Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of April 18, 2021
Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade
O Song of the Resurrection, each day and each night you play your bold melody of hope. Such a welcome hymn is difficult to hear, however, when the world seems to be spiraling downward. Newscasts sing of travesties of war in too many places, of random killings of innocents, distrust of public servants and officials, the pervasive penchant for categorizing and condemning those who hold differing opinions, and the ugly disrespect of our own form of government. Let us not address injustice with acts of raging destruction, but with a clarion call for equality. Let us continue to lift our voices in your resurrection song, affirming that love alone conquers evil. And with our Lord’s help, we shall overcome!
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
The epistle writer advised us to: “Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you;” therefore, we need not hesitate to bring our concerns into your presence. As we move through the struggles of our lives, let us cling to the conviction that we are not alone. Hear now our pleas for our personal trials . . . . . . . . . . Give us patience, Holy One, for we do sense the movement of your Spirit within our world, bringing hope where there is dread, boldness where there is timidity, and resilience when we faint.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Your goodness, O Lord, washes over us as the cool spring rain. Grant that we might never take for granted the daily gifts you send our way, especially these particular favors we have received most recently . . . . . . . . . . And though undeserving, we exist in your reservoir of grace, knowing you stand ready to accept all these earnest petitions we now offer on behalf of your people of the Church Street community:
Joys:
-Gratitude: member healing well following eye surgery
-Prayers appreciated: friend healing following Whipple surgery
-Member celebrating a move to a new home
-Gratitude: 6-yr old with seizures has received a promising medical report
-Adult son’s living situation has improved
-Attentive family members caring for father in hospice
-One thankful for second Covid vaccination
-Thanksgiving for in-person youth gatherings
-Family grateful for church support during bereavement
-All in our community working for justice and an end to violence
Concerns:
-Healing of husband’s pneumonia & shoulder fractures
-Recovering for colleague recovering from dangerous wound
-Steady healing for member with fractured femur
-Healing of painful tear in shoulder muscle
-Family grieving loss of troubled son
-Comfort for a grieving stepfather
-Friends & family of wife who died at home Tuesday
-Easing of anger & tension between neighbors
-Recovery for single mother, hospitalized with Covid
-Member mourning death of cherished sister
-Two families grappling with major issues
-Beloved father – newly diagnosed lung cancer
-Guidance for family caring for ill brother
-Continued prayers for two afflicted with lymphoma
-Proper diagnosis of long-term illness
-Healing prayers for one recovering from prostate surgery
O Friend Most Patient, forgive the times we have held back, when we have been too reticent to become involved. Give us courage, we pray, to take an active part in addressing grave issues in our own community, in our own era. Let us reach for your hand, which links us with hurting souls next door and around the world; and in true solidarity we shall pray together the words taught us by our Redeemer:
