Criminal justice worship materials

Scripture

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (including verse 19: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.") and Matthew 5:21-37 (including verses 23-24: "So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother and sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.").

Other passages emphasize the unity of the body, the connected-ness of the community: "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." (1 Corinthians 12:26) A reminder of our call to nonjudgmental love: "Those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." (1 John 4:21) and Gal. 3:28: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

The prophet Isaiah said many things that we must hear today in a special way in this context: read Isaiah 58:1-12 (and linger on the promise in v. 12: "Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.") And read Isa. 65:17-25.

Think about the story in John 4:5-29, where Jesus encountered a Samaritan (!) woman and told here who he was and what was to come. Ponder the multitude of meanings in 1 Pet. 2:9 ("But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.") Look at Romans 8:38-39, and Ephesians 2:13-14, 19-20, in the context of this day.

Hymns

• Santo, Santo, Santo (Holy, Holy, Holy) [111]
• Blest Be the Tie That Binds [433]
• They'll Know We Are Christians [494]
• Amazing Grace! [546]
• Lord, I Want to Be a Christian [589]
• Woke Up This Morning [623]
• En el Principio (In the Beginning) [652]
• Go Down, Moses [663]
• Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life [665]
• For the Healing of the Nations [668]
• O Young and Fearless Prophet [669]
• Down by the Riverside [673]
• In Christ There Is No East or West [687]
• My Lord, What a Morning [708]

—references are to the Chalice Hymnal

Prayers

Several of the prayers that follow are meant to be read responsively. The worship leader's portion is printed in plain text; responses are given in blue.

Call to Worship

Is being alive to see this new day good and special in some way?
It is good and special to be alive, to see another day that our God has created.
But pain, suffering, oppression, sin, and chaos still exist today, as they did yesterday.
Yes, that is true, but with this day God has provided us a fresh new opportunity to work toward bringing health, wellness, and wholeness to a world full of pain, suffering, oppression, sin and chaos.
With this awareness, let us worship God.

Opening Litany

The wind of the Spirit challenges us to change.
Give us courage to respond, O God.
The fire of the Spirit calls us to a passion for the kingdom.
Warm us and give us your energy, O God.
The breath of the Spirit offers us new life.
May we receive and live out the gospel in the world.
In a world where there is need and oppression, violence and alienation,
May we bring life and love, O God.
In a world where there is racism, hatred, and division,
May we bring unity and community, O God.
In a world where there is meaninglessness and emptiness,
May we bring purpose and hope, O God.
Lead us forth, Spirit of God, in joy and in faith, in truth and in freedom.
In ways known and unknown, may we follow. Amen.

Confession

O God, we confess to you that we have sinned against you in many ways: not only by outward things, but by secret thoughts and desires which we cannot fully understand, but which are known to you. We know that people have felt our scorn and indifference. We know that we have ignored ghettos where people are politically and economically imprisoned. We know that our institutions have not only ignored such situations but have helped create them.

But knowing what we have done does not tell us why, and does not keep us from continuing. We look to you for strength, for understanding, for moral courage. As we do, we repent and are deeply sorry for the offenses we have committed. We ask that you will have mercy on us. In the name of Christ. Amen.

 

Prayer: Heal Us

Grandfather,
Look at our brokenness.

We know that in all creation
Only the human family
Has strayed from the Sacred Way.

We know that we are the ones
Who are divided
And we are the ones
Who must come back together
To walk in the Sacred Way.

Grandfather,
Sacred One,
Teach us love, compassion, and honor
That we may heal the earth
And heal each other.

—Art Solomon, Ojibway Native Canadian prayer,
in Jesus Christ—the Life of the World, A Worshipbook
(Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1983, p. 71)

Litany of Confession

O God, you made the world and everything in it. You created the human race of one stock and gave us the earth as the arena of our faithfulness.
Break down the walls that separate us, and make us one people.
O God, we come before you in sadness, for we have failed:
failed to be the imprint of your image, failed to be your stewards of life and time and nature, failed to reflect your love and mercy, failed to be servants of reconciliation. Break down the walls that separate us, and make us one people.
O God, we confess that we have been divisive in our thinking, in our speech, and in our actions:
we have classified and imprisoned one another; we have fenced each other out by hatred and prejudice. Break down the walls that separate us, and make us one people.
O God, you mean us to be a single people:
ruled by peace, feasting in freedom, freed from injustice, truly human women and men, responsible and responsive in the life we lead, the love we share, and the relationships we create. Break down the walls that separate us, and make us one people.
O God, renew within us the image of your Son. Give us ever-new insights into the truth and awareness of your will for all your sons and daughters. Give us courage to do what is right and persistence in challenging unjust structures until they crumble into dust. Give us, we pray, grace and creativity to exercise a common ministry of reconciliation.
Break down the walls that separate us, and make us one people.
O God, spread among us the fiery tongues of your Spirit, that we may each burn with compassion for all who hunger for freedom and humanness, that we may be doers of the Word and so speak with power about the wonderful deeds which you have done.
O God, in your mercy forgive us all that is past. Direct us, we pray, in ways we do not yet discern and equip us for the service of reconciliation and liberation in your world. Amen.

Confession

Let us confess the secret sins in the hidden spaces of our lives, which hold us in fear and anguish, keeping us from God and from each other.

Let us confess the words of judgment we have withheld in our societies, the compromises we have made which allow evil to multiply, producing harvests of destruction and death.

Let us confess the complacency with which we live in disunity, the ease with which we keep our prejudices, refusing to be the one people of God for whom Jesus prayed.

God from whom nothing is hidden and who knows the motives of our hearts, forgives us our sins and declares to us the joyful truth that we are a liberated people.

—In Spirit and in Truth, A Worshipbook
(Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1991, pp. 15-16)

Confession

God of all peoples and nations, hear our confession and forgive our sin. We make enemies of strangers when we distrust them. Fear and suspicion keep your people apart. Jesus came to reconcile our differences, yet your people do not dine at one common table. Heal our divisions and overcome our hostility. Unite us in the bond of your encompassing love. Amen.

—James G. Kirk, When We Gather: A Book of Prayers for Worship, Year C
(Philadelphia: The Geneva Press, 1985, p. 86)

Affirmation and Commitment

We, being many, are one in Christ Jesus.
We celebrate our diversity, given by God.
When it leads to disagreement, we will listen and we will speak with caring.
We celebrate our individuality, given by God.
Where we are strong, we will participate fully. Where we are weak, we will rejoice in the strength of our sisters and brothers.
We will celebrate our responsibility, given by God.
When it leads to work, we will do it in cooperation with others.
We celebrate the wholeness of our community, given by God.
Where it is fractured, we will work for reconciliation.
We celebrate the wholeness of the earth, given by God.
Where its God-given beauty and harmony are threatened, we will be partners in restoration.
We celebrate the wholeness of persons, given by God.
Where persons are broken or their uniqueness denied, we will be agents of healing.
We, being many, are one in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we trust -- and listen. We grow -- and listen. We share -- and listen. We love -- and listen. We learn -- and listen. We serve -- and listen. We celebrate -- and listen. We will dream, sing, pray, plan, hope -- together! God be with us. Amen.

Litany of Thanksgiving

We thank you, God, for who we are.
Some of us look like the people who lived here long ago, so close to this land that their arrival is not recorded.
We thank you, God, for who we are.
Some of us look like the Spanish, who came in big ships. They took the land from the Indians and thought it was theirs.
We thank you, God, for who we are.
Some of us look like the English, who also came in big ships. They took the land from the Indians and the Spanish and thought it was theirs.
We thank you, God, for who we are.
Some of us look like the Africans, who also came in big ships. They did not choose to come, and they had no land and no freedom.
We thank you God, for who we are.
Some of us look like the Asians, who came in big ships across the other ocean. They came looking for work and freedom, and many found discrimination and injustice.
We thank you, God, for who we are.
All of us are different. No two of us look exactly alike. But we are all in the image of God, who came to earth that we might be one.
We thank you, God, for who we are, and we pray that you show us what we are to be. Amen.

—published by the Foundation for Change from essays of Puerto Rican children

Litany

By God's great mercy:
We have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
By God's mercy, you have been born:
To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, and is kept in heaven for us.
Once you were no people:
But now we are God's people.
Once you had not received mercy:
But now we have received mercy.
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own
That we may declare the wonderful deeds of God who called us out of darkness into God's marvelous light.
For it is God's will that by doing right you should put to silence foolish ones.
Live as free men and women, yet without using our freedom as a pretext for evil, but live as servants of God.
Tend the flock of God that is in your charge,
Not by constraint but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in our charge, but being examples to the flock.
Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
Resist him!
Be firm in your faith:
Knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of our brotherhood and sisterhood throughout the world.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to eternal glory in Christ, will restore, establish, and strengthen you.
To God be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

—litany adapted from a Litany Based on 1 Peter, by Vera P. Swann

—worship materials adapted from Justice Jottings, Race Relations Sunday
Presbyterian Church (USA)