Election Day Communion
Service, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012
The Welcome Table
missional community
This service
is part of a national movement to emphasize the unity of the church and of the
nation, and to remind the followers of Jesus and the people of God to focus on
the mission of compassion and love for one another, especially the most
vulnerable.
Call to Worship
The grace of
Christ’s liberating spirit, the everlasting love of God, and the companionship
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Loving Creator,
we gather for praise and worship and to pledge to you our loyalty and our service
for your mission in the world.
Bless our gathering and our remembering,
our hearing and our speaking. Bless us that we may be a blessing—to you, to our
community, to our nation, and to our world. O Holy One, be with us this evening
and open our hearts to You. Amen.
Prayers of Confession and Assurance For Ourselves, Our Nation, and Our
World
Redeemer and Sustainer, who of thy great mercy hast promised
forgiveness of sins to all those who, with hearty repentance and great trust,
turn unto thee: have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
“Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart,
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (from the Gospel of Matthew)
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the
vine, ye are the branches; they that abideth in me, and I in them, the same
bringeth forth much fruit.” (Gospel of John)
Eternal God, before you nations rise and fall. Help us to repent of our
country’s wrong, and to choose your way of reunion and renewal.
Great God, renew this nation.
Give us a glimpse of the kin-dom you are bringing to earth, where death
and violence and hunger will be no more, and where all nations gather in the
light of your presence.
Great God, renew this nation.
Teach us peace, that we may plow up battlefields and pound weapons into
building tools, and learn to talk across old boundaries as brothers and sisters
in your love.
Great God, renew this nation.
Talk sense to us, so that we may wisely end all prejudices, and may put
a stop to injustice and cruelty, which divides or wounds the human family.
Great God, renew this nation.
Draw us together as one people who do your will, so that we may be a
light to our nation, leading the way to your promised realm, which is even now
coming among us.
Great God, renew this nation. ---(Based on
Isaiah 2:4-5, adapted from a prayer by Idlewild Presbyterian Church (Memphis,
TN)
Lift up your hearts and give thanks to God.
We lift them up to God. Thanks be to
God.
God of Hope and Healing, save us from violence, discord, and confusion.
Fashion into one people the multitudes of many kindreds and tongues. May your
spirit of wisdom be in those with authority of government. In the time of our
prosperity restrain our pride and temper our self-confidence with thankfulness,
and in the days of trouble suffer not our trust in thee to fail. Revive in all
hearts a spirit of devotion to the public good, that strife and tumult may be
stilled and justice and truth may be exalted. Enable us and all thy people
faithfully to discharge the duties thou hast laid upon us, that thy kingdom may
come and thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Finally, dispose us all
to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. Amen.
Bless, O God, this land and all its people; in peace so guard it that
it corrupt not; in trouble so shield it that it suffer not; in plenty or want
so order it that it may serve thee, especially thy children in need. Amen.
O God, by whom light riseth up in darkness, grant us, amid our doubts
and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldst have us do, that the
spirit of wisdom may save us from false choices, that in thy light we may see
light and in thy path we may not stumble. Bless and keep all thy people of all
nations and bring them unity, peace, and concord too. Amen. (King’s Chapel Book
of Common Prayer, alt)
O God, we pray that we not be distracted by the inconsequential
concerns of the fleeting day, and put our attention in misguided places,
falling under the influence of those who for profit or political gain seek to divide
us, to create apathy or fear, but that we remember those for whom you have
called us to be witnesses.
For the victims of war. Have mercy. The abandoned and the homeless. Have mercy the imprisoned and the tortured Have mercy The widowed and the orphaned Have mercy
The bleeding and the dying Have mercy The
weary and the desperate Have mercy The lost and the forsaken Have mercy O God -- Have mercy on us sinners Forgive us
for we know not what we do
For our scorched and blackened earth Forgive us For the scandal of billions wasted in war Forgive us For our
arms makers and arms dealers Forgive us
For our Caesars and Herods Forgive us For the violence that is
rooted in our hearts Forgive us For the times we turn others
into enemies Forgive us Deliver us, O God Guide our
feet into the way of peace Hear our prayer. Grant us peace.
From the arrogance of power Deliver us From the myth of redemptive
violence Deliver us From the tyranny of greed Deliver us From the ugliness of racism Deliver us
From the cancer of hatred Deliver us. From the seduction of wealth Deliver us. From the addiction of control Deliver us. From the idolatry of nationalism Deliver us. From the paralysis of cynicism Deliver us From the violence of apathy Deliver us From the ghettos of poverty Deliver us From the
ghettos of wealth Deliver us From a
lack of imagination Deliver us.
Deliver us, O God Guide our feet into the way of peace We
will not conform to the patterns of this world Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds With the help of
God’s grace Let us resist evil wherever
we find it With the waging of war We will not comply With the
legalization of murder We will not comply With the slaughter of
innocents We will not comply. With laws that betray human life We will not comply. With the
destruction of community We will not comply. With the pointing finger and malicious talk We will not comply. With the
idea that happiness must be purchased We will not comply. With the ravaging of the earth We will
not comply With principalities and
powers that oppress We will not comply. With the destruction of peoples We will
not comply With the
raping of women We will not comply With
governments that kill We will not comply With the
theology of empire We will not comply With the
business of militarism We will not comply With the hoarding of riches We
will not comply. With the dissemination of fear We will not comply
Today we pledge our ultimate allegiance… to the Kingdom of God We pledge
allegiance To a peace that is not like the Empire's We pledge
allegiance To the
Gospel of enemy love We pledge allegiance To the
Kingdom of the poor and broken We pledge allegiance To a King that loves his enemies so much he died for them We pledge
allegiance To the
least of these, with whom Christ dwells We pledge allegiance To the
transnational Church that transcends the artificial borders of nations We pledge allegiance To the
refugee of Nazareth We pledge allegiance To the
homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head We pledge allegiance To the
cross rather than the sword We pledge allegiance To the
banner of love above any flag We pledge allegiance To the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist We pledge
allegiance To the one
who rides a donkey rather than a war-horse We pledge allegiance To the revolution that sets both oppressed and
oppressors free We pledge allegiance To the Way
that leads to life We pledge allegiance. O God, have mercy on us, incline our hearts to mercy for others, and
guide our feet along Your way. (from Litany of Resistance, by Shane Claiborne
and Chris Haws, et al, alt.)
Psalms and Silent Prayer and Meditation
Except the Lord build the
house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the
watchman waketh but in vain.
The Lord also will be a
refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble, and they that know thy
name will put their trust in thee; for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that
seek thee.
The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want
Remember O Lord thy tender
mercies and thy lovingkindnesses, for they have been ever of old, remember not
the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to thy mercy remember
thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord
“Dona Nobis Pacem”
Communion
Adapted
from “A call to put away your swords and your sound bites,”by Jonathan Martin,
lead pastor of Renovatus Church, alt.
The world has called you to the voting booth to decide which candidate
should run the country. We are calling you to the bread and cup, to decide once
more who will run your life. So let us put away our swords and our sound bites.
Let us drop our rocks and our nets. Let us come to the table that is not just
for the rich and powerful, but for the broken. Come and be made whole.
Prayer: O God,
we gather at this welcoming table open to all, remembering how Jesus gathered
people from all the walks of life, stranger and friend and enemies, gave thanks
to you, offered all the bread of life and the cup of blessing and proclaimed a
covenant of love for all in your name. Help us to remember with this meal
especially all those who are hungry, and may we treat all our meals as sacred
and to be shared. Take us, bless us, so that even in and with our brokenness we
may serve others. May we pray then with Jesus, as he taught those who would
follow his radically compassionate way, in saying, Our Father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus said I was hungry and you gave me food.
I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I
was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison
and you came to me. And they said, Lord, when did we do this? And he said, You
did this for me when you did it for the least of these.
Here is the bread of life, food for the
spirit. Let all who hunger come and eat. Here is the fruit of the vine pressed
and poured out for us. Let all who thirst now come and drink.
We come to
make peace. We come to be restored in the love of God. We come to be made new
as an instrument of that love. All are worthy. All are welcome. (from Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, Rob Eller-Isaacs)
Passing
the Plate and the Cup
“We’re
Gonna Sit At The Welcome Table”
Benediction
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