Gathering Call
One: We come together to thank the Creator of life.
Many: We come together knowing the world belongs to God—the Earth and all its people.
One: How good and faithful God is, that we live in abundance and community.
Many: When love and faith come together, God's will and our lives join hands.
One: We come together to experience the word of God.
Many: We come together to heed the call for justice.

Prayer of Invocation
Loving God, send your Spirit as we seek to live as you intend. May your presence comfort us and also confront us with the responsibility to make your word of love become flesh in our actions. We are learning that people around the world suffer enormous hardships because their countries shoulder stifling burdens of international debt. We know that you do not intend for millions to suffer and that we have a role to play in bringing about your realm. We pray for the people who have given their time and energy to make their voices heard to powerful decision makers. Help us too to share the good news of life with others, that in sharing, we might learn what it means to live your love. In the name of Christ, Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we confess that our lives contribute to the suffering of others. We admit our complicity with the forces of destruction, as we selfishly purchase, invest, and consume; hoarding goods and not caring for the consequences to this earth or its people. Here in this sacred gathering we would cast off the sins that hurt your creation. We pray for release from captivity to our desire for wealth and power. Caring Creator, show us how to feel compassion for people and passion for healing change. Restore us so that we might proclaim Jubilee for our selves, for others and for creation. Grant us courage to break the enslaving chains of debt that bind your people.

Assurance of Grace
(leader) The God who fulfills each divine promise offers us love without limits.
(unison) In the center of our being is Christ’s living presence, setting us free to follow paths of light. Our spirits yearn for release and our hearts dance at the thought of freedom. May we become a positive presence for those who hunger for abundant life.

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Generous God, you have given us more than we can measure. You provide material goods that keep us safe and healthy, even comfortable. You give us intangible treasures, like people and communities. You have promised to provide enough and you are ever-faithful. In a world where human structures create an unequal distribution of resources, which we know you do not intend, we thank you for your constant presence with those who suffer. Help us to use our gifts to help the ones who suffer under the heavy chains of damaging debt. In the name of the Living Christ, Amen.

Prayer for Jubilee
Loving God who provides for all people at all times, we are frightened by signs of crisis, encouraged by signs of hope, compelled by the urgency of both. Thus, we commit ourselves to the works of repentance—to reparation, redress, revaluing. We commit ourselves to find concrete ways to reenact the Jubilee in our communities, our institutions, our lives. We commit ourselves to a continuing quest and an ongoing journey, as a form of faith, a sign of freedom, a mark of discipleship. The contours of Jubilee are yet to be defined, but the invitation is clear and the need is great. In the spirit of community, we covenant to live in a manner explicitly informed by the Gospel we proclaim. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Prayers of the People
(Congregates are invited to voice their prayers after each section)
Compassionate God, we pray for our world, for all who struggle to live in nations that are unable to care adequately for their people because they wear the heavy chains of debt ...
Listening God, we pray for our nation, for people who cannot provide milk for their babies, who must decide which of their children will eat today ...
Active God, we pray for our communities, for those who are weary, who do not have clean water, who cannot find work, who have seen war and violence ...
Amen.

Prayer of Commitment
Faithful God, we are committed to being your Jubilee people. Help us realize that we have gifts and talents that you intend us to use for good. Help us use the privilege we have, but have not earned, in order that your world might become a better place. Help us to proclaim release for captives and to set oppressed peoples free. We know that these may not be comfortable or easy things to do, but we know that you intend the world to be whole. We commit ourselves to working for your Jubilee justice. Let it roll down like a river. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Charge and Blessing
Go forth as the free people you are, proclaiming God's Jubilee every day of your lives!

Program Suggestions

1. Open and close worship with a trumpet blast, organ fanfare or drum roll.


2. To get the most participation from the congregation, adapt some of the prayers above as litanies or responsive prayers.


3. Instead of a sermon, weave into the service contemporary readings of stories and statements from women and men in countries that are eligible for debt relief. Invite a diverse group of congregates to do the various readings.


4. Commission a creative group in your congregation to make Jubilee banners. Hang one outside the church and use one during worship.


5. Conduct an Offering of Letters during the service. In an Offering of Letters, congregates voice their concerns about debt cancellation by writing letters to Congress during worship, and offering them to God when the plates are passed. (Contact the Africa Action office for up to date legislative actions)


6. For a children's sermon, invite children to make a paper chain together so that each child breaks one link.

Written, compiled and edited by Melanie Hardison, Presbyterian Church USA, adapted by Africa Action.
Some material adapted from various additional resources, including A Jubilee Liturgy (Iona Community), Our Prayers Rise Like Incense (Pax Christi USA), posters for the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Decade in Solidarity with Women, and services of Central Presbyterian Church (Louisville, KY).