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Opening Prayer

God of life, present and promised,
you are the One to whom we call:
for you are the One who hears,
and you are the One who acts,
bringing us new life
with your grace and love and power.

Lead us in our time of worship,
that we may be prepared to follow your lead
in places where life is at risk—
places where hope seems far away,
places where dreams die during sleep.
When we leave these walls,
help us live the teachings we proclaim
within this place of worship,

Forgive us, O God,
when we see the world
through rose-coloured glasses
rather than as it really is,
much less the way you seek it to be.

Forgive us, Holy One,
when we forsake lively and risky faith
calling us to be agents of change in our world
for the bland conviction that all will be well.
Renew us with your grace
and ground us with your Spirit,
that we might be empowered to live,
in word and deed,
as testimonies to the power
of your love over the grave.
we serve you for you are the God of life,
the God of hope, the God of new beginnings—
even for dried-up bones and shattered dreams.
That rattling of bones in Ezekiel’s vision
may be heard as the shackles that once held us down
in fear, sin, prejudice, and guilt.
You defy these deadly entanglements
with the power of life.
This we trust, and by this we live.
In the powerful loving name of Jesus we say together Amen