God, here is our prayer.
That we will make decisions about this building
that reflect what we’ve learned and lived in this building.
That we will remember how, in the beginning,
you moved over the great nothing and brought something into being.
That you made people for community, not loneliness,
and that you asked us to exercise good stewardship over all that you made.
That you made promise after promise to us,
and even when we were faithless, you remained faithful.
That you brought us out of the narrow place
into a land where we could practice the hard work of freedom.
That you raised up prophets and judges in each generation,
leaders who shared the right word at the right time.
That you showed patience and forbearance
when we coveted the success and prosperity of those all around us.
That you made a house for us,
and not the other way around.
That you were always present in all our struggles for power and security
calling us to prioritize the needs of the poor and the most vulnerable.
That you accompanied us during our long exile,
the generation in which there was no future in sight.
That you made a home for us in the wilderness,
encouraging us to seek the good of the city.
That you fed us with songs of praise and lament,
words of wisdom and the assurance that there is a season for all things.
That you worked through the powers of this world
to give us a new beginning and put us to work rebuilding the community.
That you chose ordinary people like us
to do an extraordinary thing like this.
That you called us away from the things we have known,
to build a world we’ve not yet seen.
That you showed us your power in acts of feeding and healing,
and the riches of life with you by giving yourself away freely.
That you ate with sinners and outcasts,
and welcomed everyone at your table.
That you raised people and places left for dead to new life so that
death could frighten us no longer and the impossible might seem achievable.
That you appeared to people filled with fears and doubts,
and let your wounds be evidence of our healing.
That you promised to be with us, to advocate for us,
even as you sent us to be a sign of your presence to the lost and the lonely.
That you spoke your word of truth and life in every language
so that no one could own you and all land would be holy.
That you challenged our expectations for the future
by recalling to us our past.
Remembering who you have been, we trust that
you will be with us as we continue to become ourselves.
As we prepare to leave this building in search of a new place to call home,
we watch for signs of your movement in us, for us, and through us.
Now, we pray, give us the wisdom to make decisions we will be proud to share,
as we continue to tell the story of your presence in all our histories.
Amen.
By Proclamation 