Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 10, 2023

Rev. Catherine Nance

Sunshine! Light of the World! Let there be light! Let your light shine! Arise, shine; your light has come! 

O God who is Light and who created Light and shares Light, we are aware of and grateful for what the power of sunshine today! This was a beautiful Wednesday. THANK YOU! Our souls as well as our bodies have soaked up your warmth! 

Make us aware of how our spirits are connected to what is happening outdoors. It is difficult to grumble in the morning when we hear birds chirping happily. We breathe in deeply as we leave our temperature-controlled offices to go outdoors. Our lungs perk up with the fresh air. We give you thanks for this connection to creation. Forgive us when we forget that we are part of your creation. Forgive us when we forget that we are called to be stewards of this gift. May we take time to notice sky, earth, rivers, and creeks. We even thank you for all critters; they remind us that we humans were not the only ones on your mind as you said, “Let there be ….” 

Gracious God, we pray that all may feel the warmth of your light and sense the brightness of your love. We know that we are called to be light bearers and light reflectors! Give us the strength and humility to live into those roles. There seems to be so much darkness and strife – we are weary of hearing news and breaking news and updates on breaking news! Yes, we know. We know all the things that are happening in the world. How can we not know with all of the alerts? Honestly, God, we find ourselves becoming numb and losing our empathy. Please shine a light on someone near us; shed a glimmer of hope on a situation nearby where we can focus our attention and prayers and love. We do pray for “your world,” O God, but sometimes we need a smaller picture. We pray for large categories of people; make our prayers have intention! 

We pray for the hungry …. we know about our guests at Soup Kitchen and those who receive extra ‘weekend backpacks’ of food. Thank you for these dear souls, Loving God, whom we have the honor to nourish. 

We pray for the sick …. We can picture people in our neighborhood or in our Sunday School class. These are dear ones who are hurting right now and we are thankful for the ways we can reach out to them and share your love. 

We pray for the lonely …. We are sure there are so many in the world! Thank you for helping us see that one person in our line of vision, O God! May our attention to them be a healing balm. 

Thank you for hearing our prayers at the end of the day. We have so much to be thankful for! 

We offer the requests from our congregation ….. 

Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 3, 2023

Rev. Catherine Nance

We come together in prayer this evening – knowing that is only through the power of your grace and the mystery of the Holy Spirit that we are able to commune with you and with one another. This is more than an email we clicked on, O God, (we do thank you for technology); this is a way of connecting. We heard in our scripture Sunday that the apostles devoted themselves to prayer and that contributed to the growth of the community. So, we pause here to think about people in our congregation who are praying alongside us now …. 

We think of those who sit near us on the pew … we think of those who type in ‘good morning!’ on the YouTube Rejoice chat. We think of those who are not able to come to the building but who depend on these emails and prayers for connection. What a gift it is to imagine others beside us. 

As we offer thanks to you for the gift of creation, we can imagine others saying, Thank you, Lord! We look at the mountains; others who pray tonight look across plains while some hear ocean waves splashing as they whisper, “Thank you, Lord, for your creation!”  

As we pray collectively, we acknowledge that we have the same needs and desires —  the same fears and hopes.  We join in prayer with those who are struggling to find a sense of peace, a sense of community, a clear path. You know the decisions and situations we face, O Loving God. Thank you for your calming spirit. If we would simply listen to your voice assuring us we are loved and that we are precious in your sight, we would not waste our energy on worry. Forgive us when we look to you as an ‘outcomes manager,’ instead of the Source of our Being. We want to hurry up and make things perfect (or more honestly, easy or comfortable). Remind us of whose we are and how your presence gives us a steadiness for each day.  

Great Physician, we pray for healing for ourselves and loved ones. We are grateful for so many advances in medical technology and pharmacology, but we become impatient or resentful when we do not ‘feel better’ right away or when a pill or procedure does not ‘fix’ everything. Help us to tend to our bodies well, O God. We are fearfully and wonderfully made! Give us patience as we heal and give us holy encouragement to make good decisions for our health. And when we have done all we can and our bodies still decline and illnesses invade, may we turn to you for solace and strength. We pray for those who struggle with pain.  Make us sensitive to the hurts, the anguish, the illnesses that are usually not visible to us. We offer prayers for those who are suffering with mental illness, with shame, with hurtful relationships and other situations that are normally kept private. May we let others know that the community of believers is a safe place to say, “I need help.” 

We pray for our country O Lord; we are horrified and saddened by more reports of violence; neighbors attacking neighbors; we pray for police officers and EMT personnel who must respond. Our hearts are with the communities in Henrietta, Oklahoma and Cleveland, Texas. We ache for all of those who were on Interstate 55 in Illinois and now know how life can be disrupted – or ended – in an instant. It is easy to read news stories and feel such grief or outrage, and then it fades away as we move on with our day. Let us linger for a moment and remember the ripples in community, O God. One victim of a crash is someone’s father who is someone’s friend who is someone’s teacher who is someone’s ….  When tragedy is too overwhelming, may the knowledge that you are aware of all the ripples soften our hearts. May we be kinder to the people in our everyday connections. We never know how that might ripple out to others. Turn our outrage and grief into civility and respect for all people. Move us to whatever action will bring you glory. May our church offer opportunities for all people to live in harmony with one another that we might be a beacon of light and hope.  

We pray for our government leaders; may they serve out of respect for humanity and obedience to you. Guide and direct them to follow your vision of community. Guide us all in the path of discipleship, so that, as you have blessed us, we may be a blessing for others. May our words and actions empowered by your love bring the promise of the kingdom near.  

We offer this prayer in the name of our Savior Jesus who taught us to pray saying: