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Community Universalist Church

Daily Office

Evening · Friday, 19 February 2027 · Ordinary Time

We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Psalm 136:1–3

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his mercy endures for ever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his mercy endures for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his mercy endures for ever.

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 85:1–7 · Benedixisti, Domine

1You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.

2You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
and blotted out all their sins.

3You have withdrawn all your fury *
and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.

4Restore us then, O God our Savior; *
let your anger depart from us.

5Will you be displeased with us for ever? *
will you prolong your anger from age to age?

6Will you not give us life again, *
that your people may rejoice in you?

7Show us your mercy, O Lord, *
and grant us your salvation.

We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayLeviticus 25:10–13

Friday, 19 February 2027 · Ordinary Time

10You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you; and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. 11That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the undressed vines. 12For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat of its increase out of the field.

13“ ‘In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his property.

World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Leviticus 25:10–13 · the full passage, Leviticus 25:8–17.

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 Henry Thornton

Almighty Lord, our God, whose eyes are in every place beholding the evil and the good, and who sees not only our outward actions, but all our most secret thoughts — we pray you to maintain in us this day a constant sense of your presence, and to preserve us from sinning against you. We are exposed to dangers by night and by day; our lives are in your hands, and unto you do we look for preservation from every evil. O Lord, teach us to be ever mindful of you. When we go out and come in, and when we are alone and in company, may we bear in mind that you are continually with us, and that you take account of all we think, and speak, and do. 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.