BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 11, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Loving One, when we behold this day that you have made, there are simply no words that capture what you entrust to us in the sheer bliss of morning. Especially in the wee hours, your holiness hovers closely above your good earth. But as the hours turn, our messiness soon will stir things up again. The traffic will boom, computers will whir, cellphones wlll ring, and televisions will blare. Amid all that shuffling about, help us remember this gift of a few soundless and sacred moments, offered to us without price. May we tuck this memory into the secret pocket of our souls, and keep it safe until we learn all it has to teach.

God of Grace and God of Glory, hear our prayer.

O Conveyor of Hope, we confess that we find ourselves staggering today under the weight of the worldwide pandemic. This strain that we acknowledge has the faces of friends, family, and acquaintances whom we hold in our prayers: those who are confined in close quarters in apartments; the weakened elderly existing in cubicles in nursing facilities, especially those who are confused when only masked ones answer their calls; the homeless whose emotional needs render them more vulnerable to the disease; those whose mourning continues, having buried their loved ones without a proper memorial; those who grieve dissolution of relationships caused by financial hardship; those who remain faithful to their call to healing, even jeopardizing their own health; and those who persevere in their search for an effective preventive for this mystifying plague. Yes, the burden is massive, but remind us, Good Lord, that you bear the pain of the world, and that we are not alone. You meet us in this darkness, sending angels to strengthen us in our time of trial. “The end will come,” they whisper, “so do not fear.”

God of Grace and God of Glory, hear our prayer.

O Guiding Hand, in scores of ways you present yourself to us, though sometimes we must take a backward glance to see how far we’ve come, by your grace. Your constant care means everything to us, and we acknowledge our total dependence upon you. Thank you for the privilege of lifting our gratitude and of turning over our cares to your keeping:

  • A sister’s stress test met with good results – offering gratitude
  • Thanksgiving: for a member’s new job with an increase in salary
  • Prayers appreciated: oncologist meeting brought great hope Monday
  • Grateful for prayers: young mother’s surgery was successful Monday
  • Member praises God for bringing her a new vision during isolation
  • Prayers for recovery: Cousin (18) at Vanderbilt with 3rd degree burns
  • Guidance for parents, children & educators as school terms begin
  • Prayers for son-in-law to reduce his work as he recovers from surgery
  • Relief for two members who deal with constant back pain
  • Healing for a stepfather in ICU; a fragile sister & brother-in-law
  • Courage & tolerance for member taking new cancer treatment
  • Son having hand surgery to remove an infected, poisonous barb
  • Dear friend with cancer, caring for husband with dementia & cancer
  • Healing of a friend with diabetes, asthma & virus
  • Recovery for a family of 3 ill with virus
  • Continued healing for beloved friend recovering from cancer
  • Prayers for member involved in a divorce & for 2 broken families

We praise for your readiness to receive our every prayer. And we praise you for sending those saints among us who are living out your call to love without reserve, buoying our spirits with their witness. Show us also how to take our narrow patterns of living outside our normal path, that others might see your likeness in us. We trust the road ahead to you, for your spirit is our peace and your love is our path.

God of Grace and Glory, hear our prayer.

We bow this day, O Lord, as children of the resurrection, proclaiming with all your people around the world who sing your unending hymn: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 10, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

God of Our Awakening, a new day comes through your grace, and with it comes your untouched opportunities. May the fresh wind of your Spirit awaken our sluggish hearts, that you might bring to life the joy you long ago rooted there. Direct us to the discovery of that new endeavor you want us to undertake, perhaps that youthful dream we let die, that spark of creativity we never acted upon, the relationship that needs to be revived. Though our endeavors may seem humble, help us remember that whatever you touch becomes sacred.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of Forgiveness, lighten our souls by removing the baggage of our sinful wanderings, we pray. We have grave worries for certain, but much of the time we concentrate on ourselves, forgetting those whose lives are far more fragile than our own. We pray for the residents of Beirut mourning the deaths of 160, injuries to 60,000 in the devastating blast; for the thousands in regions of Africa, India and Thailand whose homes and livelihoods are being destroyed in the raging flooding of their villages; hundreds of children kidnapped from their families in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq and South Sudan to become child soldiers, human shields and slaves; for the hundreds of healthcare workers across the globe who have died in the service of others suffering from Covid-19. Save us from our indifference and complacency, Forgiving God, knowing, that, as you care for us, your own heart breaks when your vulnerable ones everywhere are in distress.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Christ our Healer, we see signs of your continuing search for the least and the lost everywhere; and gratitude wells up within us when we recall the distinct ways you are attending us. We are thankful for these current blessings made manifest in the lives of Church Streeters, and we also name our deepest needs, knowing that you are always working on our behalf:

  • Gratitude: a sister’s shoulder surgery on Friday was successful
  • Prayers appreciated: friend in TX with virus is improved & his caregiver sister remains virus-free
  • Thankful that a follow-up test at Vanderbilt Friday was all clear
  • Grateful: a sister’s leg surgery was successful, pray for recovery
  • Thanksgiving that knee surgery went smoothly on Friday
  • Please pray for guidance & peace for one facing cancer surgery
  • Prayers for young mother undergoing surgery today & her surgeon
  • That a legal proceeding will go smoothly & equitably today
  • Relief for two suffering from immense shoulder pain
  • Healing of a young mother’s emotional malady, parents who are anxious
  • Recovery for a stepfather in ICU
  • Courage & tolerance for member taking new cancer treatment
  • Healing for dear friend with diabetes, asthma, & virus
  • Recovery for a family of 3, all suffering with virus infection
  • Direction & calm for families & educators as school term begins
  • Sister & brother-in-law in frail situation, for wisdom, guidance & healing
  • Young mother continuing her struggle with Covid-19; son & husband well
  • Safety for a mother in nursing facility where virus has broken out

Help us to keep our gaze fixed upon you, O Lord, and guide our steps, as we trust  that you will not let us fall.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

This week, when we are tempted to dwell only on our own loneliness, help us reach out to others, being the community we long to have. Thank you for showing us new ways to be the church, the church alive and vibrant, witnessing to the risen Christ in times such as these.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for a midday devotion!

Join us on our Facebook page at noon for a short devotion with Rev. Catherine Clark Nance!

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 6, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Elusive Creator, our origins are in you, and we have long yearned to glimpse your face. Is your skin a lustrous ebony, pink as a mimosa blossom, or of a yellow tint? Are your eyes multi-colored, black as coal, or green as newly mown grass? Even the great masters tried to capture your essence, though their renderings were generally as lifeless and uninspiring as our own musings. We know you are beyond description and your ways inscrutable, for the psalmist long ago declared you to be unsearchable. Still, you did create us with this curiosity. And it just may be that curiosity leads to hope, hope leads to truth, truth leads to trust, and trust leads to faith.  Good Lord, faith is what we need!

God of a Thousand Faces, because you are beyond us, we will never be able to know you completely – your radiance is more than we could bear. Rather, you choose to come as a gift, as an unexpected visitor who goes by another name: the grocer who answers a complaint with understanding; the brave nurse who takes our virus sample; the pharmacist who exhibits patience, though weariness is in her eyes; the child who blows a kiss through the window, leaving his fingerprints on the glass. Help us to be ready to receive you, Lord, opening our eyes to behold you in unknown faces. May we become as the Benedictines, who, in observing the stranger, always ask: “Is that you, Jesus? Please tarry awhile!”

Thank you for opening our hearts to the ways in which you are healing us and drawing us closer together as a family of faith. Our celebrations and our worries we freely share with you, Our Constant Hope, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ, for your grace permeates all situations:

  • Gratitude: member physician is excited to open a new practice (St. Louis)
  • Isolated member sends gratitude for all notes & calls from other members
  • Family celebrates a son-in-law’s important promotion at work
  • Thanksgiving: a father is recovering from pneumonia, now out of ICU
  • Dental worker grateful: she & coworkers have remained healthy throughout the past 3 months
  • Prayers appreciated: no blockages detected in a heart cath procedure
  • Mother thankful that paramedic daughter working in TX remains healthy
  • Pray for guidance & peace for one facing cancer surgery
  • Comfort for co-worker who has lost 3 family members to virus
  • Courage & tolerance for member taking new cancer treatment
  • Healing for dear friend with diabetes, asthma & Covid-19
  • Recovery for a family of 3, all suffering with virus infection
  • Calm, healing for cherished wife & mother having surgery Monday
  • Healing for 92-yr-old friend with virus, that illness is not transmitted
  • Sister who suffered broken leg & her husband who has lung cancer, both have diabetes
  • Young mother with Covid-19, protection for her husband and son
  • Dear friend fighting cancer & family awaiting virus test results
  • Prayers that legal mediation goes well on Monday
  • Healing – Friend in TX with virus, safety for his caregiver sister

Yes, you are veiled in mystery, O God, but we cling to our memories of Jesus, the Eternal Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us. We remember how he understood our everyday questions and problems, how he identified with the meek and shabby, and how he himself elevated the common, routine life to something sacred. Such memories are really all we need to hold us steady, so accept, we pray, all our prayers this day in the name of Christ:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for a midday devotion!

Join us on our Facebook page at noon for a short devotion with Rev. Tim Best!

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 5, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Master of Change, we live in an erratic era, an uncomfortable season of transition, and in one way or another, we are victims of the upheaval. But grant that in spite of what ensues, we will not give in to our fears, but will grow into that faith we have proclaimed and will arise from the dust – not as victims, but victors.

Hear us, Good Lord.

O God of Transformation, you buried grains of resilience within us long ago, reserves upon which we might rely in times of challenge. May those grains germinate in such a time as this, bringing forth those buried abilities we didn’t realize existed. Your creativity is ever-flowing, so may we dig deep to find gifts and talents that have long lain dormant. When so many ventures are impossible, let us discover those which, with your help, ARE possible.

Hear us, Good Lord.

Love Ever New, starting afresh takes raw courage, something we depend upon you to supply. With you at our side, holding our arm, we will exhibit a boldness we never before realized. New pathways, new relationships, new signs of grace await if we take that first step. May our prayers this day reflect our resolve to unearth our true potential, employing it as you have planned: working for the fulfillment of your purposes, laboring in the support of others, and always witnessing to your glory.

Hear us, Good Lord.

Silent Worker of Good, we have known your faithfulness throughout our lives, and in recent months we have keenly felt your presence.  Now we offer gratitude for those specific ways you have upheld us . . . . . . . . . . .  We bring our uneasiness and anxieties with us into your presence, as well, for Jesus told us how deeply you care for us.  So much is beyond our control, but we depend upon your divine authority to continue working for the good in each situation:

  • Grateful for prayers: premature baby now off ventilator & parents were able to hold him for the first time
  • Four friends rejoice that their virus tests were negative
  • Thanksgiving: a daughter’s cancer scans were clear following surgery
  • Thankful that a cousin’s cancer scans were clear
  • Gratitude: a once gravely ill father is now able to work part-time
  • Prayers for healing & wholeness for 2 women who suffer constant pain
  • One who is overcoming depression, for continued improvement
  • Courage for member, that new cancer treatment is effective
  • Parents carrying a heavy burden & healing of wife’s injured shoulder
  • Healing for dear friend with diabetes, asthma & Covid-19
  • Rest & endurance for adult children caring for their ill parents
  • Healing for 92-yr-old friend with virus, that illness is not transmitted
  • Young mother with Covid-19, protection for her husband & son
  • Dear friend fighting cancer & family awaiting virus test results
  • Healing & protection: 90-yr-old father hospitalized (pneumonia)
  • For God’s grace & wisdom to help re-create our broken world
  • Healing – Friend in TX with virus, safety for his caregiver sister
  • Pray for a co-worker who has lost 3 family members to Covid-19
  • Beloved husband recovering from a stroke & from the virus

We thank you for this one day, for this singular opportunity to drink of your grace, to hum your tender melody, to listen to your love language, to treasure your goodness, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. All these we learned from our Savior, who taught us to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 4, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Jesus, I have promised to serve thee to the end;
Be thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend.
I shall not fear the battle if thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway, if thou wilt be my guide.

We gather this day, praying with all our church family, most of whom have sung this hymn throughout their lives. And still these simple phrases remain as meaningful today as when they were penned over one hundred years ago. Oh Christ, we do ask for your presence with us and we ask for your direction, particularly in this time of unrest. We lift up our young people as they embark upon another school term just beginning. In whatever venue, whether in virtual studies or gathered personally in classrooms, we pray that each young one might know you as a ready protector. Give them the confidence to handle whatever challenges are presented. And watch over all educators that they might exhibit wisdom, patience, and grace as they perform their duties. We also lift up all parents and guardians, those who are anxious about the coming weeks. Remind us that this difficult period of contagion will end, so strengthen all to endure with faith and hope.

O let me feel thee near me! The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear.
My foes are ever near me, around me and within;
But Jesus, draw thou nearer and shield my soul from sin.

O Promised Shield, indeed there are many things that scramble for our attention these days. The incessant buzzing of newscasters is often more distracting than informative, and the reports stressed most prominently are bleak. There is the temptation for us to take the surface reports as truth, without taking the time to investigate for ourselves. Forgive us for allowing alarming broadcasts to color our attitudes, for allowing them to take the rainbows out of our skies. Yes, there is much cause for worry, but doesn’t hope also have a story of its own to tell? Shield us from giving in to despondency, when all around there are signs of your goodness.

O let me hear thee speaking in accents clear and still
Above the storms of passion, the murmurs of self-will.
O speak to reassure me, to hasten and control;
O speak and make me listen, thou guardian of my soul.

We are pilgrims on our journey with you, O Guardian of our Souls. There are many amusements and diversions along the highway, and we confess that we often become engrossed in pursuits that are not in our best interests. Prod us when we dawdle on the side road, when we become lazy and inattentive.  Coach us in how to listen to your voice alone, and ground us in your school of service, for we have vowed to follow obediently, to pray for each of our sojourners, and to help lift up all who are in danger of falling.

We have laid out our faults upon your blanket of mercy, knowing that you will favor us in your charity, O Merciful One; yet we also remember and recount the numerous benefits you are bringing about in our lives . . . . . . . . . . . .   Hear also these celebrations from members of our Church Street family, as well as their prayers for your divine assistance:

  • Gratitude: member recovering well from hip surgery
  • Thanksgiving: a grandson is healing
  • Prayers appreciated: sister-in-law fully recovered from virus
  • Thankful that daughter has recovered from virus, now healthy
  • Celebrating a husband’s healing from pneumonia (in Ohio)
  • Healing prayers for 3 women being treated for cancer
  • Calm for a member having heart cath today, for promising results
  • Parents carrying a heavy burden & healing of wife’s injured shoulder
  • Healing for dear friend with diabetes, asthma & Covid-19
  • Young mother with Covid-19, protection for her husband & son
  • Dear friend fighting cancer & family awaiting virus test results
  • Prayers for brother-in-law, malignant growth on esophagus
  • Job openings for members who have lost jobs due to virus
  • A way forward for adult son who is divorcing
  • For healing & protection: a father hospitalized with pneumonia
  • Prayers for researchers who seek an effective virus vaccine
  • Healing – Friend in TX with virus, safety for his caregiver sister
  • Courage & rest for daughter caring for her mother in hospice

For you are always listening, in spite of all my fear,
You always walk beside me, my comforter so near.
And Jesus I have promised to serve thee to the end,
O give me grace to follow my Master and my Friend.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 3, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Surest Hope, we confess that we call ourselves people of faith, and yet it is true that we are believers who frequently harbor doubts. Maybe we’re more like Jesus’ would-be followers than we claim. They assumed he would come down from the clouds and smash all idols in his path. They expected a Savior to depose governments that seemed deaf to their cries for help. They looked for One who would remove all the obstacles that made their lives so difficult. And when they discovered Jesus had an agenda altogether different than the plan they anticipated, many began to doubt and fall away. Even now, centuries later, our hearts are often filled with disbelief when we see how injustice, discrimination, poverty, bitterness, and many forms of evil continue to thrive. Our efforts can seem so meaningless in the face of such rivals and we want to throw up our hands in incredulity. “Why?” is the query which we have been carrying with us, particularly in these deeply disturbing days.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God of Impossibilities, lead us back to Jesus, the Thread of our Faith, that we might hold on for all we’re worth. Stoke our attention to all that we are already witnessing in our very midst and we will then reaffirm that you are alive and well: Broken relationships are being renewed; grave illnesses are being healed; the lonely and the grieving are not forgotten; healthcare workers and public servants take great risks to help the sick; neighbors are coming together to house and feed the poor; bright new pastors are being called to lead faith communities; new avenues of worship are being discovered; the faithful continue their financial support for your work. Your holy thread is winding itself through all such works, though it is not always discernible. A wise one once taught that doubt is really fear in disguise; so give us the boldness to grasp your strand of faith that does not fail, and we will believe anew that nothing is impossible with our God.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your mercy truly abounds in so many forms, Good Lord, and when we quiet ourselves regularly, we may more readily perceive how your fine ribbon of goodness threads its way into so many parts of our lives. Thank you for being a Savior of such magnanimity, for you love us and accept us even in our questioning.

Receive now our thanksgivings for the ways you have lifted our burdens; and also accept these prayers for help offered by our church family:

  • Gratitude: husband & work crew safely home from high-risk region
  • Thankful that a nephew’s cancer surgery went smoothly
  • Celebrating an MRI that revealed no new cancer cells
  • Thankful that a wounded pet is learning to walk again
  • Prayers appreciated: 3 with Covid-19 are now restored to health
  • Gratitude for prayers – a family’s virus tests were all negative
  • Gratitude: son arrived safely in NYC to resume work
  • Calm for a member having heart cath, for promising results
  • Pray for parents carrying a heavy burden; healing of an injured shoulder
  • Clarity, wisdom, & guidance for a woman of strong faith
  • Prayers for brother-in-law, malignant growth on esophagus
  • Job openings for members who have lost jobs due to virus
  • Prayers for one awaiting a pathology report
  • Family member hospitalized in Ohio with pneumonia, for healing
  • For a young man’s anger to dissolve & for his growing vision of goodness
  • Young wife suffering from depression, that her darkness may lift
  • Prayers for those ill with the virus; an effective vaccine to be found
  • Safety for educators, students & families as fall term begins
  • A young nephew driving to CA, for protection & guidance
  • Pray for assistance for those experiencing financial difficulties

O Constant One, scripture says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. And whenever our doubts and uncertainties come calling, give us grace to cling to that assurance that you are working in us and through us. In Christ’s name, we pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for a midday devotion

CSUMC member Brad Thompson will join us on our Facebook page today at noon for a short devotion – we hope you will join us!

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

July 30, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Master Gardener, we know you have planted seeds of goodness within us, but for some reason, weeds have sprung up here and there, entwining themselves within the roots of our best intentions. We confess that our devotions have become as flimsy and fireless as the dandelion florets the wind carries away. Our prayer life reeks of self-interest, as predictable as crabgrass peering up from the seams in the sidewalk. Enrich our faith, Lord, giving energy to our lukewarm prayers and fervor to our casual nods of devotion. Refine our souls, we pray, that we might spring forth with new vigor, alive with the fire of faith.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

Yes, as our Constant Caretaker, you are fully aware of the nettles that have gained a foothold in our souls; but you do not fixate about their presence. Rather, you remain focused on the healthy roots that sometimes appear dormant, but still thrive. Protect what is good within us, we pray, and nurture that which promises life and truth. And in your own time, bring forth that grain from within us, ripened by your Spirit, and separate it from the useless chaff. Then may it be ground into wholesome wheat, kneaded and baked, rendering life-giving bread, food for the journey with Christ.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

What newness awaits all who trust in you, O Lord, for time and again you bring to fruition all that is withered and useless. Cultivate that vibrant flower of gratitude in our hearts, we pray, that we might see you behind every petal of grace that falls on our path. You are the Patient Gardener who gives us time to mature in our faith, time to correct our errant ways, time for gratitude to burst through the minute fibers of our hearts. Hear now as we sing our song of thankfulness for the ways you have strengthened and supported us through our days . . .  How blessed we are that you are our Savior in all seasons!

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

And though you know these already, we offer the requests and celebrations offered by your servants at Church Street. We thank you that our concerns are your concerns, that our joys are your joys:

  • Family celebrates a wife’s return home from healthcare facility
  • Couple thankful for a lengthy and memorable vacation in the West
  • Gratitude that a relationship is being restored
  • Three offer thanksgiving for our choirs and worship team
  • Clarity, wisdom, and guidance for a woman of strong faith
  • Prayers for brother-in-law, malignant growth on esophagus
  • Safety for husband & his crew working in a high-risk region
  • Courage for a dear friend with lung cancer, awaiting MRI results
  • Success for a nephew’s cancer surgery today
  • Safety for paramedic daughter in high-risk work in Texas
  • Strength for a daughter lovingly caring for her aging mother at home
  • For a young man’s anger to dissolve & for his growing vision of goodness
  • Young wife suffering from depression, that her darkness may lift
  • Prayers for those ill with the virus; an effective vaccine to be found
  • Safety for educators, students, and families as fall term begins
  • A young nephew driving to California, for protection & guidance
  • Safety for a young son returning to work in NYC on Friday
  • All who are losing employment & are anxious about finances
  • For an end to violence, reconciliation among our nation’s leaders
  • Prayer for negative virus test results for two at-risk mothers
  • Strength & healing for a member involved in a divorce proceeding

Lord of the Harvest, we trust in you for our strength. Grant that we may we grow straight and tall, content that you will one day peer across the fields, and counting us ready, gather us into your holy presence. Till then, we join again with all the faithful in that unending prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Programming Note: Pastor Jan’s prayers will continue next week, Monday through Thursday. Tomorrow, look for a new addition to our weekly communications – Catherine’s Corner: notes from Rev. Catherine Clark Nance.

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for a midday devotion

Rev. Cantler leads us in a devotion at noon on our Facebook page today.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

July 29, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O God Beyond Us, we offer praise that you have linked all our lives together in so many intricate ways. Grant that we might recognize the holiness of the planet you have set aside for us, and also the inestimable sacredness of each human life. You hold dreams for us as individuals, yet your vision will flourish only when your created ones live in a community of attentiveness, regard and respect. Grant that we might open ourselves more fully to that future you imagine, where accommodation is made for our differences, where tolerance is a benchmark, and where diversity enriches the whole.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

All-Knowing One, as we are so closely connected, our prayers for one another flow out to you in a steady stream. Watch over, we pray, all who carry great burdens in this uncommon era: those who have been stricken with the grim virus, those who tremble in fear and isolation, those whose family pressures have become almost intolerable, those who suffer work and financial hardships, those whose bodies and spirits are broken, and those who care for the confused and the infirm.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Mighty Healer, you are aware of all that has bruised and battered us throughout these long months, and as you have continued to supply healing grace heretofore, we ask you would minister to all who still yearn for your touch. Also receive these individual celebrations and pleas on the hearts of your people at Church Street:

  • Grateful for prayers: a wife’s biopsy reflects no malignancy
  • Gratitude: cataract surgery brought welcome vision improvement
  • Prayers appreciated: a son’s work in Florida is finished & he’s now home
  • Thankful for prayers: a gravely ill husband is gaining strength day by day
  • Gratitude: all first responders who work diligently in this healthcare crisis
  • Prayers for two broken families, for forgiveness & a way forward
  • A child involved in a custody dispute, that all will work for her benefit
  • Prayers for 2 dear friends at home, recovering from accidents
  • Strength for a daughter lovingly caring for her aging mother at home
  • For a young man’s anger to dissolve & for his growing vision of goodness
  • Strength & support for an owner trying to keep his business afloat
  • An effective vaccine to halt the spread of Covid-19
  • That yesterday’s surgery may save a friend’s eyesight
  • Friends who are losing employment and anxious about finances
  • Wisdom for leaders of our nation, that they might restore peace & order
  • Prayer for negative virus test results for two at-risk mothers
  • Strength for 3 valiant women undergoing chemo treatments

Hope of Our World, we raise up all these spoken petitions and also our unspoken ones this day, believing you will treat them with the same tenderness that marked the ministry of your Glorious Son, whose prayerful words have echoed through the ages:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

July 28, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Being Ever-Present, a pristine morning comes and you arrive on whipped cream clouds, suffusing saint and sinner alike with your grandeur. You make no distinction among your people, and we are thankful; for truth be told, we are each saint and sinner, beloved by the One who cherishes us because we are who we are. And in your love, you know we are trying to get it right! Glory to you, O Lord, glory to you!

O Love Unending, hear our prayer.

Often in the clarity of daylight, we see ourselves through a more lucid lens. And now we acknowledge that we have been so attuned to our own personal endeavors that we have neglected others who have needed our assistance. We remember the faces of those whom we hastily judged, often wrongly. And the memory of our exaggerated self-importance haunts us. Surely we have tried your patience with our prideful ways and we ask that you absolve us of all our missteps that are harmful to you, to others, and ourselves; especially remove from us the stains of these personal sins . . .  We know your mercy is limitless, O Lord, and that we are forgiven, but help us slow learners remember we are to be your reflections in this world.

O Love Unending, hear our prayer.

O Author of Goodness, our lives have been overturned by the lethal virus. Some say we are walking, as did your servant David, through the valley of the shadow of death. It does feel that way, but you are walking with us. Through the thousands in our own community, you appear in many guises: delivering mobile meals to the stranded at home, arriving for work at the hospital and healthcare facility, driving the ambulance, protecting our streets, unloading food and supplies from the delivery truck, conducting vaccine research in the science lab, calling the lonely, offering consolation to those who mourn, penning notes to the isolated. Jesus has not left us comfortless, but thanks be to you that the light of the Holy Spirit enables so many to will and to work amid the shadows.

O Love Unending, hear our prayer.

And as always, we unhesitatingly lift up these intercessions on behalf of our sisters and brothers, and also their celebrations. It is your generous hand that holds us fast:

  • Gratitude for a healthy pregnancy, expected arrival in September
  • Thankful that a mother with leukemia is responding to medication
  • Cancer survivor grateful she remained in good health during a vacation
  • A family rejoices that a reconciliation has occurred
  • Gratitude for our recent rainfall, so badly needed
  • Prayers for 2 dear friends at home, recovering from accidents
  • Prayers for young man seeking release from his anger & for his ability to see the good that is occurring in the world
  • God’s direction for a member who needs to find a new home
  • For God to help restore peace in our own country
  • Guidance for a couple considering selling their farm
  • For good news for cherished wife awaiting biopsy results
  • Continued strength for adult son, sole caregiver for his mother
  • Restoration for one with continued heart difficulties
  • Continued strength for a son helping his mother in hospice care
  • Prayer for negative virus test results for two at-risk mothers
  • Grace & courage for two undergoing new chemo treatments

It is our desire, O Lord, that all our undertakings this day be dedicated to your glory. May our thoughts, words, prayers, deeds, hopes, and dreams declare your name, whether in bold pronouncement or in silent gesture. And for those who question our incentive, we will merely point to Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

July 27, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

The lily blooming where none was planted; a cardinal returning to your windowsill day after day; the contours of a cloud that resemble a face you once knew and loved – all are as postcards from another world. Jesus said “I am going to prepare a place for you, that where I am you may be also.” We ask you for signs of that world, O Holy One, but you are already sprinkling them around us. Your love is beyond our comprehension, extending the boundaries of our minds. We are humbled that from that dwelling place galaxies away, you remember us with precious hints of your love. Indeed, you are our Way, our Truth, and our Life.

O Trusted Mystery, hear our prayer.

Yes, there is that home where, through your grace, we will one day be invited to join you at your table. Meanwhile, we remain in this perplexing here and now. And we often question how our meager deeds of mercy are having an impact. Our nation seems to be devouring itself; brutality and bloodshed make a mockery of the scales of justice. How did ruthlessness gain such power in our own beautiful and beloved cities? Will there ever come a time when your will is done here on earth as it is in heaven? Come, Lord Jesus, come, and bring that age where the leopard lies in concord with the lamb, where the lion and the calf rest side by side, where childlike confidence beats in every heart.

O Trusted Mystery, hear our prayer.

All-Knowing One, give to us that faith that turns to you even in the darkest hours, that faith that praises you in spite of our weakness, that faith that does not require visible evidence. And keep watch, we pray, over all who wait in hope, over those who wait in fear, and over those who feel they are invisible to the rest of humanity. Receive their prayers and also these petitions and thanksgivings from your people at Church Street:

  • Gratitude for prayers: son out of quarantine, reunited with family
  • Thank you for praying: 2 friends with Covid-19 are vastly improved
  • Thanksgiving: Isolated young woman ill with Covid now recovered
  • Family rejoices that virus tests were negative
  • Prayers for a couple making decisions about selling their farm
  • Support for two awaiting medical diagnoses
  • Recovery for those who suffer from depression
  • Prayers for two friends recovering from accidents at home
  • Healing for a grieving husband, for a vision of newness
  • Strength & courage for a wife recently admitted to healthcare facility
  • Continued prayers for one recovering from kidney surgery
  • Restoration for one with continued heart difficulties
  • All who mourn great personal losses
  • Prayers for 3 members studying for the bar exam
  • Continued strength for a son helping his mother in hospice care
  • Healing for our nation, for wisdom in fashioning a new beginning
  • Grace & courage for two undergoing new chemo treatments

Yes, Lord, we ask for many things, and we know that in your love you will give us, not necessarily what we want, but what we most need. Hold our church family tenderly in your hands in the days to come, we pray, for we are fragile beings who cling to the strong promises of Jesus, who taught us this prayer:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for a midday devotion

Join us on our Facebook page at noon today as Youth department intern Marcy Sullivan leads us in a short devotion about the importance of listening to one another.