Brenda, on behalf of the Christian Reformed campus ministry, participated in a Palm Sunday service for all CRC churches this week. She was asked to offer a prayer of confession, which is given below.
Gracious God, Life can be hard, and we often feel confused and disoriented. In our desire to fix that disorientation on our own, we have turned away from those who bring us more confusion: those with different languages, culture, or backgrounds; those who ask questions and have ideas that unsettle us. In our desire to create a safe and comfortable place for us and our people, we have often excluded those who are different from us, and we are saddened by our actions. O God, "our sins are too heave to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from pasts that we cannot change; open us to futures in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image; through Jesus Christ, the light of the world." Amen
The second half of the prayer is a quotation of the prayer in Lift Up Your Hearts 636, which was adapted from Book of Worship (United Church of Christ)