OPENING HYMN

OPENING GREETING AND PRAYER

PRAYER LEADER: We come together as one body of faith today to pray for N. (and N.),

who is/are sick and in need of our prayers and support.

As people baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ,

we look to God in times of pain and uncertainty,

knowing that he loved us so much that he sent

his only-begotten Son to heal our wounds.

Life-giving and life-sustaining God,

you created each one of us in your image and likeness.

When we fall ill,

you share in our pain and suffering,

just as Christ did during his time on earth.

As we journey with N. (and N.) through his/her/their illness,

send your Holy Spirit to comfort him/her/them and

strengthen him/her/them in body and in spirit.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

ALL: Amen.

READING

PRAYER LEADER: Let us open our ears and our hearts

to receive the word of God into our lives.

READER: A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians. The body is one and has many members, but all the members, many though they are, are one body; and so it is with Christ. It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body. All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit. Now the body is not one member, it is many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” would it then no longer belong to the body? If the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” would it then no longer belong to the body? If the body were all eye, what would happen to our hearing? If the body were all ear, what would happen to our smelling? As it is, God has set each member of the body in the place he wanted it to be. If all the members were alike, where would the body be? There are, indeed, many different members, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” any more than the head can say to the feet, “I do not need you.” Even those members of the body which seem less important are in fact indispensable. God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to the lowly members, that there may be no dissension in the body, but that all the members may be concerned for one another. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members share its joy. You, then, are the body of Christ. Every one of you is a member of it. The word of the Lord. ALL: Thanks be to God.

RESPONSE

READER: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

ALL: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

READER: O God, you are my God whom I seek;

for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts

like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary

to see your power and your glory.

ALL: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

READER: For your kindness is a greater good than life;

my lips shall glorify you.

Thus will I bless you while I live;

lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,

and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

ALL: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

READER: I will remember you upon my couch,

and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:

That you are my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

My soul clings fast to you;

your right hand upholds me.

ALL: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

INTERCESSIONS

PRAYER LEADER: Having reflected on the word of God,

we know that our hope lies in Christ alone.

Therefore, let us turn to God in prayer

and bring our needs before him, responding,

“Lord, hear our prayer.”

READER: That those who are sick in our family, in our community, and around the world, may feel

the healing presence of God in their lives, we pray:

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

READER: That all doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals may have the wisdom to choose

beneficial treatments for their patients, we pray:

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

READER: That all who support the sick during their time of need may be supported by God’s

strength and love, we pray:

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

READER: That N. (and N.) may feel the comfort of our prayers and be touched by the healing hand

of Jesus, we pray:

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

READER: That all of us gathered here today may experience an ever-deepening relationship with

God, we pray:

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

READER: That all of the prayers that we hold in our hearts or mention now

may be heard and answered by God, we pray:

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

READER: That all those who have died may experience the joy of everlasting life with the

resurrected Christ in heaven, we pray:

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

PRAYER LEADER: Now let us offer together the prayer our Lord Jesus Christ taught us:

ALL: Our Father . . .

PRAYER LEADER: Father,

your Son accepted our sufferings

to teach us the virtue of patience in human illness.

Hear the prayers we offer for our sick brother(s) (and/or) sister(s).

May all who suffer pain, illness, or disease

realize that they have been chosen to be saints

and know that they are joined to Christ

in his suffering for the salvation of the world.

Through Christ our Lord.

ALL: Amen.

BLESSING

PRAYER LEADER: All praise and glory is yours, Lord our God,

for you have called us to serve you in love.

Bless N. (and N.)

so that he/she/they may bear this illness

in union with your Son’s obedient suffering.

Restore him/her/them to health,

and lead him/her/them to glory.

Through Christ our Lord.

ALL: Amen.

PRAYER LEADER: May the Lord bless us,

protect us from all evil,

and bring us to everlasting life.

ALL: Amen

CLOSING HYMN