21st Century Africana Liturgy Resources for the Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost, Year B

Gathering Meditation
As you enter the house of the Lord today, remember the many ways that God has spared you. Remember the large miracles, such as deliverance from illness or death. And, don't forget the seemingly smaller ones, such as not being hit in traffic. Surely God is in charge of our lives from the largest details to the smallest minutiae, and our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
(Safiyah Fosua)

Call to Worship
(Based on Psalm 124:1-8)
One Voice: Couldn't have made it this week…
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.
One Voice: Couldn't have stood the grief…
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.
One Voice: Couldn't have faced another sunrise…
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.
One Voice: Couldn't have wept another night……
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.
One Voice: Couldn't have let it go…
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.
One Voice: Couldn't have said, "I forgive…"
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.
One Voice: Couldn't have pressed through the mess…
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.
One Voice: Wouldn't be standing here today…
Many Voices: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side!

Prayer Petitions
(Based on Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22)
Lord, build a fence all around me. You know how my enemies crouch in the shadows, scheming and plotting my demise. They spend sleepless nights, conjuring plots to advance themselves at my expense. If they had their way, my enemies would make me the brunt of cruel jokes at work, at school, even on the Internet. Enough Lord! Grant me favor as you did Queen Esther. Protect my life and the lives of others that cruelty destroys. Expose the plot of my enemies before they develop. Give me favor with advocates who will fight for justice with me. Lord, build a fence all around me.

Prayer
Our Lord and our God, we thank you on this day for the many ways that you have spared our lives. We thank you for the days that some Esther interceded for us without our knowing it. Grandma Esther, Aunt Esther, or maybe even Uncle Esther worked in secret for our good, often risking jobs, reputation, or substance, to give us a chance for life.

We thank you, O God, for making a way out of no way. We continue to give you thanks for those who survived the flood waters of Katrina and for those who will survive this hurricane season. We pray for anyone who feels that he or she is drowning in sin or in suffering today. Help that person to know that your promises are sure and that you are ever-present. Lift all of our heads above the raging waters, and show us the dry ground on the horizon ahead.

Strengthen us, we pray, for this week's journey. Make us mindful of the weak and the weary and teach us how to bear one another's burdens along the way. Remind us that we are a family of faith. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
(Safiyah Fosua)

Pastoral Prayer
(Based on Mark 9:38-50
Merciful God, we admit that we try to play god sometimes. We see folks doing things "a little different" in your name; then we whisper ?? loudly. Without bothering to ask you, we set up sanctions against those who try to serve you sincerely. Who knows whom we may be discouraging "in your name." Remind us that we do not have the final say in spiritual matters. Remind us that only disciples of Christ can bear spiritual fruit. Change our first reflex from scrutiny to hospitality. Let your words ring in our ears, for whoever is not against us is for us. Even cowards criticize, but the courageous encourage.