ITINERARY
A NOTE: We may not get through all of this. Alas, there is a lot. It is at least as important how we go into and through this as how much we get through this evening. 

CONTEXT: The ACNA and its beginning vision and language, etc. 

Questions or thoughts.
What the ACNA has become:

-       Eric to share about two situations re: bishops and church trials.
-       Lots of story here, many twists and turns. It is a bit dense.

Questions or thoughts.

What has happened lately:

-       Attempted positive going forward after the Ruch verdict.
-       A lawsuit. 

Questions or thoughts.

Generally anyone who wants to share. 
Pray and lament. 

Pray and lament. 
The weight of grief bears heavily upon us, but it is a load we need not bear alone. Let us offer our burden to Jesus.  

Lord of life and of death, of the present and of the future. We bring before you our disappointment, sense of loss, anger, and broken trust. 
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

We bring before you the tears of sorrow, the cries for help, the vulnerability of pain of all those abused and harmed. 
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

We bring before you too the injustice, violence, and oppression against women and children and all those who are vulnerable. 
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

We lament leaders who have been elevated without discernment or accountability. We lament a lack of humility and a spirit of defensiveness in our leadership. 
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

We lament the loss of trust, the fracture of fellowship, and the confusion of your people.
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

We lament the silencing of women’s voices, the dismissal of their pain, the ways they are not believed when they share stories of abuse, and the ways your image has been diminished in them. 
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

You comfort those who mourn and cry out to you. Comfort us in our sorrow. Do not let grief or despair overwhelm us or cause us to turn from you. When grief seems never-ending, take us one step at a time along your road of healing in Christ Jesus our Lord.  
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

In this season of Lent we also acknowledge our own need to see with your eyes and sense with your heart. Meet us and lead us into holy self-awareness and trust in your love and goodness. 
Bless us and deliver us, O Lord.

A Call to Hope in God’s Redemption
Hear these words of comfort which the Lord offers to all in trouble and distress:
Jesus said ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matthew 11.29,30)
AMEN: Come, Lord Jesus.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God: Neither death nor life can separate us from the love of God. Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
AMEN: Come, Lord Jesus.

The Proclamation of Hope
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The Lord is my light and my salvation; The Lord is the strength of my life. Lighten our darkness, Lord, and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers that we face, for the love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
AMEN: Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. 
AMEN: Come, Lord Jesus.