The Color of Law Presentation and Discussion – June 14

Join Conversations on Race as they host a relevant and timely book presentation and discussion of The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, presented by Margaret Rowlett, J.D.

Register in advance for this meeting at the link below:
 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
In our continuing Conversations on Race: Building Authentic Relationships, we hope you will join us on Sunday, June 14, 3-5 p.m. via Zoom for a virtual presentation and discussion of The Color of Law, designated one of ten finalists on the National Book Awards’ list for the best nonfiction book of 2017.
 
RICHARD ROTHSTEIN, author of The Color of Law, writes:
“Today’s residential segregation in the North, South, Midwest, and West is not the unintended consequence of individual choices and of otherwise well-meaning law or regulation but of unhidden public policy that explicitly segregated every metropolitan area in the United States.” 
 
MARGARET ROWLETT, J.D., Knoxville native and now practicing attorney in Greensboro, NC, will present and lead our discussion. Ms. Rowlett is a graduate of Emory and Henry College and Duke University where she earned a law degree, as well as a master’s degree in public policy. She has for many years been involved in peace and social concerns and undoing racism through The First Friends Meeting in Greensboro, NC. Ms. Rowlett is also the daughter of Church Street UMC members, Rev. Pete and Ginny Rowlett.
Your presence and participation in this timely and important discussion are welcomed!
 
Questions? Please contact: ConversationsOnRaceKnox@gmail.com
We look forward to seeing you on ZOOM, Sunday, June 14 at 3:00 pm. Check-in begins at 2:30 pm.
Remember to Register:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

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Standing Against Racism

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In this time of injustice and unrest, we are seeing a plethora of resources being shared to learn more about and stand up to racism.

The United Methodist Church has provided some great resources, practical and spiritual, that can help us learn more about allyship and action during the road ahead to protect our black and brown brothers and sisters in Christ.

The graphic shown here can be downloaded and used as a FB profile pic to show your solidarity.

Bishops United Against Racism

Bishops LaTrelle Easterling and Robert Farr discuss racism, the killing of George Floyd by the police and the protests happening across the US.  Listen to this episode of the Get Your Spirit in Shape podcast by clicking here.

Why Black Lives Matter: A Spiritual View

What is required of humanity to address the issues of mass incarceration, police brutality, and so many more?

#BlackLivesMatter!  A growing global movement of the same Twitter hashtag name addressing the civil and human rights of a new generation has been born. A 2016 piece from Rethink Church. Click here to read more.

Moving Toward the Pain

Erin Hawkins responds to the death of George Floyd. General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) website. Click here to read.

Compass Podcast: Speaking for What’s Right with Rob Lee

Rev. Rob Lee, a descendant of Confederate general Robert E. Lee and visitor to Church Street, talks to the Compass podcast about staying strong in the face of criticism around his outspoken support of #BlackLivesMatter. Click here to listen to the episode. 

Racial Justice Conversations Guide

Ideas about engaging with others in difficult, but important conversations on the topics of race, privilege, and inequality. Helpful resources and discussion questions for small groups, too. Click here to see this resource.

 

Ways United Methodists can stand against racism

Practical ways those in the UMC can act against racism. Click here for these resources.

 

United (Methodists) Against Racism

The United Methodist Church’s campaign to recognize racism as a sin, commit to challenge unjust systems of power and access, and work for equal and equitable opportunities in employment and promotion, education and training; in voting, access to public accommodations, and housing; to credit, loans, venture capital, and insurance; to positions of leadership and power in all elements of our life together; and to full participation in the Church and society. Check out the resources by clicking here.

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Prayer for Today – June 9

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 9, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Today, let us join with all creation and sing a love song to our Creator! How grateful we are that you have made us part of your wondrous world! For families and friends who laugh with us when we are joyful, for intimates with whom we may share both our dreams and our doubts, for the indescribably stunning universe you have crafted, for the ways you have uniquely gifted each of us, and for your love that spans the ages – by all these we are blessed indeed. How beautiful is your name in all the earth!

Lord of Life, hear our prayer.    

You have touched us, O Christ, and we will never again be the same. Thank you, O Lord, for not leaving us to our own devices, for in your mercy you sent your Holy Example among us, a tangible being to show us how to live. We fall daily, as we are weak; but you are ever quick to pick us up, brush us off, and set us in the places where we can serve you best. Forgive our flaws and failures, we pray, but you know that we are trying in earnest.

Lord of Life, hear our prayer.

So much has happened, and alas, so much has failed to happen, during this period of pandemic and protest. Stress, strife and turmoil are bubbling over in our beloved country and throughout the world. Yes, we must shoulder part of the blame ourselves, for we have allowed inequities to continue far too long. But you turn our heads, not to yesterday, O Lord, but to the present. Forgive us for not spreading your grace and glory, as we promised. Forgive our failure to bring hope to the hopeless, and to take love where there is hurt and hate. We lift up prayers for all whom we have offended, and also ask that you would bring the breath of new life to these ones in our church family who lay before you their joys and concerns:

  • Gratitude: cataract surgery went smoothly yesterday
  • A family celebrates a son who has been promoted to captain in the USN
  • One celebrates the welcome offer of a new job
  • A mother celebrates her steady return to health following hospitalization
  • Protection of all protesting in peaceable fashion throughout our nation and for all officials who risk their lives to help keep order
  • A relative in ICU who is severely depressed, for healing grace
  • Elderly loved ones in isolation for month due to the virus threat
  • Continued prayers for one recovering from breast surgery
  • God’s protection & healing for one who faces a lengthy recovery
  • That our people may turn to God for solutions to our nation’s unrest
  • Proper diagnosis for a brother who suffers great urologic pain
  • Strength for one who is working to combat her depression

Lord of Life, hear our prayer.

You have commissioned us to share your gospel of peace and life everlasting to all whom we meet. May we begin anew this day, declaring your message of undying love through our words and our deeds:

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. 

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

 

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Prayer for Today – June 8

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 8, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

We understand you, O Compassionate Being, as one who knows our struggles and who travels with us, lest we fall upon the rocky thoroughfares of life. Yes, you are our Gentle Confidant and Friend, but we are perhaps too quick to overlook your power and dominion over all that is created. For your voice thunders over the mightiest waters and your speech is majestic – strong enough to break the great cedars of Lebanon, the Psalmist tells us. Your voice alone can shake the desert and twist the gigantic oaks. Forgive us, Lord, for our small vision, for our whittling you down to the size that fits our own needs.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

You told Moses and the Israelites thereafter: “I Am Who I Am; I Will Be Who I Will Be.” You are not one whom we might coax and manipulate, nor one whom we can ever fully understand.  But we have heard of your deeds, we have been recipients of your mercy, and we have been saved by your grace. These miracles alone are all we need to know. Our faith itself depends not on our understanding of your unfathomable essence, but by our depending upon your enduring benevolence.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O One Who Journeys With Us, you have brought us through a week of harsh conflicts as a community and as a nation. Our hearts ache as we witness papered-over struggles of the past once again breaking open the veneer of parity. Forgive our complicity in these ongoing divisions, we pray; share your wisdom, that our faith may help forge a new road that points toward that new future you plan for us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

There are other personal concerns that crowd our waking moments, O God, so we open our souls to you, knowing you are just a whisper away:

  • Gratitude: a father is recovering from his injuries after a fall and may be able to return to his residence soon
  • Thankful for prayers: mother is walking following hip surgery and is now home
  • A member is grateful for an inner ear diagnosis & her return to health
  • Thankful that cancer surgery went well and family is being a great help
  • Gratitude: a pregnant niece is healed of Covid-19 & will have her baby soon
  • Please pray for fiance’s safety in National Guard as he helps keep order in D.C.
  • A dear friend entering home hospice care – for grace and peace
  • For healing grace to surround one who continues to recover from surgery
  • That our nation may turn to God for solutions to our nation’s unrest
  • For our church to follow the UMC’s directive to support our Christian sisters and brothers working to eradicate racism, violence, and injustice
  • A dear friend who continues to struggle with cancer, for his family who assist
  • Healing for one suffering immense back pain
  • Proper diagnosis for a brother who suffers great urologic pain
  • Strength for one seeking to reduce her A1C level & combat depression

O Untamable One, though you are mightier than the fiercest storm, your Son taught us that you are always ready to hear from your children; so we humbly offer these prayers this day, and even our unspoken ones, in the name of Christ, who is above all, yet in all:

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. 

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join us for a midday devotion

Head over to our YouTube channel at noon today for a short devotion to start your week!

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Prayer for Today – June 5

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 5, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

Our friend Jesus taught that life in his fold would not be easy; he warned of lurking dangers and unforeseen divisions. We will be upheld, he assured us, but pitfalls will not necessarily be erased. We have found this indeed to be true in our own experience. At times we are slaves to our routines and our own clouded imaginations, not adhering to the Holy Vision, but trusting in what has always been. Friends and even families let us down and we feel ourselves slipping on the sharp edges of discouragement. Be that strong shelter for us, O Lord. Hide us there and heal us until we are strong enough to try again.

Cornerstone of our Faith, receive our prayer.    

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

As you nurture us in that secure place, set us apart from our misdeeds and remind us that the past is the past. We asked forgiveness for our sins of yesterday and know that you absolved us. Nevertheless, not long after you blot out our deeds, we find ourselves picking up those hard remnants and loading them on our backs again. Your generous forgiveness is not yet ingrained in our hearts, so teach us how to release those rocks of regret and get on with the work of being your faithful disciples in the present.

Cornerstone of our Faith, receive our prayer.    

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

We call upon you alone, O Living Stone, for you have been our refuge from one generation to another. Hear now the prayers of our own souls this day, for we lift them up to your mercy . . .

And bend your ear to receive these offerings from our own church family:

  • Thankful that cancer surgery went well & family is a great help
  • An elderly father has been released from hospital & is recovering at home
  • Gratitude: a woman divorcing has received welcome news & financial support
  • Family celebrates the birth yesterday of a beautiful baby boy
  • A family offers thanks that a mother’s hip surgery went smoothly
  • Healing prayers for a family bidding a final farewell to a beloved son this day
  • Relief for husband who suffers recurrent PTSD, healing of his depression
  • A dear friend who continues to struggle with cancer, for his family who assist
  • Safety of peaceful demonstrators as they make their convictions known
  • Healing for one suffering immense back pain, for successful procedure today
  • Healing of a young father who continues his battle against cancer
  • Protection for those public servants endeavoring to restore peace

 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

We are thankful for the psalmist’s words which foretold the unevenly shaped granite that was cast off by the builders. How wondrous that the Rejected Block became the capstone upon which all our faith is built! And we see how this miracle overlays our own stories as well. For while we humans are flawed and imperfect, through Christ, our humble efforts are ever encouraging others whom the world has tossed aside.

Cornerstone of our Faith, receive our prayer.    

You have set our feet upon your boulder of blessing, Gentle Lord; and as Jesus is with us now, we know our footing is secure. Thus we pray in his name:

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. 

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 4

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 4, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Constant Companion, we offer gratitude today for your church universal and for our own congregation in particular. Although we are separated physically from members of our church family, still we are bound together through your Holy Spirit in love and commitment. We confess that we remain restless during our time apart, and we tire of all the hurdles we must cross before we may meet together again in the flesh. But St. Paul taught us that love is patient and love endures all things, so let us take heart, knowing our loneliness will come to an end; and then we shall look back and realize your love was only a heartbeat away, and you never left our side for one moment.

Great Sustainer, receive our prayer.    

O Steadfast Friend, how blessed we are that you have brought goodness out of our setbacks! During the pandemic, it seems creativity was our guide. You have shown us how to retell the story of salvation through liturgy, music, devotionals, sermons, class meetings, and Circle gatherings via technology. You have shown us how to safely carry out our mission work of clothing the needy, feeding the hungry in our community, and packing more Zimbabwe food buckets than we ever imagined! The lonely receive personal contact each day; youth and children’s events continue to inspire. You have knit us more closely as a family as we have prayed regularly together, bearing each other’s burdens and celebrating each other’s blessings. How fortunate we are to have your friendship.

Great Sustainer, receive our prayer.      

You already know, Dear One, that we fall by the wayside from time to time, giving in to self-pity, doubts, and self-indulgence. Forgive us, we pray, and hear also these private confessions we now whisper . . .

Create in us new hearts, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. And hear as well these concerns on the hearts of our members:

  • Gratitude: a mother’s medical test was normal
  • One offers thanks for the group of friends who continue to check on her
  • A member’s major surgery yesterday was successful, for continued healing
  • An ill member is thankful for the prayer shawl that was made for him
  • Prayers for a mother having hip replacement surgery today
  • Please pray for a couple dealing with depression and health issues
  • That our church would confront race and diversity in our community and work toward becoming allies for all our brothers and sisters in Christ
  • A dear friend who is fighting cancer, for his family who assist him
  • God’s grace to surround a sister & family – 40-yr-old son died on May 31
  • Protection for a daughter & a brother in DC – that rioting comes to an end
  • Wisdom & guidance for daughters making decisions about their mother’s care
  • Prayers for a member facing a divorce, that God may make a new path for her
  • Safety of police / National Guard who serve to protect lives & property
  • Healing of a young father who continues his battle against cancer

Thank you for hearing us whenever we turn to you in earnest. Lift us up, O Lord, and we will continue to praise your holy name.

Great Sustainer, receive our prayer.    

O Lord of All That Is, we offer our prayers and petitions this day, as Jesus asked us to share all things with our Heavenly Father. In your mercy and in your own way, attend to our concerns, for we offer them in the name of the Beloved One, who taught us to pray:

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. 

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Devotion at noon today

Head over to our YouTube Channel at noon today for a short devotion with Rev. Starks.

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Prayer for Today – June 3

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 3, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

May we enter this day lifting up praise to you, O Lord, for you entrust us to bless and keep your good earth, to proclaim your holy name, to offer forgiveness as swiftly as the bird in flight, to show mercy when retribution is expected, and to love as sincerely as did your Son. With your help, may it be so.

Loving Lord, hear our prayer.    

The apostle reminds us that we already have a sincere faith within us, but he advises us to rekindle this gift from God. For, through grace, we are not given a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. With gifts such as these, are we not supplied sufficiently to address the upheaval of our era? There are grievous inequities among our people; there are unfair practices that widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. A Voice calls us to awaken, to partner together, that all may live an abundant life and in peace and parity with their neighbors. Grant that we might rouse from our sleep and answer the call to work for oneness.

Loving Lord, hear our prayer.    

Wondrous Healer, we pray you would bind up the gaping wounds of our nation so freshly inflicted. The innocent have been slain, and those seeking to help have been injured and traumatized. Violence is not your way, O Lord, so surely you weep when warring scenes unfold. Embed your wisdom within the hearts of our local, state, and national leaders, we pray, that healing resolutions may be fashioned and implemented for the good of all.

Loving Lord, hear our prayer.    

Our souls also weep for those who continue to suffer: elderly friends shuttered away and out of touch, those who mourn loved ones who have died, ill family members who can have no visitors, the confused, the imprisoned. May your Spirit be at work among them, that they may know they are not forgotten. And accept also these praises and petitions close to the hearts of your people at Church Street:

  • Gratitude: good news from a biopsy report – thank you for praying
  • A member’s heart arrhythmia is under control, and he is home from hospital
  • Relative in TX sends deep gratitude to those creating our online worship
  • Thankful that a family’s move is complete and they are settling in new home
  • A mother is grateful that her son and daughter-in-law are now safe in Knoxville
  • A happy couple celebrates their 24th wedding anniversary
  • Protection for a daughter and a brother in DC & a grandson in Brooklyn
  • Wisdom and guidance for daughters making decisions about their mother’s care
  • Protection of two family members, police officials working to keep the peace
  • That we white people will truly listen to our black brothers and sisters, that we might hear God’s call to change our hearts & our systems of oppression
  • Safety of police and National Guard who serve to protect lives and property
  • Healing mercies for a woman having major surgery today
  • Courage for a member in a rehab unit: ill, lonely, & depressed
  • A dear friend awaiting medical test results, that news will be promising

Thank you, Compassionate Friend, for hearing us and for working on our behalf.

Loving Lord, hear our prayer.    

We give praise to the Holy One who created us, to Christ who cherishes us, and the Spirit who dwells in our hearts now and evermore:

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. 

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 2

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 2, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Disturbing Dove, as you swept down upon those huddled ones who clung together in fear so long ago, we pray your Pentecost Spirit would burst upon us again today. Crash open those barricades that have barred us from reaching out to others. Break down those heavy doors of mistrust that have cut us off from the new things you are doing just beyond our driveways. Blow away the broad rooftops that have kept us from basking in your light of grace. We know your Spirit is ever on the move, so stir us up with your fresh wind of hope. Carry us on that life-giving breeze and plant us in the places where we may best be used to spread seeds of healing.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O God of Past, Present, and Future, as we look out upon the beauty of today, may we remember those who cannot see. As we listen to birdsong and the soothing rustle of leaves, may we remember those who cannot hear. As we meander across fields of lush green, may we remember those who cannot walk. As we savor the goodness of past blessings, may we remember those whose memory has vanished. Comfort those who bear such keen losses; yet give us wisdom to know we will join them soon enough. Meanwhile may we understand the tender blessings you have bestowed and bow in humility when we take them for granted.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Jesus told us he had come that we might have life in all its fullness. Yes, your goodness abounds and we praise you! Still you know there are times when we do feel empty inside, so watch over these friends in our church family who offer  gratitude for your mercy, we pray. And sustain those who have only emptiness to offer:

  • Grateful that a father was able to move from ICU to a regular hospital room
  • Gratitude that one was released from hospital today and is now at home
  • Thanksgiving: kidney test results were normal
  • A friend is healing on schedule following an accident, please continue prayers
  • Protection of a son in Georgia and a son-in-law in Clinton, both police officials endeavoring to keep the peace and protect property
  • That we white people will truly listen to our black brothers & sisters, that we might hear God’s call to change our hearts & our systems of oppression
  • Safety of policemen and women who serve to protect lives and property
  • Healing mercies for a woman having major surgery tomorrow
  • Prayers for one hospitalized to correct heart arrhythmia
  • Wisdom & confidence for one preparing for a very important exam
  • Three anxiously awaiting medical test results, that news will be promising
  • Family grieving the sudden death of their pet

Deep down, we believe that neither heartache, loneliness, fear, illness, nor even death will separate us from your love. Bring that buried belief to the surface, Loving Lord, that it might be our first thought each and every morning.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Empowering God, may we accept the strength and wisdom your Spirit brings, that we may do our part in offering your hope to others in our broken world. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray:

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. 

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

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Prayer for Today – June 1

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

June 1, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

What is it within us, Lord, that causes us to perpetuate the sins of the past? What is it in our make-up that pushes us to categorize and divide our human family? Is it some residue of Cain’s jealousy of and viciousness against his brother that is embedded in us? As the prophet Nathan pierced the veil covering King David’s crime, pierce our own complacency, we pray, that we who remain silent at the sight of injustice will know we are also guilty in your eyes. Forgive our blundering selfishness.

O Lord, hear us, help us, heal us.    

Another prophet once said that “Riot is the language of the unheard.” Unstop our ears and our hearts, we pray, that we might detect the cries of the oppressed; for only in listening will we behold your road to redemption. The new questions will be hard and the answers equally disturbing, for much is required of us. Will I reach out to dialogue with those whose skin color is different from my own? Will I help lay open the inequities that exist in our community? Will I take the risk to personally work alongside those who are oppressed? Through your mercy, may we answer rightly.

O Lord, hear us, help us, heal us.

As beings of your creation, you behold each of us as your very own child. We appear as wondrous trees standing alone; but underneath, we are as gnarled roots, knotted tightly within the soil of your sacred love. Only with roots entwined, held together by your living grace, will we grow straight and tall, thriving as community. And by that same grace, we pray you would receive these praises and these pleas for assistance from our Church Street family:

  • A happy couple celebrate their recent engagement
  • Head wound surgery went smoothly; pray for clear path report
  • Gratitude for the long life of a faithful member & for her Christian example
  • Thankful for prayers: a co-worker who suffered a stroke has been released from rehab and has returned home to his family
  • Family celebrate their son who suffered a tragic accident is now home from the hospital & will recover—please continue praying
  • Healing of our nation’s racial divisions and unjust practices
  • Safety of policemen & women who serve to protect our communities
  • Three anxiously awaiting medical test results, that news will be promising
  • Lift up parents grieving the death of their 24-yr-old son; solace for his siblings
  • Two members who are struggling with depression

O Lord, hear us, help us, heal us.

This day, may all our prayers be acceptable and rise to heaven, joining all those petitions from around the globe in the name of our Savior, who taught us to pray:

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. 

 

Have a prayer request?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.

Join Rev. Rick Isbell for a devotion at 12 PM today

Click here for a short devotion at noon! Or watch it on YouTube any time afterward.

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Prayer for Today – May 29

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

May 29, 2020

Pastor Jan

 

O Wind of Heaven, we wait today with your disciples in the comforting stillness of that upper room. In our own timidity, we are not prepared for that gushing wind that rips open the windows and overturns our neatly arranged accessories. We are astonished to hear ourselves speaking in unknown tongues, and yet we understand each other perfectly! If it takes such a whirring display to teach us the language of love and community, then let your strong winds blow, O Lord, let them blow!

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.    

O Flame of Newness, neither are we prepared for the fingers of flame that circled closely, then rested upon us. These melt away our distractions and call us to witness your unrestrained power at hand. Set fire to our hearts that have long grown cold and indifferent, we pray. When we tremble with fear, ignite us with your glowing new challenges. And may all our false aims and self-centeredness perish in the rubble of your refining grace. If it takes a mystifying blaze to purify our spirits, then release your flame of newness, O Lord, release your flame of newness.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

You appear in our midst, O God, on the wings of a dove, a harbinger of your redeeming peace. You arrive at the perfect moment, knowing already the challenges we face and the toll this current pandemic has taken. You come to feed hearts hungering for your presence. Make that presence known to each suffering soul, and especially to those of our Church Street family who offer their own concerns:

  • Grateful for prayers – an elderly father is released from the hospital
  • Gratitude: for the ministry of Rev. Chuck Starks and his family
  • Thankful that a sister will be able to recover from her stroke
  • One offers thanksgiving that a vacation has been scheduled
  • Healing mercies for a member: surgery today to cleanse a head wound
  • Prayers for a member having nerve ablation today, for healing of great pain
  • Courage & strength: member very ill with diabetes now in isolation unit
  • Safe delivery of a member’s baby, peace for the waiting family
  • Two women who are recovering at home, for decreasing pain and healing
  • Prayers for one who is depressed, that he may be able to overcome it
  • Healing mercies for five persons newly diagnosed with Covid-19
  • Continued prayers for a neighbor suffering from brain cancer and his family

Lift us all on your white wings of hope, we pray, and carry us to that healing place.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

You come to us, O Holy One, as the power of the roaring wind, as a spark that ignites, and as a dove whose soaring movements cannot be traced. And you come, not just at Pentecost, but every time we open our hearts to your inspiration. Grant that we might become bold enough to share with the world the marvels of our Great Sustainer, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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. 

 

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Prayers resume Monday, June 1

Enjoy your weekend, and we hope to see you in worship with us online this Sunday at 10 am!

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