The liturgy below is for the Midday Prayer gathering (via Zoom) on July 15 at 12 pm (PDT). 

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Prayers for Community and Hospitality

Adapted from Seeds of the Kingdom: Common Prayers for Ordinary Time

Gloria

Glory be to the Father,
    and to the Son,
    and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
    and will be forever.
Amen.

Prayer of Affirmation

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
   throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born,
   and before you brought forth the earth and the world
From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

O Worship the King

Johann Michael Haydn and Robert Grant. Public Domain. Arrangement by Paul Zach and Andres Perez.

O worship the King, all glorious above!
O gratefully sing his power and his love!
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of his might! O sing of his grace!
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.

The earth, with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, thy power hath founded of old,
hath stablished it fast by a changeless decree,
and round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.
Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air; it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail;
thy mercies how tender! how firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!

Prayer of Orientation

Lord, you have opened your door to us,
    who are strangers.
You have welcomed us as friend.
As we meet the stranger today,
May we serve you as we welcome these, our kin.

Lord, you have fed yourself to us.
You have shared your table with us.
As we meet the hungry today,
May we serve you as we care for these, our kin.

Lord, you have seen us naked in body and in spirit.
You have cleansed and clothed, warmed and comforted us.
As we meet the naked today,
May we serve you as we cleanse and clothe, warm
and comfort you in these, our kin.

Lord, you have found us in darkness.
You have not hidden yourself,
but have recognized and freed us.
As we meet those hidden in darkness today,
May we find you as we love these, our kin.
Christ be our light.
Christ be our love.

Scripture | Ephesians 3:14-19, 4:1-6 (NRSV)

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Reflection

Taken from Charles Ringma's Hear the Ancient Wisdom (Wipf & Stock, 2013)

Listening Silence

In silence, we make space to listen to God’s voice, breathe in God’s Spirit, and centre ourselves with God.

Prayer of Gratitude and Confession

God of love, thank you for your desire to move in us,
   to gather us into Yourself.
Thank You that Your arms are open, Your door is flung wide,
   Your table is abundant.
Forgive us—
when we have neglected friend and stranger,
when we have not welcomed interruptions
    or invited others to our table,
when we have kept for ourselves the gifts
    You have given.
May we receive You and be moved by You.
We long to feast from the abundance of Your grace
and to enter into the fullness of Your kingdom.
Amen.

Kyrie

We come to God
    aware of our own sinfulness
    and our failure to be reconcilers;
and so we pray for God’s mercy and forgiveness:

Absolution

May the God of love and power
    forgive us and free us from our sins,
    heal and strengthen us by the Holy Spirit,
    and raise us to new life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayers of Intercession

We pray for the lonely, the alienated, and the stranger
    in our midst…

We pray for those building community
   and fostering hospitality…

We pray for You to break down barriers to hospitality
   and community in our neighbourhood
   and in our world…

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your name,
    your kingdom come,
    your will be done,
        on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom
    and the power
    and the glory,
    forever and ever.
Amen.

Prayer of Affirmation

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born,
and before you brought forth the
earth and the world,
From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

Thou Whose Almighty Word

Felice de Giardini, John Marriott, and Lowell Mason. Public Domain. Arrangement by Paul Zach and Andres Perez.  

Thou, whose almighty word
chaos and darkness heard,
and took their flight;
hear us, we humbly pray,
and, where the Gospel day
sheds not its glorious ray,
let there be light!

Thou who didst come to bring
on thy redeeming wing
healing and sight,
health to the sick in mind,
sight to the in-ly blind,
now to all humankind,
let there be light!

Spirit of truth and love,
life-giving holy Dove,
speed forth thy flight!
Move on the waters' face
bearing the gifts of grace,
and, in earth's darkest place,
let there be light!

Holy and blessed Three,
glorious Trinity,
wisdom, love, might;
boundless as ocean's tide,
rolling in fullest pride,
through the world far and wide,
let there be light!
let there be light!
let there be light!

Blessing

Christ be within me, Christ be beside me
Christ in the stranger, Christ in the friend
Christ in my speaking, Christ in my thinking
Christ in my working, Christ at my end.
May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet.
May everyone you meet see the face of Christ in you.
Amen.

Go in peace
    to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.