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annual meeting

call to confession for the annual meeting worship service

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On days like today it is easy for us to celebrate all we have done, while forgetting what God has done. It is easy to look back with rosy glasses and then turn our eyes to the future, unreflective. But God calls us to honesty in both our individual and collective lives, so let’s take this moment to reflect on the ways we have failed ourselves, one another, the church, the world.

(begin in silence, then follow with unison prayer of confession)

 

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.

confession: a broken body

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You have knit us together, your body,
and we confess that sometimes we are busy pulling out the stitches,
trying to go our own way, heedless of the needs of other members.
You have made us one through your Spirit,
and we confess that we sometimes value our individualism over your call.
You remind us that if we were all the same, there could be no body,
and we confess that might be easier for us, even if it is not your will.
You call us to work together, suffer together, rejoice together, and to follow your most excellent way.
But the way of love is hard work. Cleanse us of our selfish desires and our arrogance, and fill us with your vision of justice, peace, and harmony, for we, though many, are one body. We ask this in the power of your one Spirit. Amen.

 

God does not call us to wallow in our brokenness—instead, we confess and know God’s healing, then move forward into God’s call. Each of our bodies, as well as Christ’s body, the Church, is a place we can experience God’s grace and power. Friends, believe and live this good news: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.

 

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.