Commons Church

View Original

Sunday, October 11, 2020

CALL TO WORSHIP
Psalm 34

MUSIC
Curated by Justina Gendy
Bethel Music - We Praise You
Bethel Music - Sing His Praise Again
Hillsong Worship - O Praise The Name
Hillsong Worship - Who You Say I Am

THANKSGIVING PRAYER

Written By Larissa Amour

Rituals, holidays and practices all help us to mark time in its place. Especially in a year when time has either flown by or come to a crawling halt. This thanksgiving holiday comes as a reminder to acknowledge these markers. Or more traditionally - to acknowledge a bountiful harvest of blessing. However, this year, for too many, has brought new levels of uncertainty, division and loss. So, some of us may cling to whats been increasingly sacred these last few months. Some of us working to continue the practice of gratitude in the face of whats been increasingly challenging. For now, let us come together - reflecting on how life has room for both. How God shows up in each of these camps. 

Creator God,
We give you thanks for how mother earth provides:
life giving waters,
beautiful sunrises and sunsets, 
the birds, the fish, the trees who teach us to live in harmony.

Shepherding God,
We give you thanks for the strength you give us:
in isolation from others,
injustices making way for doubt in it all, 
in fraught personal, communal and business relationships.

Glorious God,
We give you thanks for your evidently abundant love:
by healing old wounds,
in a child’s unmatched enthusiasm for life,
in the freedom to delight, to share and to strive to whats good.  

Your labour for love has taught us that we can experience all of this independently and seemingly all at once. May you give us the courage to continue to ask what there is to be grateful for - trusting that the answer is visible in the big and small.  

Amen.