When read in a group setting, leader reads regular sections, and the body reads the bold sections. Italicized sections are typically done in silence.

To the One who is Worthy
of honor and praise,

We come humbly and in reverence,
As individuals drawn to your love,
As a community living in your grace.

We find trust in you,
Hope in you.
Peace in you.

For,
We know that you are consistent.
You are steady.
You are trustworthy.

But some things we've been taught about you,
By our church leaders,
By our pastors,
By our families,
Are now the very things we find inconsistent,
Fragile,
Doubtful.

We aren't abandoning our faith in you;
Rather, we are abandoning the concept
Of putting faith in anything but you.

We are stepping away from structures
That tend to limit your accessibility to all.
We are retreating from doctrine that
Builds barriers between you and others,
especially those who have been outcast or unwelcome
To find a seat in your house.

In the tearing down of systemic ideologies
We face a season of loss;
The things we "knew" were right—
that we often relied on or evangelized about—
They now have come up empty at times hurtful.

But tearing things down
Often comes with loss,
And we feel that loss.

We have family that doesn't understand our path,
We have friends who we once worshiped with who now
Question our salvation.
We have people we once did life with
Now ignoring us, rebuking us.
It is painful; it is discouraging;
And we mourn that loss.

It can cause us even more doubt,
More questioning. More trauma,

As we see your people, who claim to take your name,
Refusing to associate with the rest of the body.
It makes us feel like a limb cut off.

Comfort us in our grief.
Teach us to love those who don't seem to love back.
Bring peace into our hearts and our path.
Remind us that you walk alongside us.

Prayers for others.

You hear our questions and receive them.
You recognize the season we are in.
You welcome our doubts and our disillusionment.

Remind us that we must recognize our own
failures and the hurts we may have inflicted.
Help us to see that you still love even
Those who have misused your love and your name.

Prayers of confession, doubt, and request.

O God,
Find in us the desire to find truth.
Find in us the hope that we might still
discover you in small and large ways,
even as we separate from the institutions
and religious boxes we once were a part of.

May your peace go with us.
Through us.
Before us.

Allow us to find joy in the mystery,
Confidence in the not-knowing.
Excitement in a new work.

Allow us to find and welcome those also on this journey
Into our own stories.
To be patient with those who are
Just beginning their journey.
Open our eyes, our ears, our hearts to
Learn and discover from each other,
But more-so from you.

Reveal to us the truths that matter to you.
Release us from the lies we may still believe.

Grant us the space and time we need to heal from trauma;
The community we desire to live in authenticity;
The freedom to embrace mystery.

May your mystery surround us.
May your peace take residence in us.
Your love flow through us.

As it is now, and will be,
Amen.