Midday Prayer

The liturgy below is for the Midday Prayer gathering (via Zoom) on July 29 at 12 pm (PDT). 

If you would like to receive email reminders for further Midday Prayer gatherings this summer, along with Zoom login details, please click the 'Receive Chapel Updates' button on this page.

SIMPLICITY & GRATITUDE

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

Naked I came from my mother’s womb
and naked shall I return there.
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

Lyrics: Robert Robinson, Martin Madan | Tune (“Nettleton): Unknown (first published by John Wyeth)

Come thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise His name I'm fixed upon it
The name of God's redeeming love

Hitherto thy love has blest me
Thou hast brought me to this place
And I know thy hand will bring me
Safely home by thy good grace
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed his precious blood

Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above

Prayer of Orientation

For daily bread in a world of hunger,
   Lord, we give thanks.
For eyes opened to beauty and injustice,
   Lord, we give thanks.
For your strength in our weakness,
   Lord, we give thanks.
For joy in places of peace and fear,
   Lord, we give thanks.
For your forgiveness and grace,
   Lord, we give thanks.
For the gift of your Son,
   Lord, we give thanks.

Scripture | Psalm 107 (NRSV)

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
   those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
   from the east and from the west,
   from the north and from the south

Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
   their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
   until they reached an inhabited town.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he satisfies the thirsty,
   and the hungry he fills with good things.
Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
   prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
   and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
   they fell down, with no one to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress;
he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
   and broke their bonds asunder.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind.
For he shatters the doors of bronze,
   and cuts in two the bars of iron.

Some were sick through their sinful ways,
   and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
   and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress;
he sent out his word and healed them,
   and delivered them from destruction.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind.
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
   and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

Some went down to the sea in ships,
   doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the LORD,
   his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
   which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
   their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
   and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he brought them out from their distress;
he made the storm be still,
   and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
   and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind.
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
   and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
He turns rivers into a desert,
   springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
   because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
He turns a desert into pools of water,
   a parched land into springs of water.
And there he lets the hungry live,
   and they establish a town to live in;
they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
   and get a fruitful yield.
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
   and he does not let their cattle decrease.

When they are diminished and brought low
   through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
he pours contempt on princes
   and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
but he raises up the needy out of distress,
   and makes their families like flocks.
The upright see it and are glad;
   and all wickedness stops its mouth.
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
   and consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

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

Creator of this day,
   we give you thanks for all that it holds.
Giver of good gifts,
   we give you thanks for our abundant provision.
Fullness of life,
   we give you thanks for your presence this day.

We confess that we have minimized what has been given
   and coveted more.
We have clung to our possessions,
   our power, and our privilege.
Our lives are frenzied; our hearts are divided.
The manna is rotting in our pots.

Forgive us,
   and release us to live with open hands and grateful hearts,
   surrendering to your goodness and care.
May we rest in your everlasting love this day.
Amen

Kyrie

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on my community.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on the world.

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 give you thanks for the people you have woven into our stories…

We give you thanks for the good gifts you have given us…

We give you thanks for the glimpses of your kingdom here on earth…

For The Beauty Of The Earth

Edward John Hopkins and Folliott Sandford Pierpoint | Public Domain. Arrangement by Andres Perez.

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies
Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night
Hill and vale and tree and flower
Sun and moon and stars of light
Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise

For the joy of human love
Brother, sister, parent, child
Friends on earth and friends above
For all gentle thoughts and mild
Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise

For thy church, that evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
offering up on every shore
her pure sacrifice of love;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

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

Naked I came from my mother’s womb
and naked shall I return there.
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Blessing

Lord, set your blessing on us
   as we journey through this day together.
Confirm in us the truth by which we rightly live;
   confront us with the truth from which we wrongly turn.
We ask not for what we want, but for what you know we need,
   as we offer this day and ourselves for you and to you
   through Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
Amen.