Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of April 5, 2023
Rev. Catherine Nance
O God who calls forth all springtime flowers, thank you for the beauty of this day. Sunshine. A breeze. Pinks, whites, yellows, pale purples are smiling from bushes and gardens. We want to stay outside and bask the beauty of your creation.
You have called all things good; and yet, you have given us the freedom to choose whether to live into your Goodness or not. So, while we are capable of admiring beauty we are also capable of thinking and doing things that do not reflect beauty. Today, is Wednesday. If we follow the gospel writer Mark’s timeline, it is today that a frustrated Judas colluded with religious leaders to betray Jesus. We step away from his shadow and insist we would never do anything horrendous. Not I, Lord!
As the gentle breeze blows and the sunlight touches our face, we feel the whisper of your grace and know that we need forgiveness. We have followed our own ways – for good reasons, we think. We have pushed aside or shoved ahead – all for a just cause, we think. We have betrayed loved ones who have hurt us — they deserve it, we think. We have forgotten the needs of the poor and the voiceless – their time will come, we think. We have not supported causes in our community – my voice won’t matter, we think.
Our names do not bear the weight of “Judas Iscariot,” but you know our names. You know our bent to selfishness, greed, and self-centeredness. You have promised us that in knowing our names, you call us by name, you love us, and offer us a place in your heart.
Forgive us O God, for our betrayal of your love when we have not loved others. On this Wednesday, when the disciples ask, “Is it I, Lord?” may we hear the Savior’s voice say, “I have called you friend.”
Thank you for your forgiving love, your restoring grace, and your renewing spirit. In a reconciled posture, we now pray and bow before you. We offer prayers of gratitude for our Savior Jesus Christ and his obedience to you; his Self-giving love.
In humble gratitude, we offer these prayers of concern for our community and our world. For Nashville and all the family at the Covenant Christian School, for refugees in Ukraine, for those devastated by tornadoes in Mississippi, Arkansas, Illinois and other places …. Hear our prayers, O Lord.
And now, we thank you for the opportunity to join in prayer for those in our church family who have asked for prayer….
We pray for …
- A member having a heart cath this week; pray for peace and calm about the procedure
- A family who buried their mother this week after a long and loving life
- A member whose sister died and funeral is this week
- A church member who is grieving the death of his wife
- A member having surgery on Thursday
- A member whose mother is nearing the end of her life; prayers for peace from Lewy-Body Dementia
- The many in our congregation who have family members waiting on test results; some for cancer, some for other diagnoses. Prayers for clarity from doctors.
- School teachers and administrators who have to plan for threats and prepare students for emergencies
- A precious little boy born prematurely and in distress; grateful for miracles in NICU and for a loving family who surrounds the mother, father, and child.
- State legislators to represent us well and be reasonable about gun violence
- Teenagers and young adults dealing with depression
We give thanks for …
- The peaceful transition from life to death to eternal life; thinking of dear friends and family members who are in Eternal Light.
- School resource officers
- A glorious Palm Sunday! Thankful for all those who work with children and youth choirs!
- Our Altar Guild
We continue to pray for …
- A young father receiving chemotherapy and his family
- Those who are in rehab
- Those who continue to grieve.
- Those looking for a job.
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.
