Comfort & Joy

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Tuesday, November 30

By Jenny Cross, Director of Youth & College Ministries

Comfort & Joy

Read Romans 15:13

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” 

Here we are, at the end of another wild and unyielding year. A year of both good and bad, joy and heartache, struggle and hope. We arrive at Advent, harried and a little worn. We are eager and ready for something miraculous to happen—we need the promise of God’s presence with us.

The older I get, the more I see that joy and grief are not mutually exclusive—there is room for both at once. We see it in the laughter around the table after the loss of a loved one, or in the melancholy longing for things not yet to come in the midst of a beautiful day. It’s both/and. Both joy and sorrow, both comfort and pain.  

Jesus comes to us as the ultimate both/and. Fully God and fully human. Tempted and sinless. Bringer of justice and giver of mercy. He offers us comfort and joy while giving us the charge to love and serve others like Him.

I find it easy to miss out on the blessings of this season. But this year, I want to cling a little tighter to those familiar tidings of comfort and joy—reminders that Jesus came to redeem and restore. And He still offers us those beautiful gifts of hope today.

Prayer

Holy God, You are good and gracious, and we need you during this Advent season. Help us to become more aware of your presence as we walk through these days of preparation. We ask to experience both comfort and joy as you remind us of your deep love for us all. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

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The Wonder of Hope

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Monday, November 29

By Therese Zaltash

The Wonder of Hope

Read Romans 15:12-14

Advent is “The coming of Christ” and the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas.

This time of year invites us to step away from the chaotic times of holiday preparation, such as shopping, parties etc. It allows us to prepare our minds and hearts for the celebration of the true meaning of HOPE that comes through the birth of the baby Jesus.

The 1st candle of Advent is the color purple, symbolizing HOPE. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah. The expectation and flourishing of HOPE builds as each day passes.

Our world today is brimming with social issues, in part from the pandemic and lingering isolation. Yet perhaps we could spend this season focusing on our faith, our HOPE of the coming of Christ and all the wonder that includes.

It is very easy to succumb to fear, depression and complacency, since we are more isolated than years past. However, with HOPE we are also more fortunate than generations past. It’s all about the visual lens you choose.

Look to others to spread the gospel of Christ and the wonder of HOPE. Be encouraging to a struggling friend, strike up a conversation with a stranger, check on a neighbor that may be alone … show others that the spirit of Christ forever lives within you.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, You are the HOPE in our troubled world. This Advent help us to slow down, listen to your voice and focus on what’s truly important. Show us how much we have received through your abundant generosity. Ease our hearts with the assurance of your love for us.

Have a Prayer Request?

Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

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Wait

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Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC

Sunday, November 28

By Rev. Catherine Nance, Senior Pastor

Wait

Read Nehemiah 9:6-15

“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. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you.” (Nehemiah 9:6)

Wait for it … wait for it ….wait for it …  It’s what we say when we know something is going to happen and WHAM! There it was!

I am writing this devotion in mid-September while taking some time away at the beach. It is the perfect setting for thinking of Advent! 

Waiting for a wave. Waiting for the waves to break on the beach. Waiting for the water to come all the way to my toes. It’s an endless waiting – there are always waves. There is always water running up to where you are, spreading out in front of you, sometimes reaching your toes and sometimes deciding at the last second to stop and return.

I love to ride the waves. No, I am not a surfer. But I do walk out just far enough to wait for the right moment and swim ‘on top’ of the wave towards the beach. Sometimes I end up crawling, sometimes I get knocked under, sometimes I imagine I am as graceful as a dolphin! Each one elicits joy! But there is never one that is the final one; the beach is the perfect place to wait, and wait, and wait. The endlessness of the waves, the subtle changes in rhythm, the hypnotic flowing back and forth, and the surprising crash! 

We sometimes countdown Advent … wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, and then hope to experience the most joyful, beautiful, perfect, happy Christmas day. Children will say, “I don’t want Christmas to end.” Adults will say, “I wish I had more time.” My prayer this year is that I do not miss Advent by waiting on the ‘perfect Christmas.’ The scriptures and hymns of Advent are faithful, and the words come at us – sometimes knocking us down, sometimes gently carrying, but always pointing us towards the Christ. This Advent, I will say, “Here it is.” Here it is. Here it is. 

The psalmist says, Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. While we wait, we are being led and are being taught. God calls for an active waiting!

Prayer

Christ who comes, you are the one who has come, who is, and who will be. May we marvel in all these verb tenses and not miss any of your revelation. Amen.

Have a Prayer Request?

Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.

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Weekly Prayer – November 24

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of November 24, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that has made us and we are his; We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. 

Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. 

(Ps 100:1-5)

Today indeed we make a joyful noise before the Lord and raise our voices in song!  O One of Unsearchable Greatness, we remember how your breath wafted over the chaos, bringing a sublime calm and order.  We remember how you fashioned from nothingness the heavens and the earth, both teeming with life. We ponder your terrifying power that created the mountains and called forth the waters, giving them shape and order and purpose.  And in your own loneliness, you gave life to humankind, counting us as your beloved companions.  How mystifying is your universe, O Lord, and our words fail to touch its grandeur.  And how privileged we are that we might join our voices with all generations past in blessing your Holy Name!

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

You have honored us with Jesus Christ, whom you sent to reveal the truth of your love, your hopes and dreams for your people.  And even when he was ignored, abused, and crucified, he told us he understood and that we were forgiven.  How astonishing is the depth of your affection and the wideness of your mercy, O Lord! 

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

We give you thanks, O Guide Above and Beside Us, that we can bring our prayers to you, for you are the God who listens to our lives; and we know there have been moments when we have chosen the wrong over the right. We remember those instances when we could have helped others, but we attended to our own priorities.  There were those persons we could have befriended, but we hurried past.  There were times we could have shared a loving thought with someone who was hurting, but we remained silent. There were occasions when we could have expressed our faith in you, yet we uttered mere platitudes. We thank you, Merciful One, that it is not too late for our transformation.  Blot out the sullied parts of our past and cleanse our motivations.  We can never reach perfection, but we trust in your Spirit to take everything that we do and use it for your good purposes.

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

Spirit of Wholeness, pour out your balm of healing upon your people who are in pain and sorrow. Heal the divisions and brokenness within our own nation, we pray. Our hearts also break when we hear of migrants from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia who endure freezing temperatures and deprivation as they seek a place to call home; when we learn of the increased violence against the innocents in Sudan; as we receive news that 14 million people in Afghanistan now face daily hunger; and as another Covid19 wave sweeps across Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Russia. Forgive us when we separate ourselves from the suffering of others near and far. May all who are hurting cling to you even when their hope has grown thin. 

God of All Goodness, hear our prayer.

And as we offer petitions on behalf of our friends at Church Street, strengthen our sense of kinship with all whom you love:

  • Church family celebrates a son’s engagement
  • Member grateful for prayers, recovering well following surgery
  • Thankful an ill friend is home from hospital
  • Grateful to all who assembled and delivered 130 Thanksgiving boxes for our hungry neighbors
  • Gratitude for a friend’s successful knee replacement
  • Appreciation for prayers: Dear friend died in peace and comfort
  • One praises God for her multitude of blessings
  • Thankful for prayers: Ill father returning home for Thanksgiving
  • Heart patient thankful for prayers of church on his behalf
  • Gratitude for husband’s healing following heart surgery
  • Husband thankful for wife’s recovery from bronchial infection
  • Thanksgiving for continued healing following surgery
  • God’s healing presence with couple who remain secluded due to illness
  • Safety for a young son, musician who travels widely
  • All who are grieving during the holidays
  • Safe travel to California for soon-to-be-grandmother
  • Courage, guidance for one enduring physical emotional trials
  • A mother who faces another colon surgery and healing of her dangerous infection
  • Healing relationship between a father and his adult children
  • Continued prayers for member with vision impairment
  • Correct diagnosis of Parkinson’s-related illness
  • Peace for a dying brother and the presence of the Spirit with all family members
  • Family sustaining multiple challenges during the holidays
  • Cherished father in rehab, in failing health 
  • Prayers for our church and our 2021 stewardship effort
  • God’s guidance and healing for a mother with cancer diagnosis 
  • Continued strength for member in cancer treatment
  • Prayers for gravely ill daughter and her distraught family
  • Correct diagnosis for member experiencing heart problems 
  • Upholding church family grieving death of young son 
  • Four family friends mourning deaths of loved ones
  • Sister who faces cancer scans December 3

God of Goodness, we celebrate your presence with us and pray you would wrap us all in your peace each night, as you turn down the lights of heaven. May our dreams be filled with memories of your eternal grace. We lay these prayers at your feet in the name of your most caring Son Jesus, who taught us to pray in this way:

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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Weekly Prayer – November 17, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family*

Week of November 17, 2021

Rev. Tim Best

Most Caring God, as we approach the holiday of Thanksgiving, remind us that true thanksgiving is not a single day of the year, but an eternal season of gratitude, a lifestyle that we practice our entire lives. Fill our hearts to the brim with a sense of the magnitude of your grace in our world.  And give us the courage to respond to that truth by spreading it around.

Caring God, provoke us to love and good deeds.

We pray this day for our community. As the weather grows colder we think of our neighbors with unreliable heat, poor insulation, those who work outdoors, and those who live without walls or heat. We pray for our neighbors who experience any sort of violence, and those who live as if they have no hope. We pray for all those who work to ensure the well-being of others within our community. 

Caring God, provoke us to love and good deeds.

With love and concern we lift up our nation, the world, and all those who seek to lead. We know the problems that face our world are many, but we do not live as those without hope. As our community has sought to honor veterans this past week, may we commit to hold the needs of those who have served constantly in our prayers. 

Caring God, provoke us to love and good deeds.

We lift up thankful hearts for all progress made against Covid. We are grateful for all doctors, nurses, caregivers, administrators, and support staff that have kept hospitals and clinics running. We are thankful for vaccines that are now available for elementary age children. We are thankful for ongoing research and development of medications and treatments for this disease. We are thankful also for the work we have been given to care for one another and our neighbors during this season. 

Caring God, provoke us to love and good deeds.

We pray this day for those in our congregation who are struggling with health issues, those who are alone, and those who grieve. Be an ever-present companion to them. Give us eyes to see the pain of others in our midst and the courage to respond in love.  Especially, we ask that you would look with kindness and mercy upon all your children at Church Street who bring to your door a world of cares.  And also receive the gratitude that is expressed by those who have profoundly felt your mercy in recent times:

  • Family celebrates: Husband’s cancer scans all clear
  • Grateful for prayers: Hip replacement surgery in DC successful
  • Thanksgiving: All well following delicate surgery at Vanderbilt 
  • Prayers appreciated: Friend approved for her 1st apartment
  • Gratitude for prayers: Anxieties have eased
  • Two families thankful for beach vacations
  • Member celebrates the end of his Covid isolation 
  • Gratitude: husband admitted to hospital, now improving
  • Thankful: Young daughter mending well following tonsillectomy
  • One thankful that recent cancer scans were negative
  • Praises: Injured member is receiving proper care in hospital
  • Prayers that recent back procedure will prove effective
  • Safety for a young son, musician who travels widely
  • Family grieving the death of mother on Monday
  • Family mourning death of a father this week
  • Continued prayers for member with vision impairment
  • Church couple struggling with Parkinson’s diagnosis
  • Wisdom for daughter anxious about her mother’s care
  • Prayers for our church and our 2021 stewardship effort
  • Healing prayers for daughter hospitalized with sepsis
  • Correct diagnosis for member experiencing heart problems 
  • Upholding church family grieving death of young son
  • Son-in-law grieving the deaths of family members 
  • All who are bereaved and hurting during the holidays
  • Strength for couple caring for two very ill parents
  • Sustaining member in extended cancer treatment
  • Dear friend (ALS) – now facing hospice care; sustaining prayers for friends assisting her  

Today we recommit ourselves to the work and ministry of this local church. Guide our hearts as we discern how to most fully and faithfully give to you,       O Christ. Bless the gifts that have been offered this commitment week, and bless those who pledge to support the church financially in the year ahead. May our gifts always be used for the work of your kingdom. 

Caring God, provoke us to love and good deeds.

Hear us, Heavenly Father, in all that we ask, for we pray as your Son 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.

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*Adapted from a prayer by Stephen M. Fearing.
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Thanksgiving Baskets Project

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This week, we are hosting our annual Thanksgiving Basket project!  We will serve the Knoxville area by providing groceries to those experiencing food insecurity.  We need lots of hands to make this possible!  Please read the opportunities for serving below, and click the link at the bottom of the post to sign-up to serve!
 
Food Pick-Up — November 17 @ 3:30
Our food will be picked up at the Kroger in Bearden (4918 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919).  We will have the church trailer there to load the majority of the food, but always need extra vehicles to help with what does not fit.
 
Food Sorting — November 17 @ 4:30
Please meet us in the breezeway to help organize and set up our food items.  We will unload food from the trailer & vehicles, transport to the gym, sort & organize, and count to insure we have all the necessary items for packing boxes.  We anticipate being finished with this project between 5:30-6:00.
 
Basket Packing — November 21 @ 9:45
We will gather in the gym & CLC Hallway to pack our items for distribution.  All food items will be packed into either a cardboard box or a reusable grocery bag.  This will take place during the Sunday school hour.
 
Basket Delivery — November 21 @ 11:30-2:30
After our baskets are packed, we ask for members of our congregation to help deliver baskets to our recipients.  They will be taken either to individual residencies or to a local partnership location.  Recipients have been told to expect their food to be delivered between 11:30-2:30 PM.
 
Thanks again for your willingness to serve our community!  It is a true joy to provide for this need during Thanksgiving week.
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Weekly Prayer – November 10, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of November 10, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

And what do you have that you did not receive? 

And if also you did receive it, why do you boast 

as not having received it?   (I Cor. 4:7)

Ah, the apostle has rightly spoken – for what have we acquired that did not come to us from Divine beneficence?  What do we possess that was not provided by the hands and sacrifice of others?  Forgive us, Lord, for our narrow thinking and for our failure to respond fully to your grace. We confess we have withheld that which is rightly yours, spending mainly to satisfy our own limited interests.    We have withheld even ourselves, ignoring your continued offer of fullness of life through Christ. We know we can do better; by your grace, may it be so.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Enduring Cornerstone, remind us that we are the living stones which form your Church. We are bound together by your very self, who gave your all that we might live. Your gifts cascade so freely we are prone to forget they come with responsibility. Chip away our rough and selfish edges, we pray, that we might fit more tightly together, adding strength and shape to your holy edifice of benevolence.  We would be known as believers with open hands and open lives, willing to sacrifice so that the nameless and forgotten ones are drawn into your fortress of love.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Nearest Friend, this week we pray for our friends and neighbors, near and far.  Comfort and deliver especially all who are living with grave losses, those who live in the throes of poverty and need, others who are oppressed by violence, and those who flee war and devastation in their homelands.  Guide us and all in power to work for the common good. As scripture has taught: those whom much is given, much is required.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of the Circling Years, your faithfulness spans generations, and your mercy never fails to astound us.  In Jesus, you walked where we walk, shared the burdens of life, were touched by the same joys, temptations, and sorrows as we. We need hide nothing from you, for you are aware of our longings, our pain, our hopes, and our fears. Therefore, we turn again to you on bended knee, acknowledging you as our Source of all healing and wholeness.  

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Aware that you accept every prayer uttered in earnest, we lay before you these that come from the hearts of your people at Church Street.  In your mercy, accept the praise of those who bring thanksgiving and touch the souls of those who are bruised and afflicted:

  • Grateful that ill husband now safely placed in rehab facility
  • Prayers appreciated: Grandson is managing chemo well
  • Gratitude for prayers: Weekend wedding was perfect
  • Member in rehab making steady progress
  • Thanksgiving: Heart surgery deemed successful
  • Thanks for prayers – badly bruised hand is healing
  • Praises! Family welcomes newborn baby after 3 miscarriages
  • Pray that one will be approved for an apartment
  • Prayers: Young daughter undergoing surgery Monday and her family
  • Granddaughter in D.C. having hip replacement Monday
  • Prayers that recent back procedure will prove effective
  • Healing for one recovering from delicate surgery at Vanderbilt today
  • Courage and strength for family grieving death of young son
  • Son-in-law grieving the deaths of family members due to Covid 
  • Solace for member coping with anxiety
  • Strength for couple giving care to ill parents
  • Wisdom for a young son contemplating dropping out of school
  • Sustaining member in extended cancer treatment
  • Dear friend (advancing ALS) – guidance in finding residential care 
  • Healing prayers for daughter hospitalized with sepsis 
  • Healing for two members enduring immense back pain
  • Strength, courage for husband with Parkinson’s

In addition to these, O Lord, we ask that you would gift us with wisdom and patience as we strive for that peace which passes all understanding.  And now,  as you are the God of All Good Gifts, release in us the spirit of new life – that life which is in full relationship with you and your Blessed Son who taught us to pray in this way:

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?

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Weekly Prayer – November 3, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of November 3, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O Lord of Tender Mercies, we have only human words to utter when we turn to you; but the truth is that words fail, never fully capturing what is in our hearts.  So listen closely to those longings that live beneath our words – those longings which even we ourselves cannot name. Bend low, we pray, and hear us as we open our hearts in the stillness of these moments: . . . . . . . . . . Comb through our desires, we pray, discarding what is unworthy, and enriching what shows promise.  Our lives are not our own, Trusted Friend, so grant that our desires may come to reflect what you, in your goodness, wish for us.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

O God Without Boundaries, forgive us for taking your abundance for granted, for presuming that your gifts are ours by right.  Since you love all the same, how audacious of us to believe we deserve the first fruits.  Truly there is enough for everyone: for every race and nationality; for every gender, class, and culture; for every religious group and political party.  You have little knowledge of margins and perimeters, for your kingdom is bounded solely by compassion and love of humankind. In this season of harvest, loosen our grip on whatever has come to us through your largesse. Help us to learn what it really means to love our neighbor as ourselves.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

O God of the Watchful Eye, you note every fallen sparrow and hear the cry of the loneliest creature; but sometimes we become discouraged when we survey the despair and pain that plague your people.  So many are shadowed by tragedy and loss, by physical and emotional maladies, and we confess that we feel too weak to carry the burdens of so many others.  Renew our resolve, Good Lord, and remind us that when we feel helpless, your Spirit is always sharing the load.  You ask that we do solely what we can, and somehow, you will make our efforts sufficient.

God of Grace, hear our prayer.

Therefore, with hearts full of hope in your faithfulness, we offer these specific needs and thanksgivings on behalf of your people at Church Street:

  • Thankful that elderly mother is clear of Covid
  • Gratitude: Son completed rehab for addiction, may have experienced a breakthrough
  • Gratitude: Covid numbers are decreasing in our area
  • One offers praise upon her retirement after long work life
  • Prayers appreciated: Hospitalized father is improving
  • Praises: Ill adult daughter continues to make strides in combating Covid
  • Gratitude for God’s grace and for friends in supporting my family during recent bereavements
  • Thanksgiving that a major work project is completed
  • Courage for husband recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s
  • Courage and strength for family, father died on Tuesday
  • Grandson hospitalized this week for chemo
  • Courage for family bereft following sudden death of son
  • Healing prayers for husband with severe heart issues
  • Sustaining wife in early stage of chemo treatment
  • Upholding two recently widowed
  • Guidance for daughter caring for two ill parents
  • Wisdom for a young son who wishes to drop out of high school
  • Healing for a badly bruised hand
  • Wisdom for someone facing an important decision
  • Prayers for someone needing to move to safer environment
  • Sustaining member in extended cancer treatment
  • Prayers for husband with Parkinson’s & his wife, caregiver
  • Courage for one facing arterial procedure at Vanderbilt
  • God’s peace for three experiencing bereavements
  • Healing prayers for wife, recovering in rehab
  • Prayers for safe delivery of a new baby
  • Members asks for prayers for parents, both cancer victims

Praise to you, Lord of All, for your sustenance arrives at the moment it is most needed, assuaging the cares that weigh upon us. Thank you for heeding our longings and accepting our prayers that are beyond words, for we offer them in the name of Jesus, your Trusted Son and our Redeemer who taught us to pray in this way:

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?

 

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Weekly Prayer – October 27, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of October 27, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

This week, O Lord, our hearts turn to you as we remember all those saints whom you have called and who have walked among us throughout the years.  We remember your disciples who spent their time in this realm empowering the meek, encouraging the poor, and lifting up the forlorn.  We recall how they honored the neglected, respected the desires of the disadvantaged, and valued the least and the lost. For their wisdom and witness, we praise you!                 

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And still in this era, your saints walk alongside us: bringing peace where there is discord, sowing goodness where there is distrust, spreading hope where despair has taken root.  In your own mystifying way, you call ordinary folk to carry out your ministry in extraordinary ways.  We pray you would sustain your saints who are in ministry this very day, and particularly these blessed ones who have made such a difference in our individual lives: . . . . . . . . . .  We know you as our Forever Guide, so empower us, that we also might shine as these who live in brightest faith even when tribulations descend.                                                                              

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord of the Dismayed, some days we are simply unable to take in all the pain that thrives in our world, communities, and in our own households.  We confess that our own faith grows dim when we consider all the misfortunes that are holding your people hostage.  Our own efforts seem so paltry, and we tire so easily. Draw close and make yourself known to those who are overwhelmed. Gaze upon those who are ill or frightened as they face a diagnosis, illness, surgery, poverty, or any sort of loss. And as our arms are too short to wrap around those whom you love, we pray you would embrace all those who believe they have been forgotten.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

As the apostle has written, we see through a glass darkly. We cannot comprehend your will and your ways; nor can we fathom the manner in which you are moving in our world.  But, Good Lord, we do know you hear the cries of our hearts, that you will never leave us comfortless, and that one day we shall see clearly. Until that day, we believe your grace covers all, and that you are attending each one who prays in your name.  Therefore, we bring these praises and pleas offered by members of the Church Street family:

  • Two families celebrate births of healthy baby daughters on Wednesday
  • Couple thankful for safe travel to Europe
  • Gratitude for the ministry of our church choirs
  • Member offers thanks for an unspoken miracle in her life
  • Thanksgiving for the peaceful death of an ill mother
  • Thanksgiving for healthcare workers who valiantly serve
  • Grateful for prayers – member’s back pain is vastly improved
  • Strength, wisdom for daughter, prime caregiver of aging father
  • Member thankful for recent visit of family members
  • Family grateful for prayers, daughter (Covid) continues to improve
  • Solace for members who mourn the loss of loved ones
  • Prayers for husband with Parkinson’s & his wife, caregiver
  • Healing for cherished father/husband hospitalized Monday
  • Courage for one facing difficult procedure at Vanderbilt
  • Proper diagnosis for one enduring fainting
  • Continued prayers for grandson (17) in cancer treatment
  • Courage, strength for one beginning chemo next week
  • Healing prayers for wife recovering from dangerous fall
  • Prayers for a young wife, soon to deliver first child 
  • Children of Grace School in Uganda, for a way forward 
  • Courage for one, extended chemotherapy, & devoted husband
  • Members asks for prayers for her parents, both cancer victims
  • Two sons in treatment for addiction

Grant this day, and each day ahead, Beloved Presence, that we might make a quiet space in our hearts for you. Join us in those silent moments, reminding us that you are ready to wipe away our sins, offering us the privilege of making a fresh start with each dawn. Wrap us now in the peace of your Spirit as we offer this prayer in the name of Christ, our Savior:

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?

 

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Weekly Prayer – October 21, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of October 21, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Blessed are you, God Over Us, for each autumn morning you bring us a breakfast tray brimming with glories. Green leaves, veined with bronze and gold, wave their quiet hellos, using blue heaven as a pristine backdrop. Fluffy- tailed squirrels scurry about, carrying crunchy brown treasures released by heavy oaks, while sweet apple fragrance fills the air.  In this season you command our attention, Lord; from the crunch of twigs underfoot to the bracing breeze that stings the spine, you speak to us!  Forgive us, we pray, when we squander your offerings – favors from your heart that tell us we are beloved.  As the earth turns according to your divine will, turn our souls in your direction. May we be poised to discern your wooing from every stone and bit of stubble in the field.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

Blessed are you, God Beside Us, for your step is in tandem with ours.  In these erratic times, however, we confess that we often feel insecure, ungrounded, and alone.  We remember your Son was also clothed in humanity, and that he experienced those dark nights of the soul, enduring so much more than we.  Yes, we believe, Lord, that the Resurrected Christ is our Hope and our Redeemer.  Yes, we believe; yet we need you to shore up our belief. When our dreams fade, our bodies let us down, when our loved ones pass on, when friends forget us, when society is increasingly splintered, steady our steps, we pray.  Guide us toward that place of peace within yourself. And there may we rest awhile until we are strong enough to walk along with you again, down that unwavering path of faith.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Blessed are you, God Around Us, for Jesus said he had flocks of which we are not aware. That truth alone reveals the immense breadth of your benevolence. It underscores the fact that neither this world, nor this universe, is the property of one nation or people, no matter how powerful. Might those flocks include those we pass every day, yet do not see?  Do they live in communities which we are afraid to visit? Are they the throngs who exist behind bars, hemmed in by hopelessness? Could they be those who are yet to be born? You are the God of no boundaries, whose plan encircles all time and space and whose mercies are immutable. Our questions are many and answers elude us. Nevertheless, may we live secure in the knowledge that those whom you love we are also called to love and to serve. By your grace, might we grow in respect and friendship with all, until that day when all flocks shall be gathered with you in your all-encompassing community.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Receive now, we pray, these praises and petitions from our church family, for you are always ready to listen to your children.  We sense your working among us and trust in your sustaining mercy.

  • Gratitude for prayers: member has received a new job
  • Praises for prayers – daughter with Covid now removed from ventilator
  • Family thankful for support during a father’s death
  • Thankful that husband with ALS has had a good week
  • Family celebrates a new daughter-in-law
  • Grateful that two family members are now vaccinated
  • Cancer sufferer is thankful for her wise physicians
  • Thanksgiving: grandson (17) dealing well with chemo
  • Member thankful hip surgery will not be required
  • Healing prayers for member who suffered injuries in a fall
  • Prayers for young mother adjusting to new medications
  • Courage & guidance for member beginning cancer treatment in Nov.
  • Children of Grace School in Uganda, for guidance, opportunities
  • Blessings for two young women in final weeks of pregnancy
  • Healing prayers for two sons in treatment for addiction
  • Healing prayers – father (92) suffering from Covid
  • Friend whose mother died last week
  • Easing of grief for 3 recently widowed
  • Mother in treatment for thyroid cancer; father with leukemia
  • God’s grace for three fathers suffering from Parkinson’s
  • Prayers for daughter burying her father this week
  • Healing for best friend: Aggressive cancer treatment
  • Recovery for cousin on ventilator

Blessed are you, O God With Us, in this season of splendor, we witness nature taking on its own work of pruning and nourishing the earth. Still, it is a time to plant that which will burst forth when spring arrives. Along with the tulip bulb, may we bury thoughtfulness and kindness, that they might spread their roots far and wide underneath the raven earth.  May we bury generosity, that it might permeate the soil along with the winter rain. And may we sow seeds of peace, that they would multiply, becoming extensions of your holy peace.  And when warm winds blow again, may all flourish, bringing honor to the 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.

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