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Call to Prayer |
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Leader: |
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Praise the One who has heard the cry of the poor, |
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All: |
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Who has lifted up the weak and given them strength. |
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Leader: |
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Praise the One who has fed the hungry and satisfied the longing of those in need, |
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All: |
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Who has held with tenderness the orphan and widow and given the stranger a land and a home. |
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Antiphonal Prayer |
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Left: |
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My spirit takes delight in the presence of our God; my heart is filled with laughter |
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and my words fall short of the truth I long to express. |
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Right: |
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For the One whom we love is faithful: |
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our ancestors have known compassion throughout the ages, |
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and this day, mercy is given us. |
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Left: |
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Holy is the love and sacred is the place where we meet. We are in awe of the gift that is ours. |
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Right: |
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The powerful have stumbled and the rich are burdened and fall. The proud are alone in their confusion. |
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Left: |
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While before our eyes, the weak are upheld in kindness. The poor are called by name; |
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the hungry are nourished with bread that never grows old. |
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Right: |
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The promise endures. The One whom we love is faithful and life gives birth to beauty and truth. |
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All: |
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Our Spirits take delight in the wondrous presence of our God. Holy is this love. We are in awe of the gift that is ours. |
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Prayer:
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All: |
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Loving God, we celebrate your faithfulness and love, and praise you for the wonders you have worked through women and men of faith throughout history. Your presence within us enables us to claim our own strength and our need, and to take risks in the service of your people, confident of your grace. Continue to root us more deeply in your love that any life that results from our efforts might be an expression of your truth and 1ove. We ask this through Jesus, your own word and gift of love. Amen. |
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(Janet Schaifran and Pat Kozak) |
