Quenching a Thirst

Call to Worship

Lord, just as you have welcomed us when we were strangers with no home, just as you have taken us in when others said, “No,” we ourselves seek to welcome those who have come to worship and praise your holy name. We welcome you this morning in this place to sit down and be present with us. Let us worship God!

Amen.

Written by Joseph W. Daniels, Jr., The Africana Worship Book Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), 68.

Prayer for the Day

Una Mesa para todos

(One Table for All)

En este dia, oh Señor, nos encontramos frente a tu mesa como una familia, pues bebemos de un mismo Espiritu, uno es nuestro bautismo y una es nuestra fe. Para esta gran familia de tu amor, no hay frontera ni nacionalidad, ni raza, lengua o cultura que nos separe. A todas tus criaturas, mujeres, hombres, niños, jóvenes y ancianos nos invitas a celebrar nuestra unidad y a anunciar tu sacrificio.

Ayúdanos, oh Señor, a extender la invitación a tu cena para que toda persona pueda satisfacer su hambre y sed de justicia.

En tu santo nombre lo rogamos. Amén.

On this day, O Lord, we gather around your table as one family, we drink from the same Spirit, we have one baptism, we have one faith. For this family, which you hold so dear, there are no barriers, no nationalities, no race or tongue, and no culture that could separate us. You invite all your children, women, men, young, and old to celebrate our unity and to announce your great sacrifice.

Help us, O Lord, to extend your invitation to all your children to gather at your table to quench their hunger and thirst for justice.

We pray in your holy name. Amen.

Written by Joel N. Martinez, Fiesta Jubilosa, ed. Raquel Mora Martínez (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2022), 96. © Joel Martinez, 2020. Used with permission.

Prayer of Confession

Merciful God,

We confess that, though we claim to love you, our lives do not always reflect that love. We offer hospitality out of obligation instead of love, out of care for our own well-being instead of that of others. We hesitate to welcome others out of fear of rejection instead of extending compassion as the fruit of your love for us. In our relationships at work, home, and even church, too often we choose expediency instead of integrity, believing the ends justify the means. Help us, we pray. Free us to live as your children who welcome, nurture, and love our neighbors as we learn to grow as disciples of Christ. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, January 2023.

Benediction

May God keep you safe
May your bellies be full
May your thirst be quenched
May your hearts be blessed
With knowing you are loved
And may you share that love
With all who come your way

Amen.

From Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the Ends of the World, ed. Cláudio Carvalhaes (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2020), 57.