Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of May 31, 2023
Rev. Catherine Nance
Ah … summer! Thank you, God, for the season of summer vacation! Even for those who are not ‘in school,’ there seems to be an energy in the air. A spirit of relaxation, a spirit of exploring, a spirit of anticipating good things! Thank you for this shift in our spiritual atmosphere!
We also know how quickly high expectations for a season can be dashed by one small thing. So we pray for realistic expectations! We pray for patience and for understanding! May family gatherings be nurturing …. May visits between grandparents and grandchildren be life-giving to both …. Give parents the courage to be honest with their children about budgets and expenses … give us the eyesight to see the beauty and joy in front of us ….
We put so much pressure on ourselves to make everything ‘picture perfect.’ Keep us mindful of the people around us and that your grace that abounds. You love us as we are; may we extend that same grace to ourselves and others.
We pray for our Bishop and the District Superintendents this weekend as they prepare for Holston Annual Conference on Sunday. May our clergy and lay members be inspired and renewed as they worship, pray, and fellowship together. We thank you for this church, gracious God. We thank you for the worship that happens on Sunday mornings in the nave and online and how it connects us to each other through the week.
May the words we speak and sing on Sundays, transform our very beings throughout the week.
We pray for …
- The families of all those involved in the crash at the corner of Henley & Main today.
- A son who is beginning chemotherapy for colon cancer. So far, he has tolerated it well. Prayers for the next six months that this treatment brings healing.
- A wife (and new grandmother) recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Chemo treatments begin soon. Prayers for healing.
- A friend who is having to move to Arkansas to be with family. Prayers for safe travels and prayers for discernment about next steps and how long. Prayers for peace about the future.
- A family who is grieving a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother who brought joy to all! Thankful for peaceful passing into Light Eternal and for the JOY she gave and leaves behind!
- A joyous and safe Parish Youth Choir Tour; prayers for all of the singers and leaders. May they be a blessing to all they meet!
We offer thanksgivings for …
- Those who loaded ‘food buckets’ and got them to Cokesbury UMC this morning. Praying for the families in Zimbabwe who will receive them in a few months.
- Being able to attend grandchild’s graduation; thankful for good health to travel.
- Healthy pregnancy; prayers for little ones as they grow!
- Prayers of thanksgiving for the medical technology and all the tests and advances that reveal better information sooner; but also prayers as people process the information. Prayers for discernment and guidance for doctors and all who interpret information for us.
We continue to pray for …
- A young father who will have surgery on June 8 to remove abdominal tumor; prayers that this surgery plus the chemotherapy brings healing to his body. Prayers for him and his family.
- A friend who had been hospitalized; prayers for healing from MRSA.
- A young woman whose husband’s funeral was Sunday. They held a funeral for their infant son three years ago. Lord, in your mercy ….
- A mother and wife in the hospital with pneumonia; prayers for oxygen levels to increase.
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.
