Sunday, August 30th, 2026
Our Morning Prayer service is an opportunity for contemplation, stillness, and spiritual grounding. Today we close out our series in which we've been praying through and reflecting on the text we’ve come to know as The Lord’s Prayer.
We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.
We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.
Gathering Music
Carolyn Sargent
Here We Open Our Hearts
Let us begin the day with this time of consideration, holy listening, supported silence, song, and prayer. We invite you to settle into your seat, let your shoulders drop, and take a deep breath. Remember: your whole self is welcome here.
Today we consider what temptations we need to be lead away from, and we ask:
Today we consider what temptations we need to be lead away from, and we ask:
- How can a community actively practice deliverance from evil in a concrete, structural way rather than just an abstract one?
- When you feel wronged or powerless, what is the specific “weapon" you are most tempted to pick up? Anger, exclusion, vitriol, withdrawal?
- Where do you find yourself trusting in power and control to keep the peace, rather than trusting in justice and vulnerability?
Stillness
In this moment, we invite you into silent prayer, meditation, and further contemplation of the considerations.
Hymn
Grant Us Wisdom to Perceive You, Hymn 510
New Century Hymnal
New Century Hymnal
Prayers of the People
Each Sunday during this series, we will use a different translation of The Lord’s Prayer to guide our Prayers of the People. The following comes from the New Zealand Prayer Book (published in 1989 in the Anglican prayer book for the province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia).
One: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
All: God of many names, remind us that you do not belong to any one of us. You fill all creation with your presence, inhabit the space between us, and are closer to us than we are to ourselves. We come before you with humility, wonder, and trust.
One: The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth!
All: We acknowledge that much is broken, and yet we believe in acting for renewal, justice, and peace in the world. Grant us hope that will strengthen our resolve to join in the work you are doing.
One: With the bread we need for today, feed us.
All: You know that we hunger for more than bread alone. Sustain us each day with food for our bodies, purpose in our work, delight in our play, rest for our souls, and communities of belonging. In a culture of scarcity, remind us that there is enough for us all.
One: In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
All: Free us from the habit of judging, that we too may be freed from judgment. Pull up any root of bitterness within us and make us into a forgiven and forgiving community, where no debt is owed but the debt of love. Teach us to receive mercy and to extend it freely to one another.
One: In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
All: Keep us from wandering toward what will harm us or what will tempt us to do harm. When we are wounded, help us transform our pain instead of transmitting it. Guide us in the way of love and give us courage to do the next right thing. For you reign in the power that is love, now and always. Amen.
One: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
All: God of many names, remind us that you do not belong to any one of us. You fill all creation with your presence, inhabit the space between us, and are closer to us than we are to ourselves. We come before you with humility, wonder, and trust.
One: The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth!
All: We acknowledge that much is broken, and yet we believe in acting for renewal, justice, and peace in the world. Grant us hope that will strengthen our resolve to join in the work you are doing.
One: With the bread we need for today, feed us.
All: You know that we hunger for more than bread alone. Sustain us each day with food for our bodies, purpose in our work, delight in our play, rest for our souls, and communities of belonging. In a culture of scarcity, remind us that there is enough for us all.
One: In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
All: Free us from the habit of judging, that we too may be freed from judgment. Pull up any root of bitterness within us and make us into a forgiven and forgiving community, where no debt is owed but the debt of love. Teach us to receive mercy and to extend it freely to one another.
One: In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
All: Keep us from wandering toward what will harm us or what will tempt us to do harm. When we are wounded, help us transform our pain instead of transmitting it. Guide us in the way of love and give us courage to do the next right thing. For you reign in the power that is love, now and always. Amen.
Call and Response
One: Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God's holy name,
bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
All: Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God's holy name,
bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
[from the Taize community, J. Berthier]
bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
All: Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God's holy name,
bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.
[from the Taize community, J. Berthier]
Meditation
Rev. Sheridan Irick
Meditation Response
When Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,’ he was praying in the shadow of an empire in which one of the greatest temptations was the intense, understandable urge to fight Rome's violence with violence of our own
At the table, you’ll find papers and markers. We invite you to come forward and write down the way or ways you can resist that temptation by practicing nonviolence and justice—perhaps with a gentle response, a released grudge, a shared resource. When you are done, clip your cards to the string. If you are joining us online, you can put your names into the chat, and I’ll write them down so that they are represented as well.
At the table, you’ll find papers and markers. We invite you to come forward and write down the way or ways you can resist that temptation by practicing nonviolence and justice—perhaps with a gentle response, a released grudge, a shared resource. When you are done, clip your cards to the string. If you are joining us online, you can put your names into the chat, and I’ll write them down so that they are represented as well.
Benediction
As you go out into the remainder of the day, may you carry the still, small voice of the Divine within you. May your hearts be filled with peace, your hands moved by compassion, and your steps guided by love. Go in peace. Amen.