Gathering Music

“Njalo”

Njalo!
Siya tendaza
Siya nikela
Siya dumisa
Thina

Always!
Always we pray
Always we give
Always we bless
always

Call to Prayer

One: In our society divided by power struggles and prejudice
Many: We affirm the power of your healing love.
One: With the honesty of our doubts and insecurities,
Many: We rejoice in your love for each one of us.
One: We seek your blessing to make us whole.
All: We come hungry for a better world for all.

Sung Evening Confession

“El Shaddai”

El Shaddai, El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age you’re still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.

Through your love and through the ram,
You saved the son of abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by your might,
You set your children free.

Reading

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NRSV)

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Sung Response

“I Choose Love”

Reading

1 Thessalonians 2:5-8 (NRSV)

5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; 6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, 7 though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. 8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.

Reflection

The Rev. Kennedy Mwita

Sung Response

“God is Able”

Words by M. Miller based on prayer by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Music by Mark Miller

Prayers of the People

ALL:
Welcoming God, help the whole Body of Christ show up and be present for your kin-dom. Let the Holy Spirit breathe through your church gifts of compassion and radical hospitality for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. Remind your clergy and lay leaders of the call to love the neighbor, doing so in a way that is intentional and graceful. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer …

Silent prayer

One:
We lift to you all that weighs on us this day. We know that you are with us in our pain as in our joy, so it is in your many great and holy names we pray, singing …

“The Lord’s Prayer”

Blessing

The Rev. Kennedy Mwita

Sending

“Draw the Circle Wide

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Worship Notes:

Prayers of the People: adapted from https://www.reconcilingworks.org/resources/ric/pride-prayers/

Call to Worship: adapted from https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2019/02/call-to-worship-luke-6-17-26.html