Prayers around the Cross
PJ: We are gathered today on the occupied territory of the Sana and Tonkawa People who have stewarded this land for generations.
Leader1: Welcome to Prayer around the Cross, a worship service with prayer, simple singing, and communion.
PJ: The songs we sing tonight are simple phrases and may be brand new to you. For each song, Ethan, the worship leader, will sing it through once at the beginning. We will repeat each song several times. As we do so, let the words deepen into your spirit and let them guide your prayer.
Gathering Song
PJ: A reading from the Gospel of Luke Then Jesus said to the disciples,
Leader1: “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him,
PJ: ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’
Leader1: Then the manager said to himself,
Leader2:‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’
Leader1: So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first,
Leader2: ‘How much do you owe my master?’
Leader1: He answered,
PJ: ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’
Leader1: He said to him,
Leader2: ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’
Leader1: Then he asked another,
Leader2: ‘And how much do you owe?’
Leader1: He replied,
PJ: ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’
Leader1: He said to him,
Leader2: ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’
Leader1: And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
Leader2: “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
PJ: Here, all are equal.
Leader1: There is no test to pass,
PJ: No “right kind of Christian” to be.
Leader1: All that matters is that you are here.
(Pause)
Leader2: All are one in Christ.
PJ: God is not bound by our differences.
Leader2: All are one in Christ.
Leader1: Where we push people apart, God draws us together.
Leader2: May we be grateful
PJ: For community and for people who love us, just as we are.
Leader2: May we be grateful
Leader1: That none of us are above any other.
Leader2: May we be grateful
PJ: That God believes that we are all worthy of love
Leader1: For God has loved us this far, and God’s love will carry us on.
Leader2: May we be grateful to You, O Christ, for proving God’s love to us.
(Pause)
PJ: Tonight, we are called to the cross, the symbol of Jesus’ transformation.
Leader1: We are called into an abundant life with God,
Leader2: We are called to let our hearts be changed, to be nourished, to be transformed.
PJ: Tonight, you are invited to the cross.
Leader1: When you are ready, come to the cross, light a candle, and pray.
Leader2: At the cross, you may be close to another member of the community. If you choose to pray at the cross, the members of the community that are sitting near you are invited to pray silently for you – and with you.
PJ: Those near you may lay a hand on you as they pray with you. This is a physical connection that shows the spiritual connection that we are all united as children of God. All are invited to also sing their prayers.
(Pause)
Leader1: Come when you are ready, for the God who is always faithful is eager to be with you in prayer.
Prayer at the Cross (with 2 songs)
Communion: PJ
Words of institution followed by welcome to the table and directions.
Communion Song
Post Communion Blessing: PJ
Sending Song
PJ: And now a final blessing.
Leader1: Go now in the righteousness of faith and live by God’s just demands. Let nothing claim your devotion above the Lord, and count nothing of value above knowing Christ. Press on towards the ultimate prize, of being one with him.
Leader2 And may God’s perfect word revive your soul; May Christ Jesus be your savior and your rock; And may the Holy Spirit strengthen you to press ever onward.
(Pause)
PJ: Stay for a while in prayer here at the cross,
Leader1: Or, take your pillow and go, joining in community with those present.
PJ: No matter if you choose to stay or to go, we ask you to do so in silence.
Leader2: And in God’s peace.
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