Worship Litany in the Context of Indigenous group of North-East India
- Call to Worship
(The congregation is silence and the worship begins with the beating of drum and the playing of flute)
The Leader: Let us worship the God of every tribe and every nation, the God of the blind and the deaf, the God of the rich and the poor, the young and the old. As we gather together let God presence be felt in our midst.
Congregation: We come before you O God to seek your face; to experience your healing touch and the liberating power of your word. Let us worship God in Spirit and in truth that we might become the torchbearer of justice, love and to be the peacemakers in our homes, in our communities, and in the world.
Leader: Truly God is just and his steadfast love and mercy can conquer hatred and discrimination that we have created among us.
Congregation: Let your word touches our heart to love our enemies and our neighbours and be inspired to love the unlovable and the marginalized sections of the church and the community. Soften our hearts Lord to extend our hands to the needy and the sick in our community.
Leader: O God enables us to be still and knows that you are God Amen.
- Intercessory Prayer
Almighty and most merciful God,
We remember before you the poor and the destitute, the homeless and the oppressed as a result of tribal conflict and armed forces of North-east India. We pray for the old and the sick and all who have none to care for them. Help us to care for those who are broken in body or spirit. We beseech you, O God, to unite us together despite our differences of faiths, language, and ethnic groups.
Almighty God, we come here today to ask you to guide us towards peace and reconciliation in our churches and community that is troubled and grieved. Enlighten the hearts of the leaders of the states and nations that they may bring peoples closer together for the good of every religious faith and communities. Grant us, the courage to step out in faith for that which is true and right. Grant our government to affirm the freedom of speech and expression, for the freedom to express our faith, and for opportunities to bring change and transformation to our churches and society. We pray for the unemployed youth in our region so that their dreams will not be shattered and protect them from any social evils such as substance abuse and from any act of violence.
Help us Lord to be good stewards of your blessing so that the needy, hungry, orphaned and widowed may taste the fruits of your goodness. AMEN.
- Prayer of Confession
Loving God, we gather today to confess that we have failed to extend our kindness to the poor and the hungry. We have accumulated enough wealth for our comforts and being insensitive to the needs of the weak and the poor of our community. Forgive us for we have comfortably closed our eyes to the cry of our neighbour. Indeed we have been selfish but we preach to the poor and the hungry your word without sharing our bread to them. Forgive us for clinging to our own possessions rather than to you. Unites our hearts to share our resources and stand for justice to all.
Forgive us, God, for keeping a distance between Christians and non-Christians and between the tribal and non-tribal and closing our ears to the cries and the pain of the people of other faith and those who are not from our community.
We as the tribal and indigenous community have failed to exercise the values of equality and justice in which our ancestors have taught us. We have imitated and followed the standard and values of the empire. As the tribal and indigenous group of North-east India, we are known as a region where majority profess Christian faith, but we have slaughtered our brothers and sisters of other in the name of tribes. We are racist within our tribal community and the weaker tribes are being oppressed, discriminated and ostracised. We seek for your grace and mercy to forgive us. Amen.
- Prayer of Thanksgiving
Gracious God, who supplies us with every blessing in abundance, guide us to be grateful to the gift of the natural resources that you have provided us: the pure air, the water, the trees, the plants, birds, and animals that we have always taken for granted. We thank you for fertile soil, abundant rain, and seasons of refreshment.
We thank you for every breath that we take. Thank you for your word and wisdom; the joy and pain that deepened our experience. Thank you for the rest in leisure and the inspiration of our family and friends. Thank you for protecting us in temptation and danger. Thank you for the community into which we have been called to serve together and for sound bodies and minds, for opportunities that encourage us to grow and to serve and not to be served, we give you thanks. AMEN.
- Affirmation of Faith (Creed)
We Believe in God Almighty the Creator of heavens and earth who bless every people and every creature on earth. We believe in Jesus Christ the only child of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit who suffered under the Roman Empire was crucified died and was buried. He rose on the third day and now seated at the right hand of God Almighty. He will come to give justice to the oppressed and the oppressor. We believe in the Holy Spirit who guides the Church to walk in the path of justice and righteousness in the fellowship of the faithful. We believe in the power of love and forgiveness that can bind and heal the church and community from the vile of hatred among people groups for the renewal humankind and affirm the life of every creature on earth.
- Benediction
May the Love of God rest and transform every race and nations and eradicate all barriers that divide people group into gender, caste, creed, and colour and the grace of his son Jesus Christ abide in the heart of the faithful to forgive one another and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit guide us in extending kindness and hospitality to stranger and homeless people Amen.
