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Leader:
"Take my feet and let them be, swift and beautiful
for Thee."
We give thanks for the unsteady first steps of toddlers; for
the sure-footed fleet feet of youth; for the measured
carefulness' of aging feet; for the uncertainty of crippled
feet; all the feet that carry us forward to share, each in
our own way, our God-given blessings and abilities.
C: Continue to guide and
direct our feet, O god, and remind us to trust your Word
to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our
paths.
Leader:
"Take my voice and let me sing, always only for my
King."
We give thanks for the joy of singing god's praise in
liturgy and hymns. We give thanks for barn swallows that
enter our sanctuary on summer mornings, adding their voices
to our hymns of praise. We give thanks for the music of
voices united in the universal language of laughter. We give
thanks for voices that sing solos, voices that harmonize,
voices that chant liturgy, and for the sound of children's
voices leading us in joyful song.
C: Dear God, help us learn to
use our lips and our voices to share with a needy world
the promises you have given us.
Leader:
"Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I
withhold."
We give thanks for money given by the people of Faith
United to carry out the work of the Gospel. We give thanks
that special offerings are given so St. Dysmas; that
disaster aid is given to victims of floods and tornadoes and
fires; that money is given to World Hunger; that offerings
are given to the homeless shelter and the women's shelter.
We give thanks for increased financial pledges, and for
gifts given for restoration of our house of worship. We give
thanks for money given out of abundance, and for the widow's
mite.
C: help us never to forget, O
God, that all we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord,
from Thee.
Leader:
"Take my intellect and use, every power as Thou shalt
choose."
We give thanks for creative ideas that help imagine new
possibilities; ideas that re-imagined Sunday School into WOW
Wednesday; ideas that can renovate tired corners into
offices, classrooms, or broom closets; ideas that challenge
us to support St. Dysmas; ideas that continue to turn the
impossible into reality; ideas that enlarge our world. We
give thanks for open minds that study information and
options to make thoughtful, faith-filled decisions, and we
give thanks for the freedom to change our minds.
C: Teach us, O God, to listen
to new ideas, to be open to new ways of being church,
while still respecting the old ways and ideas. Help us to
trust that You will walk our journey with us. Help us to
continue our journey in joyful anticipation of
transformation.
Leader:
We give thanks for all the hands and feet and voices and
intellect that make up the community of believers that is
Faith United.
C: (sing)
Take my will and make it
thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
It shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store;
Take my self and I will be
ever, only all for thee.
We thank and praise and ask all of
this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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