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SERVICE OF LIGHT
Greeting/Invocation
We light the Evening Candle and say or sing:
Light and Peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
~Thanks be to God!
Stay with us O Christ for it is evening,
~And the day is almost over.
LABOR DAY HYMN
All may sing or alternate the verses of any Evening Hymn .
All our work and all our being
come from you, Creating Lord.
May each task which lies before us
show your gracious will outpoured.
Help us as we build your kin-dom
know we labor not in vain;
give us sure and deep conviction
for the tasks that you ordain.
Some may nurture those who hunger,
tend and heal the broken heart;
set our flagging spirits dancing,
spark our vision through their art.
Others teach and offer counsel,
bear life’s burdens, ease its care;
strive for justice, peace, and freedom
for all people ev’rywhere.
Let us labor in the knowledge
that no task can be too small;
that the God who stretched the heavens
no less shaped the least of all.
Give us strength, God, to accomplish
what you set our hands to do,
that by serving those around us,
we return the gift to you.
Text: Michael Morgan, alt.; Tune: NETTLETON 87.87.D
PSALMODY
Antiphon
The wages you failed to pay the workers are crying out against you.
The cries of the laborers have reached the ears of Almighty God.
Psalm 126/127
If Adonai does not build the house,
in vain do its builders labor;
if Adonai does not watch over the city,
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat,
when Adonai pours gifts on the beloved while they slumber.
Truly children are a gift from Adonai,
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the children of youth
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of those
who have filled their quiver with these arrows!
They will have no cause for shame
when arguing for justice and seeking peace.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
The wages you failed to pay the workers are crying out against you.
The cries of the laborers have reached the ears of Almighty God.
READING I Thessalonians 4:1b-2; 9-12
We earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God—and as you are conducting yourselves—you do so even more. For you know what instructions* we gave you through the Lord Jesus. On the subject of mutual charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. Indeed, you do this for all the saints throughout Macedonia. Nevertheless, we urge you to progress even more, and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your [own] hands, as we instructed you, that you may conduct yourselves properly toward outsiders and not depend on anyone.
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker; *those who are kind to the needy honor God. V. God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the reign of God* those who are kind to the needy honor God. V. Glory to the Abba…
Gospel Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few.
Let us ask the Owner of the Harvest to send reapers into the fields.
It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Gospel Canticle.
My heart + is radiant with the Lord,
My whole being delights in God my Savior.
All people now will call me blessed
For God has loved this humble handmaid.
The Almighty has shown me great favor
Holy is the NAME,
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
From one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God,
Scatters the proud in their own conceit,
Pulls tyrants from their thrones
While lifting up the lowly:
Fills the famished with bounty,
And reveals the emptiness of riches.
Rescues lowly Israel,
Sharing such loving kindness,
As promised to our ancestors
To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few.
Let us ask the Owner of the Harvest to send reapers into the fields.
SERVICE OF PRAYER
Litany of Intercession
For the men, women and children who must work in jobs that disregard their human dignity and exploit their labor.
For the unemployed and the underemployed who seek ways to use their talents, to participate in God’s creation, and to support their families.
For the owners and managers of companies, who make decisions regarding safe work conditions and adequate wages. May they place the best interests of workers and of the planet ahead of profit and prestige.
For national and local union leaders who are chosen to represent and speak for workers. May they be guided by the grace and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to serve with honesty and integrity.
For men, women and children who suffer from our lack of solidarity in their daily struggle to survive. May we be aware of our responsibility to be in relationship with our brothers and sisters throughout the world.
For those who have lost their lives while working, that they may enjoy rest from their labors; and that their families may receive support, sustenance, consolation and peace.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Dear Abba …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
(Based on a Prayer by Deborah Holbrook, Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ)
On this Labor Day, with our kitchens full of late summer produce, we pray in joyful gratitude for such abundance.
On this Labor Day, with the excitement of the new school year, we pray in hopeful gratitude for minds of all ages anxious and willing to learn.
On this Labor Day, when many are crossing seas and borders seeking new and better lives and only desiring work, hope and shelter for themselves and their families, we pray in painful gratitude for our safety.
On this Labor Day, when so many are incarcerated, we pray in embarrassed gratitude that our own sins have not been found out.
On this Labor day when our society is fractured by incivility and self-righteousness we pray with trusting gratitude that your first charge to us is not to convince one another nor to convict one another nor to condemn one another– But to love one another. And we ask for your help in the name of him whose example we strive to follow, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
May the God of Justice give us the wisdom and fortitude of the Holy Spirit, that we may work together for the freedom and flourishing of all life on Earth. ~Amen.
Let us Adonai. ~Thanks be to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon
Marian Antiphon
Mother of Mercy, Our Queen we greet you. Our life, our hope, our happiness we hail you. We call to you as Eve’s own children, and exiles. To you we lift our hearts in sorrow and fear, in this valley of tears. Turn then, our loving Advocate, and look with favor upon us. And after our life in exile, show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O gracious, O loving, O Virgin benign, our Mother Mary.