Prayers from GS 30 Worship 

Prayers of the People	
From Opening Worship, Friday, June 26, 2015	

Each of these petitions was translated into a different language and read by a native speaker of that language.  The congregation responded in English, with a sung refrain.  The prayers concluded with an adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer, prayed in unison, in English.

While the content of the prayer focuses on the work of General Synod, it can be easily adapted to serve the beginning of any meeting or gathering.

All things murmur with your presence, O God; 
all things glow with your light.  
We witness you in the compassionate hands of strangers 
and in the loving arms of our friends. 
We sense you in the openness of vast oceans 
and in the canyons between buildings that stretch to the sky.  
We hear you in the din of factories 
and the voices of children playing on the streets.  
Even in the suffering of our world you are there, 
comforting, challenging, exhorting toward justice and peace.
Hear us now as we bring to you these, our prayers:

Multilingual petitions – English in the bulletin	          Variety of leaders/languages

Sung Refrain:
	
	Bless the congregations which have sent us here,	
		diverse in languages, customs, insights, but one in faithfulness. 
		May their prayer support the hope of this Synod:
		In English: Grace in Unexpected Places!
	Sung Refrain:

Teach us Wisdom as we do Synod’s work, 
		that in conversation, deliberation, decision we may recognize
In English: Grace in Unexpected Places!
	Sung Refrain:

Guide our Elders and our Youth to encounter one another at Synod; 
		let their stories and life experience enrich one another 
so that they may know
In English: Grace in Unexpected Places!
Sung Refrain:

	Bless the work of our hands in Synod service projects 
that this work may bless the people of this community;
let the schoolbags we pack and the meals we serve 
announce to Cleveland:
In English: Grace in Unexpected Places!
Sung Refrain: 

Guide us to follow wherever you may lead these days, 
so that we may hear your call in a suffering world.
Let our work here give substance to your justice and peace:
In English: Grace in Unexpected Places!
Sung Refrain:

…All this we pray in the name of Jesus, who taught us to seek you wherever you may be found, as we say…  

Holy One, you are everywhere,
Blessed be your many names.
May your fullness come,
your desires be known in our lives 
as they are in your heart.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us when we cause harm,
As we forgive those who injure us.
Urge us toward greater wisdom and compassion,
And deliver us from false thoughts and desires.
For the heart, the whole,
And the radiance of life are yours, and ours,
Now and forever.   Amen

Friday Night Service at General Synod 30 was written by Anthony Cabrera, Coral Gables Congregational UCC, Coral Gables, FL; Sung Refrain was set by Thomas More Scott, First Congregational Church of Hudson, OH and Music Director for General Synod 30.

Copyright 2015 United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.