Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of August 30, 2023
Rev. Catherine Nance
I see the moon and the moon sees me.
God bless the moon and God bless me.
Tonight is the Super Blue Moon, O God! You have set the cosmos in place and have given human beings the ability to observe, to be in awe, and to put names on the patterns and rhythms of the sky.
We thank you for astronomers who document movement of the planets and write down calculations; we thank you for engineers and physicists who build telescopes and for astronauts who explore space. So much knowledge is almost too great for us, O God! We think of the psalmist who wrote, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?”
No wonder that we resort back to childlike prayers whose words are so simple!
I see the moon and the moon sees me.
God bless the moon and God bless me.
We are in awe of the night sky. O God, who stretched the spangled heavens, we are grateful for twinkling stars and spinning planets; we hold our breath as cloud formations change and as moon and stars hide and then peek out again. What a gift it is to look up into the sky and know that people all around the Earth are also looking upward in admiration of your beauty.
Help us keep that sacred connection, Lord, when we awake in the morning and no longer look up but look straight ahead. Even though the sun is shining, may it still be our prayer that you are blessing us all – all who share the moon. We all share in your grace and love.
We are mindful of those who are dear to us who need our prayers. We say things such as, “they have so much on them right now.” We augment our prayer to include your Earth; our planet is under so much stress right now! Fires and hurricanes. Pollution and scorching heat. May we remember that the earth is part of your beloved creation as much as we are. You care for us all.
I see the moon and the moon sees me; God bless the moon and God bless me.
We join in prayer for those in our church family who have requested prayer …..
We pray for …
- One who asks for healing from depression and from heart trouble
- Complete healing from a broken nose; pray daily for my health
- A family praying for the grace of salvation
- Soup kitchen guest who is looking for a job caregiving
- A mother who is very ill
- Daughter having cervical cancer surgery
- A woman waiting on a lung biopsy
- A husband having biopsy
- Members who are having surgery this week; prayers for full recovery
- A 92-year old cousin in hospice care now has covid
- A couple who is separated; may each one find the peace they need
- Those who were elected for city government
- All the UT students we see from our church. Dear God let them know we are praying for them!
- A young mother having cancer surgery and who is not able to work.
- An aunt as she grieves the unexpected death of her nephew
We continue to pray for ….
- One who is receiving radiation and chemotherapy for brain cancer
- One taking chemotherapy for breast cancer
- Children who are having a difficult time adjusting to school year
- A mother looking for work in a new city
- Those who grieve but also celebrate the love they shared
- Parents from Covenant School in Nashville who shared their trauma this week with others
We offer thanksgiving for …
- One who received a job!
- Good report from EKG and check up
- The love of family and the way they are always there
- All the visitors who were at church Sunday!
We offer the prayer Jesus taught us ….
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.
