Modern worship

Join us in the newest expression of worship at Sunnyvale Pres! Dynamic, meaningful, engaging, and welcoming worship is an important foundation for our life together at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. As we continue to grow in our understanding of God through the perspectives of folks whose voices have been marginalized in our society and our own congregation, we also want to worship using music, language, and perspectives that reflect our fuller understanding of God and humanity.

The Modern Worship Collective is an evolving worship gathering with songs, poems, prayers, and all sorts of other worship resources with progressive theologies. We want to feed the souls of folks who love contemporary worship but also yearn to be free from systems that do not fully value or include the perspectives of women, LGBTQIA+ folks, and people of color.

If you are a musician, writer, worship leader, community activist, or just anyone who cares about worship that is modern and justice-minded, then we hope you will consider joining us to worship in different forms. Story-telling, prayer, art, small group discussions and community meals are all part of this worship experience, which is different each week. Join us as we continue to create meaningful worship together!

All of what we experience is determined by the gifts you bring. We gather on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday evenings of the month from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Hospitality and time to connect starts at 6:15 pm.

Come to talk, pray, and share your struggles, grief, joys, and hopes. We look forward to the refreshing new worship experiences we will encounter together!

Plowshare Prayer

by Spencer Lajoye

Dear blessed creator, dear mother, dear savior
Dear father, dear brother, dear holy other
Dear sibling, dear baby, dear patiently waiting
Dear sad and confused, dear stuck and abused

Dear end-of-your-rope, dear worn out and broke,
Dear go-it-alone, dear running from home
Dear righteously angry, forsaken by family
Dear jaded and quiet, dear tough and defiant

I pray that I’m heard
And I pray that this works

I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword
against you and your heart, against you and your word
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare, of sorts
that it might break you open, it might help you grow

I pray that your body gets all that it needs
and if you don’t want healing, I just pray for peace
I pray that your burden gets lighter each day
I pray the mean voice in your head goes away

I pray that you honor the grief as it comes
I pray you can feel all the life in your lungs
I pray that if you go all day being brave
that you can go home, go to bed feeling safe

I pray you’re forgiven, I pray you forgive
I pray you set boundaries and openly live
I pray that you feel you are worth never leaving
I pray that you know I will always believe you

I pray that you’re heard
and I pray that this works

Amen on behalf of the last and the least
On behalf of the anxious, depressed, and unseen
Amen for the workers, the hungry, the houseless
Amen for the lonely and recently spouseless

Amen for the queers and their closeted peers
Amen for the bullied who hold in their tears
Amen for the mothers of little Black sons
Amen for the kids who grow up scared of guns

Amen for the addicts, the ashamed and hungover
Amen for the calloused, the wisened, the sober
Amen for the ones who want life to be over
Amen for the leaders who lose their composure

Amen for the parents who just lost their baby
Amen for the chronically ill and disabled
Amen for the children down at the border
Amen for the victims of our law and order

I pray that you’re heard
and I pray that this works

I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword
against you and your heart, against you and your word
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare, of sorts