My sister recently sent me that Paul Harvey "Prayer for America" that's been circulating. Pretty offensive. Here are some alternatives!
Worship Resources in an Election Year: A Resource Packet for Pastors, Educators, and Congregations
http://www.pcusa.org/washington/christiancitizen/worshipresources.htm
These worship resources are designed to assist congregations in an election year. The Prayers, Confessions, Charges and Blessings are taken from the Book of Common Worship. The bracketed numbers are the references used by that worship resource.
The Affirmations of Faith are sections taken out of our traditional confessions. The confessional excerpts reflect our long history of speaking truth to the powers of State as well as to the powers of the church. These paragraphs can be used as confessional statements or affirmation of belief during worship. The suggested hymns are from the Presbyterian Hymnal and the Hymnbook (red). It is our hope that these resources will help each of us to be prayerful and participatory as Christian & Citizen.
Example: Book of Common Worship [732]
At the Time of an Election
Under your law we live, great God, and by your will we govern ourselves. Help us as good citizens to respect neighbors whose views differ from ours, so that without partisan anger, we may work out issues that divide us, and elect candidates to serve the common welfare; through Jesus Christ the Lord: Amen.
Suggested Scripture for Sermons and Bible Study
Joseph Plans for the Lean Years (Genesis 41:14-36, 53-57)
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
Criteria for Leadership (I Samuel 10:20-25, 16:1-13; I Kings 3:1-15)
Hear the Desire of the Meek (Psalm 10:12-18)
When Leaders Fail to Deliver Justice (Isaiah 10:1-4; Vision of Community - Isaiah 32:16-18
With Harshness You Have Ruled (Ezekiel 34:1-10)
Faithful Leadership (Daniel 6:1-9)
What Happens When Justice Is Denied? (Hosea 10:13-14)
Establish Justice (Amos 5:14-24)
Speaking Truth to Power (Amos 7:10-17)
When Leaders Fail to Speak (Micah 3:1-4, 9-12)
Laborers and Fair Wages (Matthew 20:1-16)
The Summary of God’s Law (Matthew 22:37-40)
The Responsibility of a Nation (Matthew 25:31-46)
God’s Reversal of the Social Order (Luke 1: 46-55)
The Rich Ruler’s Responsibility (Luke 18:18-30)
Weeping for the City (Luke 19:41-44)
The Believers Pray for Boldness (Acts 4:23-31)
Duties of Civil Authorities (Romans 13:1-7)
The Purpose of Law (Galatians 3:1-29, 4:1-7)
God’s Single Commandment (Galatians 5:1, 13-15)
Christ as Head of Every Ruler (Colossians 2:6-10)
Evil Authority (Revelation 13:1-10)
Visions of a New Order (Revelation 21:1-6, 22: 1-5)
"Forgiving God, we confess that we are a fearful people. Too often, we walk through the abundance of your world afraid that there is not enough. We covet what little our neighbors have. We hoard and yet squander the goodness of your creation. We make of ourselves earthly titles and names, as though human honor was itself a finite commodity.
Have mercy on us. Gently ease our grip, and open our hands and our eyes that we, trusting in your righteousness, may truly live out the heart of all commandments: to love our neighbors as ourselves. In doing so, we honor You and put You first in our lives.
O God of majesty, when we gather to worship you, disquiet us, with your peacemaking Holy Spirit quietly insisting, “Know justice, know peace.” As your Son broke bread and gave it to thousands, so call us anew to a peace marked by a just distribution of your abundance, until that day when no one shall hunger nor thirst any more, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
O God, our foundation - Jesus became known as ‘the rejected stone', but we pray that You - who are the cornerstone of our hope, may be to us not a stumbling block. Build us up instead into a household of justice and peace. Guide us by Your law and fill us with Your grace, that in giving back to You the gifts of creation - and in sharing them with others - we may live out Your way of peace in your world. Through the Prince of Peace, we pray: Amen." (another from PCUSA)
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These are less denominational:
"Lead us from death, to life... from falsehoods, to truth... from despair, to hope... from fear, to trust... from hate, to love... from war, to peace... Let peace fill our hearts, our minds, our actions, our faith - for the countries, our world, our universe." [World Peace Prayer]
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I AM AMERICA: A Nation's Prayer http://www.prayersamerica.org/Contents.html
I am America.
I am her Heart that yearns to breathe freely, unfettered by the bonds of deception and the undercurrents
of will that seek to deter her from her true course and destiny.
I am the hearts of her people - those who believe, always, in America's bright promise, who weep with dismay when there appears to be no way for it to manifest.
I am the vision of tomorrow that lives, forever, within America's heart - her knowledge that there IS a way for human beings to live together as One: freely, deliberately, joyfully, lovingly.
And I am the sorrow that wells up in the human breast, when that joy and that unity dissolve in the presence of dissension and discord.
I am the breath of Hope that is given to those who look to America's shores from afar, who hold her sweet promise as a dream they may one day realize.
And I am the yearning of those in need, who seek to rebuild their lives on the vision of tomorrow.
I am liberty and I am hope, and I am the future for humanity, established in sacred trust, empowered by divine ordinance, blessed by the forces of Light, pursued within every heart, and looked to by those whose lives were given in service to the ideal of America.
I am the flame of unity and of love that is eternally America's heart - I AM her promise and her destiny.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Proper20A Lectionary
The following, adapted from http://www.hrc.org/scripture - an online commentary worth checking out - is excerpted:
Matthew 20:1-16 addresses the question of reward. The workers in the parable, day laborers, were among the poorest people in the ancient world. The story begins with a landowner hiring a group of laborers to work in his vineyard for "the usual daily wage" (verse 2). He then hires four additional groups of workers, agreeing to pay them nothing in particular. At the end of the day, the landowner has all the workers paid the same amount, the usual daily wage. Matthew 20:10 says, "Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received the usual daily wage." They grumbled. Such an act violated their sense of fairness. Of course, those who work harder should get paid more. This is just commonsense reasoning.
Yet, the landowner reminds them that they received exactly what they agreed to — the usual daily wage (verse 13). The problem is not really the wage, but the landowner's generosity. He asks, "Are you envious because I am generous?" (verse 15). Frankly, they are. Although they had agreed to work for the usual daily wage, once they saw others who had not worked as long or as hard as they had, the wage suddenly became insufficient. In an all-too-human way, the workers want to impose their own standard of equitable distribution on the landowner.
Of course, we could make an easy identification of [certain groups] with those who began to work later in the day. In many ways, this would be understandable. The struggle for civil rights by people of color and women has its roots in the early history of the United States. [Others' struggles were] formally initiated much later. We should be sensitive to the complaints of African Americans, as well as others, who feel like their labors have paved the way for us without receiving a greater payment for their efforts. Instead of making this a contest of who has worked longer, we maintain that we share the struggle against... ...patriarchy, racial prejudice, social marginalization and exclusion. In truth, if it had not been for the suffragist (later feminist) and civil rights movements, the opportunity for a movement among [other groups] may never have happened.
...This parable is so powerful because it defies human logic and stands the notion of what is fair on its head. It reminds us that we cannot create God in our own image, nor can we be the judges of God's generosity. It reminds us that the work of inclusion is not a matter of who has worked longer because we all receive the reward — payment and reward are the same word in Greek — for which we are co-workers.
How can we promote the various movements for social justice as part of a singular movement of God?
Since this parable is about the operations of the "kingdom of heaven," the story highlights how human beings attempt to make inclusion in the community their decision rather than God's decision. The landowner is not seeking to disadvantage the first group of workers. No worker in this parable receives less than needed. Rather the landowner wants to care for those who did not have the opportunity to earn an entire day's pay. Unfortunately, the parable highlights our inability at times to see beyond our own personal concerns.
Any act of inclusion is going to disgruntle some who believe they are deserving of more. The most famous example in the United States may be the failed push for Affirmative Action. This week's parable, distinctive to Matthew's gospel, highlights the idea that God operates in a radically generous and inclusive manner. The church, God's community, is to be a place where this generosity and inclusion are lived out.
How does inclusion challenge us, even when we claim it is the very thing we desire?
Prayerfully Out in Scripture Amazing, giving and good God, no matter the troubles, no matter the tests, keep up close to you. Help us choose you. You give us breath, hope and life. Make us grateful and generous. Make us partners in your work of compassion, inclusion and justice: Amen
Matthew 20:1-16 addresses the question of reward. The workers in the parable, day laborers, were among the poorest people in the ancient world. The story begins with a landowner hiring a group of laborers to work in his vineyard for "the usual daily wage" (verse 2). He then hires four additional groups of workers, agreeing to pay them nothing in particular. At the end of the day, the landowner has all the workers paid the same amount, the usual daily wage. Matthew 20:10 says, "Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received the usual daily wage." They grumbled. Such an act violated their sense of fairness. Of course, those who work harder should get paid more. This is just commonsense reasoning.
Yet, the landowner reminds them that they received exactly what they agreed to — the usual daily wage (verse 13). The problem is not really the wage, but the landowner's generosity. He asks, "Are you envious because I am generous?" (verse 15). Frankly, they are. Although they had agreed to work for the usual daily wage, once they saw others who had not worked as long or as hard as they had, the wage suddenly became insufficient. In an all-too-human way, the workers want to impose their own standard of equitable distribution on the landowner.
Of course, we could make an easy identification of [certain groups] with those who began to work later in the day. In many ways, this would be understandable. The struggle for civil rights by people of color and women has its roots in the early history of the United States. [Others' struggles were] formally initiated much later. We should be sensitive to the complaints of African Americans, as well as others, who feel like their labors have paved the way for us without receiving a greater payment for their efforts. Instead of making this a contest of who has worked longer, we maintain that we share the struggle against... ...patriarchy, racial prejudice, social marginalization and exclusion. In truth, if it had not been for the suffragist (later feminist) and civil rights movements, the opportunity for a movement among [other groups] may never have happened.
...This parable is so powerful because it defies human logic and stands the notion of what is fair on its head. It reminds us that we cannot create God in our own image, nor can we be the judges of God's generosity. It reminds us that the work of inclusion is not a matter of who has worked longer because we all receive the reward — payment and reward are the same word in Greek — for which we are co-workers.
How can we promote the various movements for social justice as part of a singular movement of God?
Since this parable is about the operations of the "kingdom of heaven," the story highlights how human beings attempt to make inclusion in the community their decision rather than God's decision. The landowner is not seeking to disadvantage the first group of workers. No worker in this parable receives less than needed. Rather the landowner wants to care for those who did not have the opportunity to earn an entire day's pay. Unfortunately, the parable highlights our inability at times to see beyond our own personal concerns.
Any act of inclusion is going to disgruntle some who believe they are deserving of more. The most famous example in the United States may be the failed push for Affirmative Action. This week's parable, distinctive to Matthew's gospel, highlights the idea that God operates in a radically generous and inclusive manner. The church, God's community, is to be a place where this generosity and inclusion are lived out.
How does inclusion challenge us, even when we claim it is the very thing we desire?
Prayerfully Out in Scripture Amazing, giving and good God, no matter the troubles, no matter the tests, keep up close to you. Help us choose you. You give us breath, hope and life. Make us grateful and generous. Make us partners in your work of compassion, inclusion and justice: Amen
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Advice from a Mountain
ADVICE FROM A MOUNTAIN
Reach for new heights.
Rise above it all.
There is beauty as far as the eye can see.
Be uplifting.
Patience, patience, patience.
Get to the point.
Enjoy the view!
This was seen on a Tshirt out west. We also were privileged to hear Bruce Yamaguchi out west, in worship at Joining Hands Against Hunger (JHAH), amidst the Santa Ana mountain range of southern California. He spoke as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program's annual conference, jointly with JHAH this year.
I hope that PGR can consider taking on a JHAH affiliation soon. This program, created by PCUSA a few years ago, has put US Presbyterians in partnership with Presbyterians in other nations, for mission and justice purposes. It usually involves a relatively small outlay of capital, a commitment from a few individuals to start with, and the possibility of bringing partners
to visit from one place to the other, in order to learn and see upclose and personal what God can do to change lives and situations.
Reach for new heights.
Rise above it all.
There is beauty as far as the eye can see.
Be uplifting.
Patience, patience, patience.
Get to the point.
Enjoy the view!
This was seen on a Tshirt out west. We also were privileged to hear Bruce Yamaguchi out west, in worship at Joining Hands Against Hunger (JHAH), amidst the Santa Ana mountain range of southern California. He spoke as part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program's annual conference, jointly with JHAH this year.
I hope that PGR can consider taking on a JHAH affiliation soon. This program, created by PCUSA a few years ago, has put US Presbyterians in partnership with Presbyterians in other nations, for mission and justice purposes. It usually involves a relatively small outlay of capital, a commitment from a few individuals to start with, and the possibility of bringing partners
to visit from one place to the other, in order to learn and see upclose and personal what God can do to change lives and situations.
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