Approach and confession prayer 29 March 2020

Loving God

we come before you this day

in a new way

gathering before your presence

not in the church building we are familiar

but our own homes

not in our usual pews

but in our comfie sofa or chairs

not surrounded by those we meet Sunday after Sunday

but surrounded by your presence in the Holy Spirit being in us wherever we are this day

[pause]

Ever Present One

open our hearts and minds to worship you

open our ears to hear your Word

open our eyes to see you are truly with us

you are our hope

the One we wait on with our whole beings

the One we wait on, more than those on guard duty wait for the dawn

[pause]

Source of Life

Origin of all seen and unseen

our lives have been turned upside down

we look around and it is like grieving

grieving for the life we have lived

fear of what the future holds

longing for this all to be a stupid dream

but we know we won’t wake up

in this valley of dry bones

remind us of the comfort you bring

the hope we have through our faith in you

the assurance that all this will pass

and from the dry bones

you can and are making all things new

[pause]

Renewing One

revive us this day

ease our worries and anxieties

comfort our sorrows

and bring us peace

as this comes to us,

we pause to confess our sins, in thoughts, words and deeds, individually and collectively

[pause]

may we know we are forgiven through Christ Jesus our Lord

he is the One in whom we gather

he is the One who makes us church

for he is the One we follow

he is the One we love

he is the One in whom we pray

he is the One in whom we continue to pray saying…