Neither height nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:39
| Text size: +/-Aldersgate Sunday
Aldersgate Sunday on 22 May 2011 provides us with a real opportunity to give thanks to God for the work of the Wesley Brothers and for the people called Methodist.
Prayers
World Methodist Council Social Affirmation
We believe in God, creator of the world and of all people;
and in Jesus Christ, incarnate among us,
who died and rose again;
and in the Holy Spirit,
present with us to guide, strengthen, and comfort.
We believe ;
God, help our unbelief.
We rejoice in every sign of God's Kingdom;
in the upholding of human dignity and community;
in every expression of love, justice and reconciliation;
in each act of self-giving on behalf of others;
in the abundance of God's gifts
entrusted to us that all may have enough;
in all responsible use of the earth's resources.
Glory be to God on high;
and on earth, be peace.
We confess our sin, individual and collective,
by silence or action:
through the violation of human dignity
based on race, class, age, sex, nation, or faith;
through the exploitation of people
because of greed and indifference
through the misuse of power
in personal, communal, national, and international life;
through the search for security
by those military and economic forces
that threaten human existence;
through the abuse of technology
which endangers the earth and all life upon it.
Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
We commit ourselves individually and as a community
to the way of Christ:
to take up the cross;
to seek abundant life for all humanity;
to struggle for peace with justice and freedom;
to risk ourselves in faith, hope, and love,
praying that God's kingdom may come.
The kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
- Adopted by WMC 1986 In Kenya
Prayers of John Wesley
O God, seeing as there is in Christ Jesus
an infinite fullness
of all that we can want or desire,
May we all receive from him,
grace upon grace;
grace to pardon our sins,
and subdue our iniquities;
to justify our persons
and to sanctify our souls;
and to complete that holy change,
that renewal of our hearts,
Which will enable us to be transformed
into the blessed image
in which you created us.
O make us all acceptable to be partakers
of the inheritance of your saints in light.
Amen.
(adapted from the original by John Wesley)
O LORD God Almighty,
Father of angels and men,
We praise and bless your
holy name for all your goodness
and loving kindness to humanity.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and for your unceasing generosity to us
throughout our lives;
But above all, we bless you for your great love
in the redemption of the world
by our Lord Jesus Christ.
We bless you for bringing us safe
to the beginning of a new day.
Grant that this day we fall into no sin,
Neither run into any kind of danger.
Keep us, we pray,
from all things hurtful to body or soul,
and grant us your pardon and peace,
So that, being cleansed from all our sins,
We might serve you
with quiet hearts and minds,
and continue in the same until our life's end,
through Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Redeemer.
Amen.
(adapted from the original by John Wesley)
Now, to God the Father, who first loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved;
to God the Son, who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood;
to God the Holy Ghost, who sheddeth the love of God abroad in our hearts, be all love and all glory in time and to all eternity.
Amen.
(John Wesley)
A Collect for Aldersgate Sunday
God of immeasurable grace
Your Spirit has from age to age,
confirmed your work of salvation in the hearts of those who love you.
Grant to your people a true spirit of worship,
That renewed in their calling
They might achieve the vision you have given to them.
May we become your people,
United and equipped to proclaim the god news of
Salvation for all,
By faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit
One God, now and for ever
Amen.
Methodist churches and others in linked ecumenical projects are free to use this Special Sundays material for their own use. Any other organisations or individuals wishing to reproduce the material must contact the Methodist Church for permission. The material is copyright and cannot be used commercially without permission.
© Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, April 2005
