Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty, 

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.

As we observed this past Trinity Sunday, we became more keenly aware that there is really no adequate way to explain how you are Three in One; One in Three. And so, we do not attempt it, but simply marvel at the mystery of Blessed Trinity. We see in you, O God, in your very expression, the desire for community. Because we are created in your image, we need community and thrive in community. Forgive us, when we have said that we need no one or that we can go it alone or, “I am responsible only for me and mine!” We are a people who seem to care about only ourselves. Open our hearts and minds and eyes and ears to your desire for us to live peacefully with one another. We cannot be who you created us to be until we see your image in others.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Holy, holy, holy God, in calling forth creation from the void, revealing yourself in human flesh, and pouring forth your wisdom to guide us, you manifest your concern for your whole universe. You invite us, as your people, to gather the world’s needs into our hearts and bring them before you.

We skim headlines and scroll past images from the news, but the images remain in our hearts and minds. Instead of ignoring or wanting to forget, we pause this day to focus and to pray – for Ukraine, for Russia, and for all who are still hurting from the effects of wars that we have forgotten about. We pray for veterans who are still struggling from past wars. We pray for families in communities who have been devastated by gun violence. Forgive us, O Lord, for placing our trust in platitudes about rights and ignoring your demand to care for one another. We pray that those who are in power and who have power to make changes would lead with reason and not fear. 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We remember Nehemiah who held leaders to accountability, O God. Too often, we blame our leaders for everything, forgetting that we are citizens. We live in community; may our concerns not be only for those who have the same home-owners association as we do; may we not care only for the students who in our children’s classes. O God, may we truly care for all people.  Regardless of whether we voted for our current leaders or not, we know we have a responsibility to be aware of the challenges they face, to know about decisions they must make. We wait until a crisis and then proclaim – “Look what they have done!” So, we pause in these moments to pray for our leaders. It is our duty as part of community to offer our leaders to you in prayer: 

We pray for our President, Joe Biden; we pray for Vice-President Kamala Harris. We pray for their families. We pray for Senators Blackburn and Hagerty; and for Representative Burchett. We pray for their good health and pray that you would give them wisdom in leading. Place on their hearts the desire for all people to live healthy and meaningful lives free from fear and want. We pray for Governor Lee and for State Senator Briggs and other legislators. Give them a strong sense of your purpose for the community we call Tennessee. We offer prayers for Mayors Kincannon and Jacobs as they face decisions, conversations, and problems that we know nothing about. As we call for leaders to be accountable to us, may we be accountable to you, O God. May we be the kinds of citizens that model your kingdom values. 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And to all these petitions, Holy Lord, we lay before you the thanksgivings and the concerns that are on the hearts of your people of Church Street: 

• Family appreciates prayers: Mother completed testing at Mayo with no incidents
• Gratitude: 10-year-old grandniece completed delicate spinal cord surgery
• Family offers thanks for prayers: A healthy baby born on Friday 
• One expresses gratitude for a coveted summer internship
• Young husband has accepted a new position and is thankful for all prayers
• Gratitude that national leaders are nearing an agreement to limit the sale and distribution of firearms
• Young couple celebrate their engagement
• Celebrating our youth who helped with home repairs for the indigent through Operation Back Yard
• Thanksgiving that a dear friend, longtime cancer sufferer, was able to die at home surrounded by all family members
• Prayers for member whose wife died on the weekend; comfort for him and his family as they make plans to gather in remembrance
• Prayers for all pastors in transition this week & for the congregations they will serve
• Comfort for member & all family burying cherished mother this weekend 
• Healing for a brother in severe kidney crisis & for his family
• For an end to the destruction of Ukraine & the terror thrust upon its people
• Complete healing for youngster recovering from head trauma
• Member recovering from hip surgery & colon perforations
• Member mourning death of favored aunt & the family pet 
• Dear friend with cancer; husband with bouts of depression
• A new position needed: Adult son in unhealthy work situation 
• Safety & good health for CS Master Arts European travelers 
• For reliable caregivers to be found to help an infirm husband
• Continued prayers for youngster recovering from side effects of spinal surgery
• All working to end violence and poverty in our community
• Member in pain, recovering from knee surgery 
• Pray for all young people making transitions this season & their families 
• Young couple very much desiring children

Holy, holy, holy God,
fill us with strength and courage, with discernment and compassion, that we may be your instruments of justice and love in this world, that it may be on earth as it is in heaven. 

We gather our hearts and voices as one, joining with Christians around the world as we offer the prayer our Lord Jesus Christ 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.

*Prayer adapted: Vanderbilt Divinity School Lectionary Website

O Loving and Creating Spirit, we gaze at your enchanting world, observing your mysterious Vine of Newness working its way through every living thing.  What a testament to Who you are! Christ’s announcement, “Behold, I make all things new!” reverberates within our very beings as we drink in the explosive beauty you display so liberally. Enshroud us with those green tendrils of grace this day, we pray, that we might nourish that fresh growth until its fruit ripens deep within us. Then, someday we might also stand as resilient witnesses who know they have no life in themselves apart from that rich and verdant Vine. 

Lord of Life, hear our prayer.

We do confess and lament, Holy Life-Giver, that we are part of that which continues to desecrate the peaceable kingdom you created.  We cherish what we have, yet we do not want to share. We prefer the convenience of living in a throw-away culture, neglecting our responsibility to refrain from polluting and wastefulness. We pray for peace, but harbor personal grudges and do not work for concord within our own families and communities; nor do we risk lifting our voices on behalf of the voiceless. Spur us on to become the living ambassadors of the resurrection we claim to be.

Lord of Life, hear our prayer.

We long for your healing and holy comfort for friends, family, and neighbors in need this day. Sustain all caregivers, we pray, for they are your very own anointed. May those who are hurting somehow feel your presence and companionship through your servants who offer tender support. May all who are grieving and isolated find rest in your very own corner of comfort. And knowing that all life begins and ends in you, we turn to you with these prayers on behalf of our church community:

• Gratitude: Holy Land leaders now home safe, free of Covid
• One grateful for Vanderbilt eye exam & news that vision impairment may be arrested
• Celebration of the work & witness of our Youth Choir & their leaders
• One offers thanks for prayer support during her 8 months of chemo
• Prayers appreciated: June 3rd surgery was successful 
• Family grateful for safe extended vacation to visit family
• Thanksgiving for successful & renewing Annual Conference
• Gratitude for the extensive ministries & missions of the UMC
• Member grateful for prayers: A job with benefits has been obtained
• Thanksgiving: Cancer meds are still being tolerated by member
• Please pray for cherished wife in heart failure
• Prayers for all pastors in transition this season
• Safe delivery for mother & newborn to be delivered this weekend
• For an end to the destruction of Ukraine & the terror thrust upon its people
• Complete healing for youngster who suffered a head injury
• Dear friend with cancer; husband with bouts of depression
• Young friend who mourns the loss of her unborn child
• A new position needed: Adult son in unhealthy work situation 
• Safety & good health for CS Master Arts travelers in Europe 
• For reliable caregivers to be found to help an infirm husband
• Prayers for cherished mother at Mayo for heart exam
• 10-yr-old niece undergoing very serious spinal cord procedure on Friday
• Increased funding at all levels for treatment of mental illness 
• Guidance for a young husband seeking new employment
• Pray for all young people making transitions this season & their families 
• Young couple very much desiring children
• Comfort for a good friend in final stages of cancer 
• Elderly husband who is ill at home, wife who offers care
• Healing of broken relationships within two families 

Lord of Life, to all these prayers, we add the truth of ourselves. Keep us aware of the tangible signs your newness all around us. And give us the courage to live as Easter people, called to live into the fresh forms of ministry you are creating. Open our eyes, ears, hearts, and hands to joyfully serve our Risen Christ, who taught all disciples 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.

O Radiant One, the prophets of old spoke of you as the God of Light; and Jesus taught that your shining essence is embedded within each of us. And yet it seems that we have grown comfortable living within the hungry darkness. Will we wait until that somber bear of evil swallows us up before we make changes in our nation? Have we grown so accustomed to violence that we take it in stride, sighing in relief when tragedy strikes outside our personal domain? If this is so, forgive us, Good Lord. As witnesses to such unthinkable suffering, we must not remain silent. Rekindle that beam of the kingdom you planted within us, we pray, that we might dispel all apathy by lifting high your bright banner of healing, wholeness, and peace.   

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Lord, we carry with us those many lives torn apart by calamity, those many faces contorted by grief. Touch each being visited by tragedy in recent weeks, particularly the anguished ones in Uvalde, Texas; the deaths of children rips apart our sense of rightness. We mourn, as well, the innocent victims in Buffalo, NY and their families who have had to release their own loved ones back to your care.  We watch as havoc and murder play on, destroying the lives of the Ukrainian people. Such losses defy logic, and there are no words when loss numbs the soul; still, we believe you hear even the silent laments that scar the hearts of your people. Stay close, we pray, for the tears of your people are flowing.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We turn to you, O Burning Lamp of Hope, knowing that your love is the answer to the pain and sorrow that thrive throughout our world.  We long to be part of your answer, trusting you will give us a portion of your courage, wisdom, and presence to meet that end.  And even as we tremble, enfold us in your strong arms, along with our brothers and sisters in every region who are discounted, oppressed, misunderstood, lonely, hungry, and forgotten.  

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And as each soul is dear to you, also receive these particular thanksgivings and petitions offered by your followers at Church Street:  

• Mother much improved after severe traffic accident
• Family grateful for daughter’s recent celebration of life 
• Grateful for prayers: Brother’s cancer surgery at Vanderbilt was successful and full recovery is expected
• Two families express gratitude for safe and restful vacations
• Praises for our high school graduates
• Undergraduate grateful for courage to complete his first year of study in another state
• Wife thankful for husband’s peaceful death and support of church family
• Thanksgiving: Brother safely moved to rehab center
• Wife continues to improve following an accident at home
• Family offers thanks for prayers and concern during a bereavement
• Decreased pain and continued healing as member recovers from surgery
• A dear friend with cancer; husband with bouts of depression
• Guidance for suffering Ukrainians displaced by the war
• Wisdom for leaders of the free world to help end the war in Ukraine 
• Grace and guidance for adult son in a toxic work environment
• Pray for all wounded by sexual misconduct within the Southern Baptist Convention and growing courage for SBC leaders working for justice
• Prayers for safety for our Youth Choir & their leaders – on tour in Chicago area May 27-June 3
• For safe delivery of a grandchild
• Increased funding at all levels for treatment of mental illness 
• Courage and healing for a mother with advanced cancer & her family
• Prayers for open doors for one seeking a new job
• Pray for all young people making transitions this season and their families 
• Prayers for member needing work with insurance benefits
• Son-in-law in depression – for physical and emotional healing
• For our community leaders to address poverty & racial inequities  
• All teens adjusting to community life after Covid  

We harbor no illusions, Lord, that we can make it on our own, for you are the Luminous Center which brought us into being; and around you we have framed our faith. Shore up our faith day by day as we come to you in all humility, offering all our spoken and silent prayers in the name of Jesus, the One who suffered for our sakes, and 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.