Masterful God who was and is and will be, out of no time you brought forth a new day. From swimming crawling things in the mud, you scooped us up to our feet and into your image. Now in our need to shape our own lives, we have made a New Year. On this threshold of time, may we move forward remembering that though we can name this a new year, only You, Father of all Time, make a new day for us to live in. May we greet this new day, this New Year with gratitude appropriate for the gift that it is.
Mighty God of blowing wind and raging waters, in your hands our home the earth is carried on its orbit in perfect balance. Reliably we turn toward the sun for sustenance and away from the sun for our rest. And reliably, we are surprised by unseen forces that wake us and remind us of power that is beyond our imagining. Mother of all Nature, we watch in awe as our home the earth is shaken by shifting plates within. In our awe, may we use our own humble powers to bring relief and hope in the midst of disaster.
Tender God of abundant mercy, we call out your name in the midst of all that alienates us from you and from each other, forces beyond us and our own ability to refuse love. Tender God of abundant mercy. Tender God of abundant mercy. Touch us tenderly in our sickness, of body and mind and spirit; Hold us near in our loneliness and grief; Smile upon us in our inelegant attempts to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in communion with you and each other.
Tender, Mighty, Everlasting God. Father of All Time and Mother of All Nature, we open our hearts to you in prayer. Amen.
Also see Repentence and Resolution, sermon preached by Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, 2 Jan 2005