Prayer of Confession for Labor Day



Here’s a congregational act of confession for Labor Day from the United Church of Christ website. (See link below.) 

Invitation to Confession 

On this Labor Day Sunday
let us lift up all people who labor,
either for pay or as volunteers,
in jobs or at school,
at home or in the workplace,
here at home and all around the world.

Unison Prayer of Confession


We are workers, God, just like you.
But we confess that our actions
do not always affirm and honor each other.
Our work is not always done in a spirit that is pleasing to you.
We confess that, on some occasions,
we have blindly bought goods made by people who are paid too little
or work in unsafe conditions.
We admit that we have failed to end an unjust system
in which some workers have jobs that provide good wages and benefits
while others may have no job,
or one that pays little and provides few benefits.

Creator God,
help us to be your people,
working for a world where all workers are valued.
A world where those who clean houses are also able to buy houses to live in.
A world where those who grow food can also afford to eat their fill.
And one where those who serve and care for others –
in stores, schools, hotels, restaurants, nursing homes, and many other places –
are, themselves, also served and cared for.
A world where all workers everywhere
share in the abundance that you have given us.

Words of Assurance 

Our God is a God of grace and transformation.
When we ask, God gives us the courage and strength
to live out our faith in the workplace and the marketplace,
as well as in the sanctuary.

~ written by Edie Rasell, Minister for Economic Justice of the United Church of Christ, and Vice-President of Interfaith Worker Justice. Posted on the United Church of Christ website. http://www.ucc.org/justice_worker-justice_labor-sunday_worship-resources#liturgy