Leader: God has fashioned a kin-dom 

for God’s people.

All: What is a kin-dom?

Leader: All of us connected one to

another.

All: Living in peace and unity?

Leader: Well, that is the goal.

All: So how do we reach this goal?

Leader: We listen to one another with

respect and without judgment.

All: We all want to be heard.

Leader and All: Amen!

Leader: Moments of peace flow through our days,

All: Many of those times we do not recognize.

Leader: God opportunities to breathe deeply,

celebrate beauty, sit quietly, dream…

All: and thank God for our blessings.

Leader: Rest and rejuvenation will help us

to experience the joys of life,

All: And all will be well with our soul.

Leader: The House of God is a place for the people

of God to gather,

All: To greet one another with the love of Christ.

Leader: The House of God is a place of prayer,

All: To lift up the joys and concerns on our

hearts and minds to a God who listens.

Leader: The House of God is a place of praise,

All: To celebrate with thanksgiving and music 

a God who loves us and walks beside us 

every day.

Leader: The House of God is a place of rest,

All: To lay our burdens down at the feet of

Jesus and to be at peace. Amen.

Methodist Red Hymnal  #87

All: What gift can we bring, what present, what token?

What words can convey it, the joy of this day?

When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing,

What song can we offer in honor and praise?

Leader: What gift, indeed! How can we express our thanks to God 

for all the blessings we receive each day?

All: Give thanks for the past, for those who had vision,

Who planted and watered so dreams could come true.

Give thanks for the now, for study, for worship,

For mission that bids us turn prayer into deed.

Leader: We thank God through our lives lived in service, our

loving relationships, and our seeking justice for those oppressed.

All: Give thanks for tomorrow, full of surprises,

For knowing whatever tomorrow may bring,

The Word is our promise always, forever;

We rest in God’s keeping and live in God’s love.

Leader: When life is a straight path and I can see what

is in front of me,

All: Prayer keeps me close to you, Lord.

Leader: When life is messy and the way is unclear,

All: Prayer keeps me close to you, Lord.

Leader: When life is difficult and the path steep,

All: Prayer keeps me close to you, Lord.

Leader: When life is full of joy and the future 

looks bright,

All: Prayer keeps me close to you, Lord. You

hear me and answer my prayers with love and

reassurance.

Leader: O Lord God, you are like the sun to me!

All: You warm my bones and lift my spirit.

Leader: Your rays of goodness clear a cloudy day

All: and your presence restores my soul.

Leader: Hope pours down upon me;

All: I experience joy!

Leader: Your mercy is the light that clears my path,

All: and I am free of all wrongdoing.

Leader: O Lord God, you are like the sun to me!

All: I long to bask in the delight of your love forever.

Leader: When I look into a mirror, I see a human being,

All: capable of good and of harm.

Leader: I am pulled this way and that way…

All: I am often lost and confused.

Leader: Lead me, Lord! Light my path with your truth.

All: Be my vision, my wisdom, my all. Be my

first thought when I wake and my last thought

when I sleep. Guide me with your Word so I

may do what is right and be blameless in your sight.

Leader: Hear this from Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no

longer slave or free…”

All: “I have a dream…”

Leader: “There is no longer male and female,

for all of you are one in Christ Jesus…”

All: “I have a dream…”

Leader: “And if you belong to Christ,

then you are Abraham’s offspring,

heirs according to the promise.”

All: “I have a dream…when we allow freedom

ring, when we let it ring from every village…

every state…every city, we will be able to speed up that day

when all of God’s children…will be able to

join hands and sing…Free at last. Free at last.

Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”

Leader: A touch, a word, a splash of water…

All: An encounter with Jesus can change us.

Leader: A new insight, deeper faith, a different attitude…

All: A relationship with Jesus transforms.

Leader: We are healed.

All: A new beginning, a fresh start, a closer

walk with God.

Leader: Easy and difficult, joy and sorrow, beautiful and ugly…

All: Life gives us both the bitter and the sweet.

Leader: We prefer the positive, the good things,

All: But we have all experienced troubling times.

Leader: How do we navigate through the turbulent

and scary waters when we feel adrift and alone?

All: We carry the light of Christ within us,

helping us find our way through the darkness.