SMMS Liturgy: Vocation Intensive Week 2026

Vocation Intensive Week 2026

Morning Prayers

Monday 22 June 2026

Service led by Reza-Astrid Fourie

We light the candle of Peace, Justice, and Hope for our LGBTQIA+ siblings

CANDLELIGHT PRAYER

Lord of love and mercy,

We come with open hearts, holding before you all our LGBTQIA+ family and friends, those we know by name and those whose stories we may never hear.

We ask for peace within their minds when the world is loud with judgment, within their homes where acceptance is uncertain, and within themselves as they grow into who they are. We ask for just systems and societies, for laws to uphold dignity and equality, and for courage in communities to stand against hatred and exclusion. We ask for hope for those who feel unseen or unloved, who feel they have no one to speak to, and for people to be kinder and more accepting towards them.

May every LGBTQIA+ person know they are worthy of love. May families learn to be understanding and compassionate. May friends become advocates and defenders. May the Church become more affirming, inclusive, and accepting. May we all be guided towards a world where no one has to hide to be safe, where love is not questioned, and where justice is not delayed. Amen…

CALL TO WORSHIP

Based on Psalm 139

O LORD, you have searched me and known me.
And still you are with me and love me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
And still you are with me and love me.

You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
And still you are with me and love me.

Even before a word is on my tongue,
O LORD, you know it completely.
And still you are with me and love me.

You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.
I am still with you.

And you are with me and love me.

THE GLORIA

Kganya e be ho Ntate le ho Mora le ho Moya o halalelang.

Jwalo ka ha ho bile jwalo qalehong

Ho jwalo le jwale

Ho tla nne ho be jwalo

Le ka ho sa eng kae. Amen

INVOCATION PRAYER

Holy One, You who named us before we were born, You who claimed us in the waters of baptism, You who have walked with us through closets, protests, pulpits, and pews, meet us here today. Make this space holy with your presence. Make our hearts soft enough to be moved and strong enough to be bold. Let joy rise, let fear fall always, and let your Spirit move freely among us.

Amen.

GREETING

The peace of Christ is not fragile politeness. It is the fierce peace of justice, truth, and love.

The peace of Christ makes room for all of us.

Let us share signs of peace and remember: every body, every story, every beloved child of God belongs in the circle of grace.

The peace of Christ be with you.

And also with you.

Hymn · SOTHO 183

PRAYER OF ADORATION

Loving and Creating God, You are the author of all life and the architect of a breathtaking diversity. We come before You in awe and adoration, praising You for Your boundless creativity and Your unconditional, unchanging love. You do not make mistakes. You fearfully and wonderfully knit every person together in their mother’s womb, delighting in the vibrant spectrum of humanity. We adore You for the unique gifts, passions, and spirits You have poured into the queer community. You are a God who sees the heart, celebrates authenticity, and calls every part of Your creation good.

Thank You for loving queer people exactly as You created them to be, and for gracing them with resilience, courage, and fierce love. When the world is harsh, Your grace remains a safe harbor. We praise You for being a shield, a comforter, and the ultimate source of belonging. May Your love continue to break down barriers of prejudice and oppression. Open our hearts to be instruments of Your welcome, reflecting Your generous and expansive love to every single person we meet.

We sing Your praises, knowing that Your love is a sanctuary for all.

Amen…

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of love and justice,

We confess that we have not always loved as you call us to love. We confess the harm done in your name, especially to LGBTQIA+ people: the exclusion, shame, silence, and fear that have wounded your beloved children. We confess, too, the ways we all fall short: choosing comfort over courage, silence over justice, and fear over love.

Forgive us for the times we have become a stumbling block to people getting to know You, Lord.

Forgive us for our small-mindedness and judgmental thoughts.

Forgive us for the times we have used Scripture as a weapon rather than a source of life.

Forgive us for the times we have judged, excluded, and condemned.

Forgive us for our arrogance and assumptions.

Forgive us for our silence.

Forgive us for failing to recognize the wounds our words can leave behind.

Forgive us for making people feel they must choose between being honest about who they are and being welcomed in your presence.

Forgive us for the times we have failed to recognize your image in those whose identities, experiences, and love stories differ from our own.

Forgive us for not embodying the love of Christ to all we encounter.

In the name of Jesus, who welcomed all with courageous love, we pray.

Amen.

ABSOLUTION

Beloved, hear the good news: God does not abandon us to shame, He does not hold grudges, and He does not leave us in our brokenness.

In Christ, our sins are forgiven.

Fear does not get the final word. Exclusion does not get the final word. Bad theology that rejects does not get the final word. The final word belongs to God, and God’s final word is grace.

By God’s grace, we are forgiven.
By God’s grace, we are being transformed.
By God’s grace, we are called to love as we have been loved.

Beloved, you are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.

THANKSGIVING PRAYER

Holy and Loving God, you formed us in your image: diverse, radiant, and good. You called us by name: beloved, whole, and worthy. You have always moved among the margins, lifting the voices that the world tried to silence. Today, we remember: the queer saints, trans trailblazers, and radical dreamers who lived their truth even when it cost them everything. We remember those who danced in defiance, who marched for liberation, who dared to believe in a church that could fully affirm them. We remember those we’ve lost to violence, shame, and silence, and we carry their light with us now.

We give thanks to those who imagined a wider table, a more loving Church and world, and those who continue to speak out against injustice, discrimination, and violence experienced by the LGBTQIA+ community, and who labour to create spaces of welcome, dignity, safety, and belonging.

We thank you for every act of resistance to hatred, every challenge to injustice, every door opened wider, every life lived authentically, and every community that chooses love over fear.

Keep making us into that kind of Church: courageous enough to tell the truth, humble enough to repent, and bold enough to love without limits.

For all these people, stories, and gifts, we give you thanks.

Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:7-21

Hymn · XHOSA 218

REFLECTION

In 1 John 4:7-21, we are reminded that

“God is love,” and that love is made visible in how we treat one another.

Where are you failing to embody Christ’s love towards the LGBTQIA+ community, and in what ways could it make them feel excluded, diminished, or like they do not fully belong?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Pride is important because someone tonight still believes they’re better off dead than being themselves”

Our calling as Christians is to make God’s love so tangible that no one is left doubting their sacred worth.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER

Trusting in the one who names us, claims us, and calls us beloved, we pray for the world and the church, and all in need…

Holy God, You made us in your image, and you call us good. Silence the voices of shame and hatred and inspire us to love ourselves and one another the way you desperately, passionately, and deeply love us.