Prayer
Call to Worship (Psalm 117)
Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
Praise the Lord!
For great is God’s steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Responsive Psalm 142
With my voice I cry to the Lord;
with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
Look on my right hand and see—
there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.
When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
Save me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
Bring me out of prison,
so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.
SONG: Nada te turbe (Taizé)
A reading from the book of Acts
When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen Paul in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (…) The people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. (…) Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” The tribune replied, “Do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.” [Acts 21:27-36]
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word!
Thanks be to God.
Silence
Intercessory Prayer
God of love, through Christ you said to us: “You did not choose me but I chose you”. You seek us, you invite us to receive your friendship and abide in it. Teach us to respond more deeply to this invitation, and grow in a life that is ever more complete.
Listen to our cry.
God of life, you call us to be praise in the midst of the world and to welcome one another as a gift of your grace. May your loving gaze, which rests upon each person, open us to receive each other just as we are.
Listen to our cry.
God of all people, you knit us together in one human family. We entrust to you the peoples and churches in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Praise be you for the 2,000-year presence and witness of the church in this area. Praise be you for the Church Fathers and Mothers who came from this region, and for the many Christian martyrs who have witnessed to the Gospel.
Listen to our cry.
God of compassion, heal the memories and wounds inflicted by genocides.We lift up to you those deeply traumatized by the violence against the Tigray people. We also entrust to you the Indigenous people of Canada.
Listen to our cry.
God of peace, open ways of peace through the current tensions especially in the Tigray region, enhance respect for all minority groups and their claims,
Listen to our cry.
God of care, as many countries continue in lockdown, bring healing to all the sick. We entrust to you all those infected with COVID and all those suffering from the many ways COVID has impacted life, emotionally, psychologically, physically, spiritually.
Listen to our cry.
God of the one vineyard, you call us to abide in your love in all we do and say. Touched by your goodness, make us a reflection of that love in all the spaces we inhabit. Pave the way for bridging rivalries and overcoming tensions.
Listen to our cry.
God of life, hold in your gentle embrace all who will die this day.
Listen to our cry.
Thank you, dear Jesus,
for being a good shepherd to all believers.
When we are lost from your flock,
you never sleep until you bring us back,
and there is rejoicing in heaven and on earth.
Our daily shepherd, our defender, our protector,
thank you for keeping us from all evil,
from fearful, harmful things
and for preserving us from all unbelief.
In your name we pray.
AMEN.
(Prayer from Eritrea)
The Lord’s Prayer (each in the language of their heart)
Blessing
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and all peace in faith,
so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Go in peace. Proclaim the Good News!
Thanks be to God!
