Great Thanksgiving
(Camping On The Edge)
One: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
One: Lift up your hearts.
All: I lift them up to the Lord.
One: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
One: Thank you for leading us into the wilderness
To camp out among your stars that we cannot even see in the city.
Thank you for leading us into the margins of life
Where we are reminded of our dependence upon your care.
It is when we camp among the edges of life
That we notice your wisdom among the simple
and your delicate miracles often rushed by.
We praise you with the bruised reeds that you keep from breaking.
We praise you in the light of the small wicks that you keep from going out.
We praise you with humbled voices
As we find ourselves in awe of your gentle greatness
And the brilliance of your simplicity.
As we join in spiritual retreat
We share in your vision with the blind,
And listen intently with the deaf.
We are led along your labyrinth by those exquisitely abled,
Without your wisdom shared through them,
we would be lost.
So we have found a need to join with all in this wilderness for our spiritual survival,
with angels and archangels,
with cherubim and seraphim,
with the hosts of heaven and the host of earth,
from every nation, tribe and language
from every religion, belief and unbelief
from every expression of humanity, especially those found least among us,
joining together in endless praise, saying:
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
One: You, O Lord, choose to show forth your glory on the edges of society.
Jesus, your son came to live out on the highways and in the byways,
among those rejected, and seen of little worth.
It is there Jesus still dwells among us.
Jesus was born a member of a poor family, not a wealthy one.
Jesus was born to a rejected and ridiculed family, not an acceptable one.
Jesus surrounded himself with the outcasts of society,
The cream of society came to him covertly, if at all.
It was those with the greatest need,
those with stigmatized diseases who embraced Jesus
and his freely given salvation,
not those who saw their lives as Biblical and holy.
As an obedient, thoughtful slave to all,
Jesus humbled himself and knelt to love
the one who would cash in his life for personal gain,
the one who would curse and deny his name,
and those who would leave him to face on his own all of the hate of the world.
Share in the love of Christ.
As an obedient, thoughtful slave to all,
Jesus shared with the world, the bread of freedom.
Jesus blessed it and broke it and gave it to free us all.
“Take eat, this is my body given for you.”
Share in the freedom of Christ.
As an obedient, thoughtful slave to all,
Jesus shared with the world, the healing cup of salvation.
Jesus blessed it, and shared it to save us all.
“Drink from this all of you, for this is my blood, ratifying God’s eternal covenant promise,
washing away all the sins of the world.”
Share in the salvation of Christ.
We want to be an obedient, thoughtful slave to all.
We want to share the love we find in Christ with all.
We want to share the freedom we find in Christ with all.
We want to share the salvation we find in Christ with all.
We want to join in these mighty acts of Jesus Christ,
by offering our lives in praise and thanksgiving
as a holy and living sacrifice,
in union with Christ’s offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
All: Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
One: Inclusive Spirit, Embracer of the World,
infuse these gifts of bread and wine so that they incarnate the living and present Christ,
for the transformation of our lives.
Inclusive Spirit, Embracer of the World,
infuse the gift of our lives so that we incarnate the living and present Christ,
for the transformation of the world.
Inclusive Spirit, Embracer of the World,
we pray for impoverished children
who have no dream of going to camp.
We pray for young people
who need the quiet of camp to hear clearly your call upon their lives.
We pray for those lost on their journey in need of a place of quiet retreat.
We pray for those who need a grace filled respite
away from a world of threat and ridicule.
We pray for places where all feel welcome and all feel safe in the arms of Christ.
Allow our camping and retreat ministries to respond to these needs and more,
So Jesus Christ may find praise.
So the Holy Spirit may move freely.
So that the Creator God may be felt deeply.
So that our worship may expand to include the voices of all,
now and forever. Amen.
Now as those who have been accepted by the grace of Christ
join the giver of all grace in praying:
All: Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.
Prayer after Communion:
Thank you for including us in this your holy mystery. Thank you for stirring our souls to new life. Now help us to be expressions of your inclusive love, extending ever outward towards the margins of society. Use us as us instruments of your grace in a hurting world. Amen.
Words 2013 Michael C. Johnson. All rights reserved. These lyrics may be reproduced for worship services and non-commercial use only. You must include the copyright notice on all copies. For any other use, you must contact the copyright owner at Waataja@aol.com.
