love.
Help us to live in your grace, that we may declare your love in all we do. Amen.



LITURGY of the WOMEN - Based on 1 Cor 13 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, The Rev. Dr. Laura Marie Piotrowicz and the Rev. Robin Newman)
For the Hannahs of the world; who know and speak their heart’s desires to caring husbands and loving God, and who wait and see how God will bless them.
Love is patient;
For the Tabithas of the world, who use their skill to provide for the widows and those in need in their community;
Love is kind;
For the Lydias; whose financial stability could lead to a sense of superiority and acts of egotism, yet choose to use their means to promote the Gospel alongside their friends
Love is not envious or boastful.
For the Abigails of the world, who use their diplomacy to de-escalate conflict, and live in peace, in the name of God.
Love is not arrogant or rude.
For the Queen Vashtis of the world, who hold their dignity higher than the expectations of others
Love does not insist on its own way;
For the Ruths and Naomis, who have not experienced fairness in their lives, yet who overcome adversity with dignity and grace
Love is not irritable or resentful;
For the Deborahs of the world, who sit in justice, judging with righteousness and compassion
Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing,
For the Eves, who are blamed for breakdowns in communication and relationship; for the Hagars who are not afraid to speak truth to power
love rejoices in the truth.
For the Marys; like the God-bearer; who are supported by loving partners in the fulfillment of their mission, transformed by their faith in God.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
For the Miriams; whose faith exceeds the risks they face, and whose age is not a barrier to serving God
Love hopes all things, endures all things.
For all the women in the Bible; those with names, those who are nameless, those who are forgotten by the editting of time.
For all the women, who bear the love that God showers upon them;
Love never ends.