Weekly Prayer – June 16

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of June 13, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

We come into your presence, Great Sower of Seeds, seeking your assurance that new growth is still possible within us.  In many ways we have allowed our faith to grow dormant as we focused on our own travails associated with the pandemic.  We indeed cried out loudly to you throughout the year just passed; but we have failed to recognize your hand behind the miracle of the preventive vaccines.  And truly it was your Spirit working within all those courageous ones who risked their own lives to help others in a multitude of ways. Forgive our slowness in acknowledging your silent power of healing and renewal that has never failed us.

Your generous hand ever sprinkles new ideas and new opportunities our way; we admit, however, we often remain on that tired ground we have always traversed. We’ve become so accustomed to our old habits and old patterns of thinking that we prevent your fresh concepts from germinating. O Planter of Newness, help us to conquer our fears and insecurities that we might never again stifle your dreams. Grant that we may so till the soil of our hearts that we would be prepared always to receive the seeds you sow within, and to tend them till they flourish to proclaim our praise and gratitude.

God of Memory, as you have never forgotten us, we give thanks for each of your servants who remembered us, who personally supported us throughout the pandemic, and those who uphold us now, especially . . . . . . . . . .  And in this springtime as we celebrate the growth of our children, and as we honor our high school and college graduates, let us give thanks for those who nurtured our own faith throughout our growing years, especially these . . . . . . . . . We praise you for the constancy of your love and grace that continues throughout the generations, working through each of us in surprising ways to fulfill your purpose.

Receive now, we pray, these recent thanksgivings offered by your friends at Church Street; and be attentive, O Holy One, to each of those who bring their hardships and challenges to you, for you know each one by name:

Gratitudes:

  • Thanksgiving for a successful colon surgery
  • A family visit to VA for a grandson’s graduation
  • Son has been alcohol-free for a month
  • Widow sends thanks to church for arranging her vaccine
  • Gratitude for the work of the Covid Task Force
  • Celebration of lengthy visit with children & grandchildren
  • Regathering of Sunday School classes
  • A mother recuperates at home — successful gall bladder surgery
  • God’s granting focus and safety in a daughter’s sporting events
  • Thanksgiving for unselfish friend who knows just when to call
  • Homebound member offers gratitude for continued contacts by church family

Concerns:

  • Family and friends mourning death of a beloved friend in Christ
  • For God to work in the soul of a son addicted to various substances
  • Recovery for a brother in treatment for addiction
  • Member undergoing radiation treatments
  • Beloved husband dealing with effects of Parkinson’s
  • Sustaining grace for loved one with brain tumor
  • Good friend having extensive ENT tests and surgeries
  • Grieving parent whose son died tragically on Saturday
  • Restoration of a longtime relationship
  • Healing of painful back malady that prevents member from working
  • God’s healing hand upon a husband with liver disease
  • Strengthening of a new marriage
  • Grandson in treatment for leukemia
  • Forgiveness to be at work within a family
  • Healing for husband with debilitating illness
  • Member suffering severe depression
  • Sustaining husband and wife recovering from surgeries
  • Wisdom and guidance for our incoming bishop

Lord of the Harvest, as your Son taught us, we believe there will be a season when all your servants will be gathered into that abundant land where you dwell. Cultivate our faith in your tender mercy, we pray, that we might stay the course in this life, becoming strong, sturdy, and worthy to abide in your Kingdom of Grace.  All these prayers and petitions we lift up to your open heart, offering the words Jesus gave 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.

Have a Prayer Request?

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Senior Spotlight: Gavin Carroll

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One of our favorite things about the spring semester each year is celebrating our graduating seniors.  And this year, we have a special Senior Spotlight series on our blog.  Our seniors answered interview questions earlier this spring and it has been so much fun learning their answers! Check back in each week to get to know our seniors better and help to cheer them on as they wrap up high school and prepare for their next steps!

Meet Gavin Carroll!

What high school are you graduating from?
Hardin Valley Academy
What are your plans for next year?
I plan on going to Pellissippi state community college so I can knock out my prerequisites and save up to go to Middle Tennessee state university
What is your favorite bible verse?
“fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
If you could choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Sushi
If you could give some advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Appreciate who you are and don’t let people change you to better fit themselves.
What are your top 3 favorite movies?
Spiderman into the Spiderverse, The Matrix, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
What is your favorite Church Street memory?
I miss the food, conversation, and peace there was before Sunday school
What are you most excited about going into the next season of your life?
Finding out what I’m truly good at and hopefully enjoy what I plan on doing.
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Weekly Prayer – May 26

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 23, 2021

Written by Rev. Catherine Clark Nance

O Holy Spirit of God – we thank you for Pentecost, and in this season, we are privileged to claim and celebrate the birth of your church. But we know your Spirit has been calling us into community from the beginning. Your Spirit, your breath, breathed life into all of creation; and has been made known in the voice of the prophets, calling our communities to exhibit justice and righteousness and compassion.

Your Spirit is revealed to us in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, who welcomed the stranger and told us to love one another. We see the power of your Spirit on Easter morning and as Jesus ascended into heaven. When, O God, have we ever been away from your Spirit? The psalmist declares that you are always present.

Poets and songwriters and mystics and preachers have named you in countless ways: Liberating Spirit, Comforter, Wind and Flame, Spirit of Peace, Sacred Breath, Laughter, Mysterious Dancer, Pure Fountain, Holy Wisdom.

You have given us the gift of language to make sense of our world and to communicate and to draw your people together. Forgive us when our language attempts to contrive or constrain you. Forgive us when we name you in only the way that is comfortable and convenient for us. Forgive us when our language divides and alienates.

It is our prayer, Refining Fire of God, that we would open our ears and hear how you are prompting and leading and restoring us. And as we recall the story of Pentecost and the disciples understanding other languages, we are mindful of all the languages you hear as you listen to your world praying. We know that your Holy Spirit connects us to Palestinian and Israeli families who are grieving; families in Afghanistan are not just foreigners or people far away, but your Spirit enables us to hear the sorrow of parents and to pray for their comfort. Your Reconciling Spirit opens our hearts to all – in any country – who are dying from Covid.

Abiding Spirit, as you remain close to each of your suffering and frightened children, and as you know each one by name, draw near to your friends in the Church Street community who also call upon you in these trying times.  Speak each name, we pray, as you send forth your swirls of healing into their midst:

  • Husband in fifth month of Covid struggles
  • Four church families grieving deaths of loved ones this week
  • Anxious brother awaiting pathology report
  • Relief for one plagued by hip ailment
  • Peace for husband in hospice care
  • Comfort & healing for two in lymphoma treatment
  • Calm and peace for a mother facing extensive surgery
  • Beloved brother suffering from cancer
  • Dear friend recovering from back surgery
  • Continued healing of husband with rare cancer
  • Delivery of two from the pain of depression
  • A cure for two struggling with serious anemia
  • Ongoing healing for two recovering from knee surgery
  • Steady healing of shoulder injury
  • Continued good health for a cherished pet

And to these petitions we add our praises for your mercy and grace:

  • One who expresses renewed joy in living
  • Couple celebrating a new pregnancy
  • Husband thankful for a new job
  • Gratitude: friend recovers from ruptured appendix
  • Grateful for prayers: pregnant cousin is recovering from Covid and her unborn child remains healthy
  • Thankful for baptism of infant son on Sunday
  • Young couple celebrate their recent engagement
  • Gratitude: no cancer found following father’s lung surgery
  • Four families grateful for recent days of vacation
  • Declining numbers of new Covid cases in our area
  • One in PT regaining strength after leg injury
  • Astonishing work of our UMW & mission teams
  • Member thankful for improvement of cancer scans

Continue to open our ears, Spirit of Truth, that we might hear how you desire to shape us, rather than our words shaping how we allow you to fit into our hearts. May your wind and fire cause us to hear you and experience you in new ways. And now we join with other Christians all around the world who offer the prayer our Savior 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.

Have a Prayer Request?

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Senior Spotlight: Emory Wineland

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One of our favorite things about the spring semester each year is celebrating our graduating seniors.  And this year, we have a special Senior Spotlight series on our blog.  Our seniors answered interview questions earlier this spring and it has been so much fun learning their answers! Check back in each week to get to know our seniors better and help to cheer them on as they wrap up high school and prepare for their next steps!

Meet Emory Wineland!

What high school are you graduating from?
Webb School of Knoxville
What are your plans for next year?
Studying engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology (in Hoboken, NJ)
What is your favorite bible verse?
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” – Ephesians 4:2
If you could choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Chicken and fried rice
If you could give some advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Stop procrastinating and focus more on what’s really important.
What are your top 3 favorite movies?
Megamind, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Christmas Vacation
What is your favorite Church Street memory?
The New York Choir Tour in 2019 because I was able to hang out with my friends and sing in some amazing venues in my favorite city.
What are you most excited about going into the next season of your life?
I’m excited to live in Hoboken, make new friends, and explore all the opportunities in the fields of engineering.
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Weekly Prayer – May 19

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 16, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Let us sing a glad song of gratitude to our God who has given us life and has imbued us with power to change the world.  How amazing is that grace!  The Holy One believes in us!  We now bow in the silence and reflect upon the ways we have felt his sacred movement in our lives in recent times . . . . . . . . . . Take us by the hand each day of this week, Lord, and lead us in those paths you have prepared for us; and may we recognize your empowering Spirit along the way.

Gracious God, receive our prayer.

“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” sang the psalmist.  We do come in your name this evening, Our Forever Companion, knowing you see us as we are, and that we are cherished in your sight.  We remember the gentleness with which you steered us through this past year’s turmoil and dissension. In our doubts, fears, and grief, you were working silently to restore our hope.

Gracious God, receive our prayer.

Yes, we are indeed richly blessed and we praise the God from whom all blessings flow.  Receive now, we pray, these specific expressions of gratitude brought by your people at Church Street; and also shine your light of gentle grace upon those who render their deep personal concerns:

Joys

  • Family celebrates new grandbaby, born May 14
  • Thanksgiving for visit with first grandchild
  • Grateful for prayers: heart procedure successful
  • One celebrating success of risky back surgery
  • Thankful for more in-person church gatherings
  • Prayers appreciated: member released from hospital
  • Member offers thanks for her steady recovery from a stroke
  • Gratitude: multiple mission projects completed on Sat
  • A friend’s successful knee replacement on the 17th

Concerns

  • Healing for young pregnant cousin very ill with Covid
  • Relief for one suffering great hip & leg pain
  • Group seeking earnest discernment
  • Calm and peace for one facing extensive surgery
  • Beloved brother suffering from cancer
  • Healing of friend in CO in rehab center
  • Recovery for extremely ill husband in hospital
  • Continued healing for husband in rehab facility
  • Vaccine availability for India overwhelmed by virus
  • Sustaining dear grandson in treatment for lymphoma
  • Continued improvement: husband with rare cancer
  • That two in deep depression may be delivered from their pain
  • Healing for grieving families & pained members of the Austin-East community who seek change
  • Healing for member with lymphoma
  • Sustaining grace for member struggling with anemia
  • Grace & comfort for husband in hospice care at home
  • Continued recovery for one in therapy for injured leg
  • Prayers that shoulder injury will not require surgery
  • Easing of painful knee injury

Gracious God, receive our prayer.

We confess, Patient One, that the magnet of our daily affairs has pulled us away from our best intentions.  Especially our weakness was most pronounced in these instances which we remember with regret: . . . . . . . . . . Buttress us, that we might withstand the tug of the world and remain steady in our purpose to live out the promises we make in Christ’s name.

And as you feed us your food of compassion each and every day, you are showing us how to open our hands to share healing with those whose lives are broken, to offer hope to the desperate, to deliver companionship to the lonely, to proclaim your good news. All these efforts we dedicate to you in Christ’s name, our Teacher and Example 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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Senior Spotlight: William Walker

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One of our favorite things about the spring semester each year is celebrating our graduating seniors.  And this year, we have a special Senior Spotlight series on our blog.  Our seniors answered interview questions earlier this spring and it has been so much fun learning their answers! Check back in each week to get to know our seniors better and help to cheer them on as they wrap up high school and prepare for their next steps!

Meet William Walker!

What high school are you graduating from?
West
What are your plans for next year?
Attend the University of Virginia
What is your favorite bible verse?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
If you could choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Stromboli
If you could give some advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t Procrastinate
What are your top 3 favorite movies?
Good Will Hunting, The Godfather, Iron Man
What is your favorite Church Street memory?
SLA 2018
What are you most excited about going into the next season of your life?
Discovering myself
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Church Street United Methodist Women cultivates community during pandemic

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The Church Street chapter of United Methodist Women is a vibrant community of more than  200 women from all walks of life. Whether at an annual Bake Sale or Call to Prayer, you’ve likely come into contact with a few members. 

When the pandemic halted in person activities at Church Street last spring, UMW President Jana Davison wasn’t sure what would come next. 

“I’d never heard of Zoom. I’d never watched YouTube,” Davison says. “When we realized this was long term, I mean, you can’t just stop this stuff. I don’t remember what I saw the first time on Zoom, but it occurred to me that we’ve got to get going again.”

So, after a brief pause, meetings and events continued virtually and have since without missing a beat. 

“At first, I had a love/hate relationship with Zoom,” Davison says, “but it has been my lifeline.” 

United Methodist Women volunteer at the Fall UMW Bake Sale.

Cultivating community virtually 

Meeting on Zoom hasn’t been a lifeline for just Davison. She has seen the UMW community grow to reach not just local members, but women across the nation. 

“The really good thing is we have had people join us that never would have been with us otherwise,” Davison says. “It’s been wonderful.” 

In addition to members that aren’t normally able to join because of work and other prior commitments, Davison says that younger people have joined that may not have joined because of school. 

“I think we’ve done a really great job of trying to adapt to the situation,” organizer of book studies Susan Dominick says. “And in many ways, it couldn’t have been any better in person.” 

During one recent book review, a member who is homebound joined one of the Zoom sessions thanks to the help of a staff member at her senior living community. 

“My heart exploded,” Davison says. “We haven’t seen her in four years or so.” 

Moments like this are what encourage members like Betty Craig to search for more ways to interact with the community, whether that’s in Knoxville or across the country in Oregon. 

“Being able to reach people who can’t come means that Zoom has to continue,” Craig says. “When we’re back in person, we can record things and reach more people if they can’t participate at the time.” 

A four-week study held in October on Zoom based on the book “Finding Peace in an Anxious World” reached up to 50 attendees each week. Led by Celia Ferguson, the timely education and conversation each week shared how the spiritual disciplines of scripture and prayer can help us with our anxiety. 

“I had many people tell me ‘This is what I needed,’” Ferguson says. “It helped them find some grounding in their faith as well as gave them some tools.” 

That conversation each week reached women outside of the normal UMW audience like younger women in Knoxville and Nashville, and women in Montana and Washington D.C.

“We would never dream of extending those boundaries,” Davison says. “It’s never been physically possible.” 

Giving back to the community 

In a typical year, UMW members find themselves very active in community service, whether that is through service projects at the church and for the church’s ministries and missions, or it extends to the East Tennessee community at large. 

“If you want something done, ask United Methodist Women,” Davison says. “We send the plea out, and within minutes, my phone will blow up. That’s just how we roll.”

One plea last summer was for cloth masks to be made for Green Magnet Academy, Knox County School System’s only elementary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) program. The school is located in a low-income area near the church. 

Last summer, the school was in desperate need of masks before the start of the fall semester, and Davison shared the assistant principal’s plea for help with members. Knowing that the UMW had women of various craft backgrounds, Davison shared the plea with the unit. 

Craig was one  of the members to respond to the plea for 350 masks; the UMW surpassed what was needed by the school. When the plea rang out again in January, Craig crafted 98 of the 267 additional masks made by UMW members; while only 150 were needed by Green Magnet at the time, the Church Street UMW nearly doubled the number, giving the school a welcome surplus at the height of the pandemic in Knox County.

“It’s truly the most talented group of people I’ve ever been around. And that is counting some really, really great companies,” Davison says. “They just don’t work better together than this group of ladies.” 

“Nobody cares to stick their hand[s] in and get them dirty,” Davison adds. “Nobody cares. It’s just amazing.” 

And just as there was no hesitation to help provide masks for the children of Green Magnet Academy, there was no hesitation to help provide the church community with a resemblance of normalcy, by offering a drive-thru bake sale option at the start of the holidays. 

The annual UMW Bake Sale is one of the most anticipated events at the church, as members race to the table to get the best goodies church members have to offer. And when the idea of a virtual bake sale was brought to the table during a virtual monthly meeting in 2020, it didn’t take long for UMW members Ann Reego, Dominick and Jean Galyon to say they’d lead the charge. 

With the help of Communications Director Katie Strangis, a sign up platform for baked goods was identified and sent to the church community with an invitation to contribute baked goods for the sale. Within a few days, Reego says she knew it would be a success. 

“The first two days, I was in tears,” Reego says. “We got so many submissions that I was drowning.” 

Once baked goods were donated, church members were able to reserve and purchase  baked goods they’d like online before coming to pick-up the weekend before Thanksgiving. In addition to baked goods, Tim Ward sold Messiah CDs from the Church Street Choir, , Rev. Jan Buxton Wade’s Table Graces Volume II was available, and the Service Circle of UMW made $800 in quilts, pillows and throws to contribute to the sale. 

With over 100 donors and 75 buyers, the bake sale fell into place and the profit was almost the same as a pre-pandemic year. 

“The Lord smiled on us, and it was a gorgeous day,” Reego says. “It was a Saturday morning with the sun shining and we just had everything dropped off and picked up.” 

Davison says that although she was nervous about the turnout, she can’t imagine the bake sale going any better. 

“If this were a corporation, if what we have done was a corporation or business, it gives me cold chills. I’d rate it higher than any business,” Davison says. “The commitment of the people is stronger than the commitment of any place I’ve worked in my career.” 

“I just have never seen anything like it and I thought I’d seen it all,” Davison adds. 

Because the fall bake sale was a resounding success, the UMW organized its Spring Gifts and Goodies Sale, just in time for Mother’s Day 2021. Again, the sale took place online, but this time it included handmade gifts from talented members of the Church Street family, including handmade cards, handcrafted wooden items, jewelry, and handmade garden decor, among others. On May 16, the UMW will lead the congregation in all worship services, in person and online, as the church celebrates the outreach and connection of this vital ministry in our community.   

If you’d like to learn more about the United Methodist Women chapter at Church Street United Methodist Church, please contact President Jana Davison. 

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Senior Spotlight: Margi Troxler

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One of our favorite things about the spring semester each year is celebrating our graduating seniors.  And this year, we have a special Senior Spotlight series on our blog.  Our seniors answered interview questions earlier this spring and it has been so much fun learning their answers! Check back in each week to get to know our seniors better and help to cheer them on as they wrap up high school and prepare for their next steps!

Meet Margi Troxler!

What high school are you graduating from?
West High School
What are your plans for next year?
To attend the University of Mississippi!
What is your favorite bible verse?
“The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” – Psalm 27:1
If you could choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pizza with ranch!
If you could give some advice to your younger self, what would it be?
How will the choices you’re making right now affect you in the future?
What are your top 3 favorite movies?
Pretty Women, Mamma Mia, 10 Things I Hate About You
What is your favorite Church Street memory?
My first choir tour going Canada!! This trip was filled with so much fun and an experience I’ll never forget.
What are you most excited about going into the next season of your life?
I’m most excited about meeting lots of new people and being able to participate in all college activities!
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Weekly Prayer – May 5

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 2, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

You ask us, Lord, to abide in you, and we have pledged to do so. Yours is such an open and gracious invitation, but in our narcissistic society, our hearts are easily tempted to take shelter in unhealthy places, spending hours in ways that do not nourish our spirits. Forgive us, we pray, for focusing on the transient, for settling for second-best, when we could be daily enriched by your goodness. Call us home again, Dear Friend. Brush off the doormat that bids us welcome, and we will enter your abode where we shall be fed with trust and kindness. Make us resolute in soul, we pray, that we might never wander again.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Source of Sustenance, in our roving, we confess the seeds you have planted in us have returned a meager harvest; but we thank you that you haven’t given up on us. As the Master Gardener, take those dormant kernels, long neglected and dissipated, tend them with your patient hand, and provide an environment of prosperity. We would yield savory and abundant crops for the kingdom in the season of life which we are given. May grace and peace and mercy and forgiveness be the fruits we bear, and may we share them generously in your Name.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Vine of True Life, this week spring rains have poured forth torrents of your life-giving waters, assuring us of your constant care for all creation. As you replenish and sustain your good earth, replenish us with a spirit of thanksgiving, for our wells are full to overflowing with gifts from your benevolent hand. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, may Jesus Christ be praised!
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We are indebted to you, O Divine One, for sending us the Holy Spirit to help us in our yearning, for we truly do not know how to pray. We remain mystified by the suffering and pain that thrive throughout our planet and we long to be part of its healing. Send your soothing Spirit to our brothers and sisters in every region who are oppressed, misunderstood, lonely, hungry, and forgotten; and as each soul is dear to you, receive these particular petitions and thanksgivings offered by your followers at Church Street:
Joys
  • One appreciates completion of another round of chemo
  • Gratitude: Knee replacement surgery successful
  • Member recovering well from heart surgery
  • Member celebrates birth of twins: grand-niece & grand-nephew
  • Encouraging news of dear friend healing from Covid
  • Member celebrates a new living arrangement
  • Back surgery is bringing healing for member
  • Family thankful for church support during a bereavement
  • Gratitude: mother with leukemia much improved
  • Thankful: sister has been discharged from rehab facility
Concerns
  • Cousin recovering from triple by-pass surgery
  • Healing for mother & brother in New Delhi struggling with Covid
  • Relief for the people of India suffering from virus
  • Lift up member, new resident in assisted living
  • Cherished husband, healing of leg injury
  • Healing prayers: one undergoing knee surgery May 6
  • Encouragement for one in deep depression
  • Continued relief for one suffering from asthma
  • For brother-in-law’s successful heart surgery May 7
  • Steady healing for member with fractured femur
  • Patience & healing of painful shoulder injury
  • Comfort & safe travels for bereaved member
  • Full Covid recovery for single mother of two
  • Cherished aging father in assisted living
  • New hope for a husband who is discouraged
  • Healing for two afflicted with lymphoma
As ones aware of our weakness, yet trusting that you are our strength; as those harboring questions, yet knowing that you hold all answers, we lift up all our prayers to you in the name of Jesus, 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?

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Senior Spotlight: Eli Cowart

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One of our favorite things about the spring semester each year is celebrating our graduating seniors.  And this year, we have a special Senior Spotlight series on our blog.  Our seniors answered interview questions earlier this spring and it has been so much fun learning their answers! Check back in each week to get to know our seniors better and help to cheer them on as they wrap up high school and prepare for their next steps!

Meet Eli Cowart!

What high school are you graduating from?
Bearden
What are your plans for next year?
Start at Pellissippi for audio engineering and finish the conversion on my vintage van
What is your favorite bible verse?
“The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
    the expectation of the wicked in wrath.” – Proverbs 11:23
If you could choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Buffalo wings
If you could give some advice to your younger self, what would it be?
To not be so hard on yourself
What are your top 3 favorite movies?
Here Comes the Boom
School of Rock
The Dark Knight
What is your favorite Church Street memory?
The New York choir trip
What are you most excited about going into the next season of your life?
My van conversion and the traveling I’ll do in it
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