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morning prayer: respite from our task-filled days

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God of this new morning…

As the sounds of sunrise stir us from our slumber…
As the birds chirp their songs outside our windows…
As the squirrels scamper from tree to tree…

we celebrate the gift of rest…
the gift of sabbath…
the gift that reminds us to take care of ourselves…
so that the moments when we’re overwhelmed
by the burdens and challenges of life
might find balance with the much needed moments
of relaxation and self-indulgence.

We have all gathered here,
if only for a few days,
to find respite from our task-filled days.

We have all gathered here,
if only for a few days,
to be inspired with new ideas
and new visions of what it means to be “church”.

We have all gathered here,
if only for a few days,
to eat,
to drink,
to sing,
to dance,
and to play…

to create,
and to be RE-created…

to hear,
to smell,
to feel,
to taste
and to see your goodness!

We give thanks for the community we share at UNCO…
even this morning…
whether we struggle to stay alert
in our pre-caffeinated trances;
we struggle to stay focused
with each soothing, intra-caffeinated sip;
or we struggle to stay still
in our post-caffeinated restlessness.

In the aftermath of many spoken words
and many ingested thoughts…
give legs to those things that should not lose momentum…
so that vision, energy, and creativity
are not stifled by skepticism, traditionalism,
or any other “-ism” that seeks to sabotage
the potential that you see…
the potential that you CREATED…
within each of us.

Draw us closer to you…
and draw us closer to one another…

so that when we travel in all directions
back to our homes…
back to the churches we serve…
back to the ministries in which we participate…
back to our task-filled days…
we might be drawn closer to the world around us
that is longing to hear and SEE real good news

that has no conditions…
no punchlists…
no barriers…
and no secret handshakes.

This IS our prayer…even now…
as we sing the familiar words of Jesus’ prayer together…

(We closed with a sung version of “The Lord’s Prayer”)

Submitted by Scott Cervas, pastor at Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church (Lexington, KY), this prayer was used in a morning prayer service at Unconference East at Stony Point Conference center (Stony Point, NY) on May 23, 2012.

morning prayer: the table we surround

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God of imagination and creativity…
we gather from many different places…
we gather from many different contexts and situations…
we gather with many different questions,
and many different hopes…
but we’re all here for the same reason…
to discover the joy of a
safe, barrier-free, intentional community.

This table we surround
has reminded us this week
that life is not always as you intend it to be.

We often encounter these same signs.
No Trespassing!
Keep Out!
Private Property!
Under Surveillance!

And when we’re not encountering them ourselves,
we’re nailing them to our own fences.

This table we surround
has reminded us this week
that life is not always as you intend it to be.

And yet,
it also paints for us
your perfect vision for creation.

A vision that does not exclude.

A vision that celebrates the good-ness of your creation.

A vision that does not reach full satisfaction
until everyone has sat…
until everyone has eaten…
until everyone has drank…
and until everyone has loved and been loved.

So help us all…this day…
to fully discover your image within us…
to draw our own pictures…
to paint it with our fingers…
to color outside the lines with our jumbo boxes of crayons…
and to make it all into one, big, messy…
yet absolutely perfect…
collage of creation
that dares to challenge our deep-rooted prejudices
and quiets the cacophony of pre-conceived notions
that plague our minds.

Give us the courage
to embrace the energy and enthusiasm
that flows deep within us…
so that our discussions today
might inspire us…
transform us…
and move us forward.

We look for this inspiration…
even now…
as we gaze upon the Christ…
whose words and actions
challenge us to a life
that moves each of us far beyond ourselves
toward every OTHER that surrounds us…
even now…
as we sing that familiar prayer of Jesus together…

(We closed with a sung version of “The Lord’s Prayer”)

Submitted by Scott Cervas, pastor at Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church (Lexington, KY), this prayer was used in a morning prayer service at Unconference East at Stony Point Conference center (Stony Point, NY) on May 22, 2012.

prayer for wholeness: we are not alone

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Prayer for Wholeness

The signposts of our lives cry out “Danger!” “Keep out!” “Detour!” “Stop!” We’re told to proceed with caution and keep our hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. We hit roadblocks and wonder if we’re doing the right thing. Maybe we need to recalculate the map… but how can we if we don’t know what our final destination is? How can we if we’re so set on our final destination that we don’t see the dirt roads wandering off to possibilities unknown? We want to re-imagine, re-think, re-member; but we don’t want to get stuck in our own journey and forget our siblings who are also struggling or who have walked this journey before. When we lift up our heads, we see we are not alone. A vast community journeys with us—some of whom look like us and think like us and many of whom do not. God created us. Jesus calls us to follow. The Spirit pushes us into places we don’t always want to go, but go we must. We don’t go alone.

Assurance

Beloved, I assure you God is present in this community, has been present during all of Unco, and will be present with us as we continue our journeys. God hears our prayers and longs for us to draw closer… closer to Her and closer to each other. Amen.

 

submitted by Emily Morgan, for Unco12’s closing worship.

CTW: imagine, dream, create, worship

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As a new light dawns…the sounds of sunrise stir us from our slumber!
As we gather together…songs of shared celebration ascend from our souls!
As we reside within our reality…God’s Spirit invites us to imagine…
dares us to dream…and compels us to create life as it is intended to be!
So let’s not simply sit and stand! Let’s not simply sing songs and say words!
Let’s imagine…let’s dream…let’s create…and let’s worship God!

Submitted by Scott Cervas, pastor at Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church (Lexington, KY)