Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of August 17, 2022
Rev. Jan Buxton Wade
You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens,
with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them;
you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. (Nehemiah 9:6)
Vibrant Framer of the Universe, the shadows shift as the wind makes its way through the trees, rearranging the path of clouds, delicate and dense alike. Truly your name is proclaimed with each stirring of the heavens above. Such stirrings echo your Spirit’s soaring over the void to create light and life. In richness and variety you clothed your creation, a masterpiece of color and texture no human mind could fathom. By the solace our earth offers, by its freshness that brings peace, by its richness that feeds body and soul, we are more than blessed.
O Lord, we praise you!
Merciful Creator, you planted us within your world to love and to tend, yet we confess that through both greed and ignorance we have maimed your astonishing creation, our blessed inheritance. We have been careless in polluting the pure air, water, soil that were gifted us, forgetting you intended this as our common home, sufficient to sustain all peoples. Will this remain our legacy – always taking more than we give? We weep at the thought. Open our eyes and our hearts, we pray, to behold the harm we have caused; move us to cherish the resources we have neglected and to join in the deliberate act of restoration—for the world’s sake and for your glory.
O Lord, forgive us!
Healing Hand, in many ways, we are like the bent-over woman whom Jesus restored on the sabbath, staring at our own feet, thinking it impossible to change existing circumstances. But you, O Lord, are in the business of re-creating and you call us forth to be a new creation. Show us, through that same holy healing power, that you can straighten what is bent in body and soul, aligning our commitment with your own vision. Even if our first steps are hesitant, you will strengthen us to correct the wrongs we have inflicted upon your people and your good earth. Point us and move us into your future, even if it means giving up our dreams of wealth and progress.
O Lord, heal us!
And now, Faithful One, we turn our thoughts to the myriad signs of graciousness that have come our way throughout these recent days, and we also share the deepest concerns of your people of the Church Street community:
We pray for …
- A brother going through cancer treatment
- A church member’s friend whose little three-year old is at Vanderbilt receiving bone marrow transplant; prayers for the whole family and for the team of medical personnel fighting this leukemia
- A close friend who is downsizing and moving
- A member asks for prayers after a concussion and follow up appointment with doctor
- An aunt who has pancreatic cancer; prayers for strength and comfort, and contentment
- For all who struggle with home expenses and repairs and maintenance
- A woman experiencing back pain; praying for appointment to open soon
- Several members with Covid; thankful for mild symptoms.
- Children and youth back at school; prayers for safety and health
- A caregiver’s little five –year old daughter who is ill; prayers for healing
- Vacancies in schools and preschools to be filled with wonderful teachers
Prayers of thanksgiving for …
- Faithful soup kitchen volunteers each Thursday
- Thankful a father has moved to a nursing facility closer to home
- Our Church Street UMC Preschool and all of the staff
- For Sunday School classes who are praying for grade levels and students in our church
- Successful surgeries and procedures for several family members and friends
Reclaiming Spirit, move among us as we take our rest this evening, for we know we serve a God whose mercy never fails. Bind our hearts together as we sleep, that we might rise straight and tall, refreshed to follow and to serve, always praying as we were taught by Jesus:
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.
