Prayers of the People - October 19, 2014

God we know our hope lies with you and we look to for comfort and strength as we enter the darker days of this season.  The leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, the air is brisker and we are reminded of the fragile nature of our human existence …  we need you as our strong light and beacon to guide us through the days ahead.

We awake each morning and are bombarded with frightening images and words about strange diseases and terrorists threats that make us afraid.  The news is energized each time a new fear can be introduced and we often get swept away in this fearful energy. 

Loving God, erase our fears and focus our energy on looking for hope.   We pray for the victims of Ebola and the healthworkers who are searching for answers and lovingly care for patients. 

We pray for people around the world who are displaced from their homes and living under constant fear for their own safety. God, be our light and guide us to dissipate the voices of fear that surround us and focus on your love and healing power.

Lord, we know you are always with us...walk closely with us as the days get colder and we begin to close our front doors and nestle in at home.  Because the moments to enjoy the warm sunlight are fewer, we move inside and turn inward, we choose to listen to our own insecurities and live in a state of fear of what is to come...  We become more concerned about our own situation than the condition of our neighbors and others in our world.  Mother Father God, as you love all your children, you remind us of the ways we are called to reach out to love and serve others.  Bring us out of the safety of our homes to be your hands and feet to those in need. 

Bless the volunteers who love and serve our PADS guests each Sunday.  And Inspire the men we serve to seek new and healthier ways of living. Guide our church to serve the hurting world in deeper ways and spread your message of hope and love to all of your children.

We are entering the last weeks of an election season and the fevered voices of fear surround us … we hear negative messages coming from the candidates to our TVs, our mailboxes and our computers.  The Focus on what others have done wrong infects our society and our own heads We find ourselves echoing the negative tone in our own words and relationships.  

God, we know your voice is stronger than all others … guide us to ignore the other voices, to tune out the  fear and focus on your calm and loving voice.   Inspire us to imprint your words on our hearts and be the voices of hope.

Amid the shorter and colder days, we still can witness beautiful blooms and celebrations.  This morning we are reminded of God’s promises of hope with the birth of Lucas Uzureau and the baptism of Peyton Grace.   We rejoice that Billie Hauser is healing rapidly and will come home this week, and that Scott appemeyer's condition has improved and he is again at home.  We are grateful for our church that offers a safe home to our youth who return from retreat this morning.  

God we ask you to especially care for those who are ill.  Some of us have colds or the flu, while others have much deeper ills, both physically and mentally. We lift up Ray Brejcha who is currently hospitalized.  Surround us with your healing power, comfort us deep down and remind us that our hope lies in you.

Quiet those fearful voices in each of us and bring us peace.

God you have taught us that life is always changing.  We are guided to look forward and know that on the other side of the cold and dark lies the resurrection, the promise of a different future.  We know we can pass through fear and live in the hope of a new world.  Your son, Jesus taught us not to fear but to trust and follow him. We thank you for this gift and be with us as we pray together …

Our Father…

Prayers of the People - August 31, 2014

God of the morning sun and the evening stars,

you are so accustomed to the ever changing universe. 

But many of us are in a season of transition and we ask your strong presence and kind guidance as CHANGE can often be difficult for us.

Children have headed back to school and our casual summer has turned into a schedule-heavy fall. 

Be with our families in this transition of seasons …

grant extra measures of patience and strength for parents and those who deal with managing busy schedules …

inspire a spirit of bravery and cooperation in our children and ourselves. 

Some in our midst are experiencing times of great sorrow and we ask your blessing upon the Keenan and Schneider families as they transition into a new phase of life without the earthly presence of beloved parents and spouses. 

Other families are dealing with mental illness, addiction, anger, and stress …

we pray that your constant love and grace be welcomed into the hearts of those dealing with the brokenness of individuals and families. 

Help them to see a hopeful future, and give them strength to transition into new lives of wholeness and peace. 

Lead them to reach out to others for support and guidance as this is a difficult road to walk alone.

God of our beginnings and endings, grant each of us peace in our aging processes. 

Some of us are feeling our age and joints and bones are not as strong...

minds and memories are not as quick ...

and transitions are more difficult. 

Help us to be patient and loving to ourselves as we realize the ever-changing nature of our lives, bodies and spirits.  

Guide us in finding comfort in knowing that you are our God and we are your children and all of these changes are part of your plan.

As a church we are excited for the arrival of Jessica this week.  Help us to provide a loving and welcoming home to her this year, 

allow us to walk alongside her as she serves God in our midst ... assisting in worship leadership and expanding our thoughts about serving others with Outreach.

Thank you God for the continued healing of Don Jones ... allow Don the will to do the complete healing that is necessary  before he returns fully to life.   Give us wisdom to know how to help Don and Cardy in the best ways.

Loving God who watches over and loves the seven billion souls created on this planet …

we know that we have changed this planet from the YOUR kingdom, to a Kingdom of our own creation. 

We have let wars, conflicts, famines and poverty spread over your creation. 

Give to each of us AND to our leaders ... your wisdom

Give us strength and the guidance to turn away from the human ways of self-interest, oppression , greed and power struggles …

Help us to walk on Holy Ground and turn us to the Godly ways of compassion, sharing resources and uplifting the lives and spirits of others.   

We all long for a world where no mother or father needs to worry when a child leaves their home. 

Where no parent is afraid that their daughter or son won't return from a walk to school or a simple bike ride to a friend’s house. 

Inspire us to work peacefully for solutions to the violence children and families experience daily. 

We each have joys and concerns that lie on our hearts.... We silently offer these now to you, our God...

Loving God, through all the transitions and seasons of change we know that the one constant is YOU. 

Your deep and abiding love sustains and nourishes us.  We know that WITH YOU, and each other, we can do far more than we can alone. 

We know that you are with us and together we pray the prayer we received from your son ...

Our father …

Prayers of the People - August 3, 2014

Loving God of wonders beyond our imagining, we gather today and remember that you are our rock and our everlasting hope. We are thankful for the gift of this morning and of the sunshine that warms our skin and brightens our days. 

We are grateful for this church home and the community we have built together.   And the members of the congregation and the staff who seek to do your work, We especially bless Pastor Fred and Jan as they spend restful and rejuvenating time with their beloved family this week. 

There are those of us in need of your special care these days and in particular we lift up to you ... 

Our children are registering for school and purchasing new backpacks and supplies in preparation of a new school year,

we ask you Lord to inspire and strengthen them to be your hands and feet to their fellow students and teachers,

to help them treat those they meet with compassion and to protect those who are bullied and those beaten down by the stresses of family life and high expectations.  

We ask your special blessing on our recent graduates who soon head off to college.

Surround them with your presence and comfort them as they begin a new chapter away from home. 

Lord, we know that you are our light and our salvation and that with you we should not fear...

But it is difficult not to be afraid when the world seems so confusing and we are often overwhelmed by the pain of your people.  

We are challenged to try to make sense of senseless situations, and to seek ways to help put pieces of broken lives and nations back together. 

We know that your loving presence is there in all situations and conflicts, but we pray that those in conflict are reminded of your dreams of a peaceful kingdom on earth and in heaven.

We pray for your Spirit of peace to descend where wars rage on the ground, the sea and in the air

in the Ukraine, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and all the places of the world so in need of your peace.

We pray for your healing to those facing Ebola, AIDS and other illnesses that seem beyond hope. 

Be a strong presence to the patients and the caregivers and give them hope that a new day will come.

We implore you to walk with our neighbors in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine;

may they be inspired and directed by words and actions of the ancestors that all our faiths share. 

Guide the leaders of all nations to work together for peaceful solutions and justice for all people.

And to God, who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly more than all we can ask or imagine we lift our prayers, praying as our Lord taught us:

Our father …

Let's Begin

Recently, I've shared with my Senior Pastor that I'm feeling called to participate in Worship Leadership.  Being the open and encouraging person that he is, he has invited me in and provided me opportunities to lead Morning Prayers.

I have shared my prayers with my dearest friend, Lesley (who is a Pastor as well) because I wanted her feedback and suggestions for improvement.  She offered none and instead encouraged me to find a place to share my words, beyond Sunday morning in the Sanctuary.

This is my attempt to share.