Tag Archives: Statement of Faith

Who Is the Holy Spirit? A Liturgy

08 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by in UCC Statement of Faith

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Call to Worship
One: Holy Breath, fill our beings with new energy.
Many: Holy Breath, fill our lungs with calming air.
One: Holy Winds, encircle us with your stirring breezes.
Many: Holy Winds, encircle our minds with dreams and visions.
One: Holy Gales, set us on a path of strangeness and surprises.
Many: Holy Gales, fill our souls with courage and our hearts with joy.

Invocation
Spirit of God, Divine Gust,

The mystery of your being swirls around us as you inspire us to co-create with you.  As we reach to God, your great exhale nudges us closer to our Divine Parent.  As we seek to share our stories, you place the images and words into our minds.  Through your presence and power, we are inspired to joyously share the adventures of our faith with and in you.  Holy Gale of God, encircle us with your realm here on earth.  Amen.

Prayer of Reconciliation and Reflection
Spirit of Warmth and Wonder,

The chills of this world paralyze our anxious hearts.  We become stagnant when listening to the discord from other voices instead of listening to your harmonies.  We shun your visions and dreams because we stop believing the future is possible.  We feel as if all life is being drained from us, that we are simply dry bones.  May your winds awaken us.  May your breath enliven us.  May we see new life as we inhale your breath.  Amen.

Assurance of Grace
Our God, the flicker of new life in our world, ignites our hearts to share love with our neighbors.  God’s Spirit will help us to understand Divine Grace in our lives, understanding that second chances and hope are the path to unimagined possibilities.  Amen.

Invitation to Giving
The Spirit’s winds are always nudging us to new ways of giving.  Could this be through our time?  Could the Spirit be emboldening us to give from different talents?  In what ways are we called to give of our treasures today?  As we reflect on the ways we share, we come together to offer God our praise through our gifts.

Blessing of the Gifts
This is the time for us to dream together, Spirit of God.  May we run wild with hope as we embrace our Spirit-infused imaginations.  With joy, we celebrate the offerings contributed this week, this month, and this year as we commit to dream with you, Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Benediction
May Spirit’s flame warm our chilled hearts.
May the Spirit’s winds encircle our anxious minds.
May the Spirit’s breath enliven our souls.
Through the Spirit’s presence, we embrace the love of God and the hand of neighbor as we dream together.  Amen.

(c) 2022 Rev. Michelle L. Torigian. Permission to use and stream with attribution.

Who Is God? A Liturgy

25 Monday Jul 2022

Posted by in Liturgy

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Call to Worship
One: Our God searches us and knows us.
Many: May we search for God on our journeys.
One: Our God is acquainted with all of our ways.
Many: May we seek the ways of our God.
One: Our God flees with us to the farthest limits of the sea.
Many: May we sense our God in our fleeing and retreating.
One: We praise you, Creator God.
Many: For we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful, as we know very well.

Invocation
In the cracks of the cement and in the flickering streetlights, you are present.  In the summer breeze and the wandering firefly, you make your presence known.  Open us to the small ways you speak to us.  As you reveal yourself in the mighty and miniscule, may we be willing to embrace the unconventional pictures of you.  Amen.

Prayer of Reconciliation and Reflection
Holy Savior and Seeker,

As we wander aimlessly about this world, we become distracted by empty, shiny objects.  We focus on the dramatic instead of the holy.  Instead of seeing your presence in the ordinary, we look for something more glamorous.  Fill our hearts with hope in humble voices and simplicity.  Make way for your visions to enter our dreams.  Amen.

Assurance of Grace
Our Loving God, the Holy Savior and Seeker and Great Creator, will transform our minds as we set our sights upon the intentions of God.  Throughout our journeys, God’s grace will fill our lives with hope for the future.  Amen.

Call to Offering
As we continue to recognize the image of God all around us in our lives, we will begin to sense how God is calling us to use our gifts to build our church, our community, and our world.  May we recognize the ways we build our relationship with God and neighbor as we dedicate our gifts to God.

Blessing of the Gifts
Radiant God, Holy Light,
In gratitude for your love, we share our treasures, our talents, and our time with this congregation and community.  We humbly ask that you illuminate our minds and hearts to recognize your presence as we use all our resources to craft a kind and just world for all.  Amen.

Benediction
As we leave this space and continue to co-create with God,
May we sense God our Creator filling us with inspiration to craft a world of love.
May we sense God our Seeker and Savior accompanying us into the valleys and peaks of life.
May we sense God the Carpenter of Justice and Love awakening us to new avenues of caring.
May God of the Expanding Universe open us to a world of new visions and dreams.  Amen.

Rev. Michelle L. Torigian (c) 2022
Permission to use and adapt with attribution