*Call
to Confession (Perry Chang and Stephanie Gregory)
Lord,
In
Guatemala and back at home:
We
go from feeling like a savior, a knight in shining armor coming to the rescue
To
feeling like we’re part of a culture of scarcity – that we can’t give anything.
We
go from feeling heroic for toughing it out in difficult times and difficult
places
To
feeling stuck and sorry for ourselves.
We
go from feeling closed in and not wanting to share ourselves
To
becoming frustrated with others for seeming taciturn and closed off.
We
go from worshiping our partners for their apparently endless good cheer
To
broad-brushing them as part of a violent, money-grubbing culture of corruption
and impunity.
And
we go from making fun of fellow Christians from around the United States – in a
holier-than-thou way - for not understanding or applying good PC(USA)-style
partnership principles
To
wanting to give up because partnership just seems so difficult.
[Printed
Prayer of Confession]
Lord,
We have sinned against you and others by failing to
apply partnership principles such as mutuality, cooperation, and shared
sacrifice in church partnerships and in other relationships in our lives.
We have harbored pride and self-pity, held back our
time and money and energy and ideas, struck out on our own, and behaved badly
with friends both old and new.
We trust that, in your mercy, you will see past our
flaws and draw us closer to you, inspiring both our friends and us to work both
steadily and hard to reveal more and more of Your Kingdom here on earth.
[Declaration
of Pardon]
The
Lord Our God desires to forgive all, especially those who come to God
with acknowledgment in their hearts. Go forth with the aim of repairing
your relationships and altering your behavior knowing that you
are forgiven.
People: Thanks be to God.
*Sung Response #595 “Santo, santo,
santo”
Santo, santo, santo. ¡Mi corazón te adora!
Mi corazón te sabe decir: ¡Santo eres, Señor!
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