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Community Universalist Church

Daily Office

Evening · Friday, 30 January 2026 · Ordinary Time

We hear God's CALL TO WORSHIP in Psalm 117:1-2

Praise the Lord, all you nations:
laud him, all you peoples.
For his mighty love is over us:
the Lord is faithful forever.
Hallelujah.

We listen in silence for God's still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God's presence within us and around us

We respond with CONFESSION using the words of John Hunter

Almighty God, Spirit of purity and grace, whose salvation is never far from the contrite heart, listen to our confessions of sin, and have mercy upon us.

For our many refusals of your call;
for all our forgotten vows;
for the better purposes which we have suffered to grow weak;
for the excuses we have fashioned to hide from ourselves our unfaithful lives;
for the vindictive passions we have cherished;
for our readiness to blame, and our want of thoughtfulness, patience, kindness, and sympathy;
for all the goodness of life which we have received thanklessly;
for the strength which we have wasted;
for the opportunities which we have neglected;
for all the beauty of this fair world and the love of human hearts which have passed before us and which in our thoughtlessness and care and passion we have not appreciated;
for our selfish comfort amid the wrongs, oppressions, and sorrows of life;
for the counsels of your Word which have spoken to us vainly;
for the grace and truth of your beloved Son which we have slighted;
for the pleadings of your Spirit to which we have not listened;

have mercy upon us, O God.

Amen.

We PRAISE God in the EVENING PSALMPsalm 141:1-3 · Domine, clamavi

1Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me, *
and consider my voice when I cry to you.

2Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as the incense; *
and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

3Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, *
and keep the door of my lips.

Gloria Patri

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.

We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 105:12–19 · Confitemini Domino

12When they were few in number, *
of little account, and sojourners in the land,

13Wandering from nation to nation *
and from one kingdom to another,

14He let no one oppress them *
and rebuked kings for their sake,

15Saying, “Do not touch my anointed *
and do my prophets no harm.”

16Then he called for a famine in the land *
and destroyed the supply of bread.

17He sent a man before them, *
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

18They bruised his feet in fetters; *
his neck they put in an iron collar.

19Until his prediction came to pass, *
the word of the Lord tested him.

We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayGenesis 37:23–28

Friday, 30 January 2026 · Ordinary Time

23When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colours that was on him; 24and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.

25They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 26Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him. 28Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.

World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Genesis 37:23–28 · the full passage, Genesis 37:1–28.

We REFLECT in silence

We sing to God in THE CANTATE DOMINOPsalm 98 · Cantate Domino

1O sing to the Lord a new song, *
for he has done marvelous things.

2With his own right hand and with his holy arm *
he has won himself the victory.

3The Lord declared his salvation; *
his righteousness he has openly shown in the sight of the nations.

4He has remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.

5Show yourselves joyful to the Lord, all you lands; *
sing, rejoice, and give thanks.

6Praise the Lord upon the harp; *
sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.

7With trumpets also and the sound of the horn, *
O show yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.

8Let the sea make a noise, and all that is in it, *
the round world, and those who dwell therein.

9Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, *
for he has come to judge the earth.

10With righteousness shall he judge the world, *
and the peoples with equity.

Gloria Patri

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.

We pray the LORD'S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us

Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of Zacharias Ursinus, Heidelberg Catechism

Almighty God, heavenly Father, grant us first rightly to know you, and to sanctify, glorify and praise you in all your works, in which your power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth are clearly displayed; and further, that we may so order and direct our whole lives, our thoughts, words and actions, that your name may never be blasphemed, but rather honored and praised on our account. Amen.

We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER

Followed by

Amen

We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.

Amen.