Ascension Day C – May 26, 2022

The Ascension
May 26, 2022

CALL TO WORSHIP

One: Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy.
All: For the Most High God is awesome—
A majestic monarch over all the earth.
One: Shout! Sing Praises! Sound the trumpets!
Worship, now, the One who reigns.
All: The Sovereign God of all the nations
Welcomes us into God’s grace.
One: The floods have lifted up their voice;
The thunderous mighty waters roar.
All: We sing our praises to the One who’s holy
Our guide and leader, forevermore.

Psalm 47; Psalm 93

INVOCATION

O matchless monarch of the universe, prepare our hearts and minds to hear, to feel, and to know you more deeply in this hour. In this moment, we desire to connect with you, connect with ourselves, and connect with others more intimately so that we may muster up the courage to follow in your ways, in the path of Christ who is ascended. Let us walk more humbly with you as we strive to be the hands of feet of Christ on earth. Arise in us, O God, so that when the world sees us, they really see you. Now, let us worship in spirit and truth, for the sake of justice and mercy. Amen.

INVITATION TO CONFESSION

Leader: God, we come to acknowledge the ways we have distanced ourselves from your vision of a more just world. In the stillness and silence, we seek to make a commitment to transformation, not for our own personal gain but for the sake of communal wholeness and liberation.

Moment of silence

All:
God, we confess that we have often placed our hope in heavenly ponderings
Instead of in the power of Christ that works in us.
We have spent much of our journey looking above—
looking for escape—instead of looking around us.
We have searched for rescue instead of being the rescuer.
We have focused so much on a future paradise
That we have forgotten to care for the soil beneath our feet.
Forgive us for the times we stood looking at heaven
when there was work to be done right here on earth.
Forgive for the times when have neglected to bring
good news to the poor on behalf of Jesus.
When we have lost our way, remind us of yours.
Holy Spirit, fall fresh on us again, so that we can bear witness
To mighty works of God through Christ in the world.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE

Leader:
God’s grace and mercy abounds.
God is with us in our confession and transformation.
Each of us is beloved, affirmed, and forgiven.

OFFERING

We believe in the God of justice and righteousness, and God believes in us to carry forth the mission of loving and caring for community. Let us now share our gifts and resources so that we may continue to walk humbly with God and with neighbors.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION
One: For the wondrous ways this offering will bless this community and the world,
All: We dedicate these gifts.
One: For the ways it’ll help us be witnesses to God’s love and compassion
All: We dedicate these gifts.
All: Let this offering, and the works of our hands and feet, give power to all we stand for as a community of faith.

BENEDICTION

Now, let us go forth as witnesses to the wonders of God’s work in the world through Christ.
Let us spread the Good News to the ends of the earth.
Let us release our upward gaze and embrace an outward gaze
so that captives can be set free, systems of injustice can be abolished,
dangerous status quos can be disrupted, and liberation for all can be experienced.
Amen.

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP SERVICE:

A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing New Century Hymnal #259
Clap Your Hands (Jimmy Owens) Chalice Hymnal #38
Clap Your Hands John P. Kee

Service Prayers for Ascension Day Year C were written by Rev. Mia M. McClain, Associate Minister at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC and a member of the Southern Conference UCC.

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