Openings, Invocations, Calls To Worship, Acknowledgements
Invocation
Adapted from Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum Liturgy Resource Toolbox
On the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine, we gather in the name of Jesus Christ who is our peace and has broken down the dividing wall that is the hostility between us.
We gather to remember those who are displaced and dispossessed as a result of an illegal occupation, and we pray for their hope in your love and your justice.
We gather to remember all those who suffer under wars and conflict and to invite all people of goodwill to join in prayer for justice, peace, and reconciliation.
We gather in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, longing with them for the time when nothing will separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Acknowledgment of Traditional Territory
Adapted from Honoring First People by Addie Domske
We begin by acknowledging the traditional territory upon which we gather this morning. For many thousands of years, the [insert name of those native to the land] people sought to walk gently on this land. They offered assistance to the first European travelers to this territory and shared their knowledge for survival in what was at times a harsh climate. We seek a new relationship with the Original Peoples of this land, one based in honor and deep respect.
Acknowledgment of Colonial Christianity
By Jonathan Brenneman
As Christians, we acknowledge the continuing effects of Colonial Christianity. Colonial Christianity has taken many shapes from the Crusades wreaking havoc on Jerusalem, to the Doctrine of Discovery enabling European land grabs worldwide. Colonial Christianity creates concepts like Manifest Destiny and Christian Zionism that bolstered U.S. and now Israeli expansionism. Colonial Christianity is a brutal distortion of the message of a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew, born under military occupation over 2000 years ago. May our gathering be a part of undoing the harm done in the name of Christ.
Invocation: Prayer for Palestine By Prof. Kim, Yong-Bock
Oh God!
Oh Allah!
Oh Hananim! *
We are believers in you,
We come together to make a circle of prophetic solidarity with the Palestinian people,
Remembering the day of Nakba of the Palestinian people,
Praying to be prophetic witnesses for the imminent Kairos Palestine,
Believing the day of Nakba will be transformed into the Kairos of homecoming with
justice, self-determination and peace for life together.
Come as the Spirit to give sustainable hope to the Palestinian people and to us, as we participate in the Global Kairos Network.
Amen
* Hananim is a traditional Korean regio-cultural word for God, widely used by Christians and non-Christians.
Opening Litany
Adapted from Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum Liturgy Resource Toolbox
Gathered into one by the Mothering Spirit, we offer our prayers to our Heavenly Father, in the name of the One who is our hope, our strength, and our peace, Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Holy God, holy and mighty:
We give thanks for our sisters and brothers from around the world who join their prayers with ours during this day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. Let our common prayer for peace, justice, and equality be the force of love mighty enough to change the way we treat our neighbour and to bring down the Separation Wall.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Holy God, holy and righteous:
Guide us by your Spirit, and keep us in the footsteps of your Son. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Guide our communities from hatred, from violence, from racism, from fear and despair.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Holy God, holy and merciful:
Stay with us when our hearts become hardened, when our hope is dried
up, when our faith is weak. In your mercy, renew a right spirit within us. Strengthen all churches, that we may continue to shine the light of peace and reconciliation in all times.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Holy God, holy and living:
Encourage the young people of the churches in the Holy Land, that they may see opportunities for life and a future in their homeland. Bless young people in struggling communities and let the power of the resurrection give them courage and hope to dwell in the light of the Resurrection.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Holy God, holy and powerful:
Empower us to stand firm against every wall, every barrier, every policy, and every prejudice which divides and dehumanizes. Let your holy cross inspire the churches of the world to be bold witnesses to the love of Christ – the love which has already broken down the dividing wall, the hostility between us.
In your mercy, hear our prayers.
Holy God, holy and loving:
As we begin this International day of solidarity, we offer our prayers for the sake of all God’s children – Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian – in the fervent hope that a new day of peace is about to be born in the Holy Land. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
In your mercy, hear our prayers. Amen
Keep Awake Call to Worship
Words Adapted from Pope Francis by Marie-Claire Kaughman
Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
Leader: As we gather on this first Sunday of advent, during a year that has marked by fear, uncertainty, and sorrow and as we reflect on the continued injustices and suffering in our world—from Turtle Island to Palestine—it is easy to lose hope. Yet, the first Sunday of Advent is an invitation of hope. Like Mary, this advent we hold steadfast in hope for the birth of a new world “where all of us are brothers and sisters, where there is room for all those whom our societies discard, where justice and peace are resplendent.” (Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, #278)
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
Congregation: And with your spirit
Call to Worship
Adapted from Southside Mennonite Fellowship
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled.
Fill us, O God!
We hunger for justice for the immigrant.
Fill us, O God!
We hunger for justice for every black life.
Fill us, O God!
We hunger for justice for First Nation peoples.
Fill us, O God!
We hunger for justice for every Palestinian being crushed by apartheid.
Fill us, O God!
We hunger for justice for every Jewish person who carries the fear of Christian antisemitism.
Fill us, O God!
We hunger and thirst for justice for -
Congregants may call out those people/causes where they long to see justice in the manner of the examples given. The congregation will respond after each one that is named as follows:
Fill us, O God!
Concluding the Call to Worship:
Restore us, O God.
We hunger for a justice seasoned with mercy for all.
Amen.