Prayers of Confession

Leader: Let us pray.

O God, our redeemer, we confess before you this day our weakness and our faith- lessness.

Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Leader: We confess that we have failed to see you in the needs of our neighborsthat we have turned our backs on their suffer- ingthat our ears have been deaf to their criesthat we have passed by on the other side.

Forgive us, O Lord.

Leader: Forgive us when we are complicit in injustice and when we profit from the conditions that create poverty.

Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Leader: When our worship is superficial, our prayers selfish, and our beliefs serve to justify our own behavior,

Forgive us, O Lord.

Leader: We confess that we become discouraged when our efforts to create a better world do not bear fruit, that we sometimes feel overwhelmed by the power of evil, and that we are tempted to despair of your promises.

Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Leader: Forgive us when we are slow to seek reconciliation, when we cling to the feeling of having been wronged, when we fail to work for the redemption of people whom we do not like.

Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Merciful God,

unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, we confess that we have sinned against you and against one another. We name the name of Christ, but we do not make real in our lives his presence. We pay lip service to your truth, but we fear the truth about ourselves. We sing of your grace, but we cling to illusions that keep us from experiencing your healing power. We claim to live by faith, but we want to have our own way. We want to be free, but we avoid the discipline that would set us free. We lay claim to your promises in our need, but we feel no compassion for the needs of others. Forgive us and cleanse us, we pray, and give us new life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Merciful God,

unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, both by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, and we have not spoken the truth to one another in love. We confess that we have trouble believing in the redeeming power of the cross in a world of pain. We confess that we try to justify ourselves by speaking of the faults of others. We confess that we abuse your world for our own gratification. We confess that we close our hearts to the suffering of our neighbor. We confess that we are afraid to pray, "Not my will, but yours be done." For the sake of Jesus our Lord, have mercy on us and forgive us that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen

. . . that it is much easier for us to make speeches about justice than actually do anything,

. . . that we would rather cling to self-interest and small-mindedness, than to love kindness and practice compassion

. . . that we so often choose to talk the talk, than walk the walk of humility and service.

Forgive our willingness to settle for a limp, flabby, shabby imitation of faith, to which you have called us: the faith that shows itself in acts of justice, kindness, and humility.