Liturgical Resources

Call to Worship

Advent people, pulled in all directions by competing bids for our attention, time, and resources, what do you seek today?
Let us hear what God will say, for God speaks peace to God’s people.

Advent people, carrying heavy loads of grief, responsibility, and worry, what are you listening for today?
Let us hear what God will say, for God speaks peace to God’s people.

Advent people, noticing the suffering of the world but not knowing what to do, what are you watching for today?
Let us hear what God will say, for God speaks peace to God’s people.

Advent people, God is here, speaking peace to us. As we worship, may we receive God’s message of peace anew.
We come to worship seeking, listening, and watching for God’s message of peace, that we may be messengers of peace in a hurting world. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, May 2026.

Opening Prayer

Loving God,
As we come into this worship service, reveal to us what is righteous and good. We invite you, O God, to give us your love and your peace on this struggling journey.
O God, our comforter, we invite you to help us in seeking life in you. Come, now, and fill our sanctuaries and our sacred temples.
Lord, as we gather, we acknowledge your power.
God of comfort, we willingly welcome you into this place.

Amen.

Adapted from Darlene A. Moore in The Africana Worship Book, Year B (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2007), 129.

Prayer of Confession

Silent Word, Creative Act, Hidden Truth, Revealed Love: we wait for you. To be precise, we are impatient for you to come and set things right. We are insecure with our world, fearful of crime in the streets, and anxious about ourselves. We refuse your guidance, but we often wish you would act according to our plans. We seldom pause to consider that you are waiting for us: waiting for some genuine act of contrition; waiting for us to repent and change; waiting for us to listen and respond with a burning passion to your truth, your justice, and your mercy. Furnish us with humble hearts and willing spirits to receive you as you come to us through all the experiences of our lives. Amen.

Words of Assurance

The Light shines in the darkness; and the darkness has never been able to overcome it. Good news of great joy—we are forgiven! Amen.

Written by Allen P. Happe and Maren C. Tirabassi in Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship, Updated, ed. Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2012), 6 and 8.

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Benediction

The psalmist writes that when salvation comes, and God’s glory dwells in the land, “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.” Beloved, may God bless you with courage to make peace and with ready hearts to notice steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace as signs of God’s inbreaking kingdom all around you. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, May 2026.