A Service of Prayer at Midday
August 17, 2023

Call to Worship

     Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands are skilled at the plane and the lathe:
Be there at our labors and give us we pray,
Your strength in our hearts Lord, at the noon of the day.

Dialogue

O God, come to my assistance.

Make haste to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Midday Prayer    
Holy God, at midday you give us a time of rest; may we accept it gratefully and be strengthened by it, to serve you and our neighbor through Jesus, the Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

Commemoration     

Psalm 67

 ¹May God be gracious to us and bless us
 and make his face to shine upon us,
     Selah
 ²that your way may be known upon earth,
 your saving power among all nations.
 ³Let the peoples praise you, O God;
 let all the peoples praise you.
 ⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
 for you judge the peoples with equity
 and guide the nations upon earth.
     Selah
 ⁵Let the peoples praise you, O God;
 let all the peoples praise you.
 ⁶The earth has yielded its increase;
 God, our God, has blessed us.
 ⁷May God continue to bless us;
 let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Gloria Patri

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Reading     Isaiah 56:1,6-8

¹Thus says the LORD:
 Maintain justice, and do what is right,
 for soon my salvation will come,
 and my deliverance be revealed.
 ⁶And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
 to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
 and to be his servants,
 all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
 and hold fast my covenant —
 ⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain,
 and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
 their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
 will be accepted on my altar;
 for my house shall be called a house of prayer
 for all peoples.
 ⁸Thus says the Lord GOD,
 who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
 I will gather others to them
 besides those already gathered.

Homily

Prayers        

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal,
have mercy on us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.

Show us your mercy, O God,
and grant us your salvation.

Give us the joy of your saving help again,
and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit.

Give peace in all the world;
for only in you can we live in safety.

Keep the nations under your care,
and guide us in the way of justice and truth.

Let your way be known upon earth;
your saving health among all nations.

Let not the needy be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and sustain me with your Holy Spirit.

Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cry come before you.