Gracelet liturgy

Created in 2012 for the final series of Gracelet services. Used as a weekday evening liturgy over Zoom during the Covid-19 lockdown 2020.

lighting the candle:

To God the Father who created the world,
To God the Son who redeemed the world,
To God the Holy Spirit who sustains the world;
Be all praise and glory now and for ever.
Amen

thanksgiving:

at the end of this day, we give thanks to god
for the blessings we never noticed
the beauties we saw, touched and tasted
the ordinary light and air
our ordinary food and drink
all that sustains us unnoticed every day

at the end of this week we give thanks to god
for the city that surrounds us and is our home
the journeys we made and the systems that made them possible
the people we dealt with in depth or in passing
the places we rested and worked

at the end of this month we give thanks to god
for the turning seasons of the earth
the cycles of the moon and tides
the life that ebbs and flows around and inside us
repeating yet never repeating

confession:

We are people who are eager to do well, but slow to do good. Let us return to the Lord our God;
In your mercy, Lord, forgive us.

We are people who are eager to save time, but slow to give time. Let us return to the Lord our God;
In your mercy, Lord, forgive us.

We are people who are eager to improve our lives, but slow to improve our world. Let us return to the Lord our God;
In your mercy, Lord, forgive us.

And still the world trades with dishonest scales. Let us return to the Lord our God;
In your mercy, Lord, forgive us.

Hold fast to love and justice.
God forgives us. Let us forgive ourselves and forgive others.

intercessions:

Let's share the matters we'd like to bring before God for prayer

God hears us when we explain to one another, so instead of repeating everything in prayer we will commit each matter to God after we've talked about it with the words:

Lord we place our concerns before you
In your love and mercy hear us

and then finish with a closing prayer.

intercessions concluding prayer:

Holy god
You know what we need before we ask it
You see the hidden desires of our hearts
You remember all the things we have forgotten
You understand the whole picture
Answer our prayers in accordance with your wisdom and compassion
Lord we place our concerns before you
In your love and mercy hear us
Amen

blessing:

may we be blessed,
as we look to the day ahead
as we return to our lives and find new rocks and new fruit

may we be blessed,
as we engage with others
as we take time to participate and give others the chance to do the same
may we have courage to create and take risks,
and may we find our rest in god.

may we be blessed,
as we show our weaknesses and god's grace
may others join us in fragility
may our broken pieces fit together as one body.

may we be blessed
as we are healed by christ's own wounds
may we become broken in order to become whole
may we become whole by knowing that we are broken

may we bear our wounds and our hurts
may we go into the places that scare us
may we deal with anger and sadness
and may god be with us all the way.

may we be blessed
forgiven but never forgotten
accepted as we are
broken, wounded, hurt and loved

amen