Weekly Prayer – May 25, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 25, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

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.

Have a Prayer Request?

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Weekly Prayer – May 18, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 18, 2022

Rev. Pat Clendenen*

I will come to you in the silence; I will lift you from all your fear.

You will hear my voice; I claim you as my choice.

Be still and know I am here.

Gracious and Merciful God, we come seeking your presence in the midst of our busy and often fractured lives, only to discover that you have been here all along, waiting and ready. You created us for relationship with you and with one another. Each of our names is written on your hand, for we are your children, created in your image. In this time, create a holy space for us where we may find peace in your presence, enabling us to hear your still, small voice. 

I am hope for all who are hopeless; I am eyes for all who long to see.

In the shadows of the night, I will be your light.

Come and rest in me.

There are so many in our nation and in our world who teeter on the brink of hopelessness, yet clinging to the assurance that you are at work in the world to bring peace with justice for all your children. Still, in our own land, our Black brothers and sisters continue to die, struck by bullets born of a hatred beyond our comprehension, and their cries continue across the centuries, “How long, O Lord? How long?” Forgive us when we become numb to their pain and suffering, tired of talking about it, even convincing ourselves that there’s not really a problem, that these are isolated incidents. Change our hearts, O God, that we may see with your eyes and hear with your ears. Emblazon upon our hearts the understanding that we will not be truly free until all your children are free; neither will we live in unity until we eat from the same bread, drink from the same cup, and equally sit together at the same table.

I am strength for all the despairing; comfort for those who grieve.

I bring healing for those who are broken.

Do not be afraid; I have called you each by name.

I love you, and you are mine.

Loving God, you call us to be your hands and feet in a broken and hurting world, to offer care in the name of Christ. Empowered by your Spirit and awakened by your holy nudges, free us to offer that cup of cold water in whatever form it may be needed and, in so doing, offer glimpses of Resurrection living.

As praying people, we lift the prayers that have come from across our community of faith, trusting that you hear both the gratitude and the deep cries of your people, and that we silently wait for your still, small voice gently prodding us into action.

  • Prayers appreciated: Member is receiving assistance in caregiving
  • One expresses thanks for her Stephen Minister
  • Family celebrates son-in-law’s achievement and recognition
  • A friend in ICU is improving
  • Family grateful for all help received following a family death
  • Member thankful for an unexpected gift
  • One grateful to be released from hospital
  • Please pray for brother having cancer surgery May 23
  • Wisdom for surgeon and positive outcome for member having surgery May 19
  • A dear friend with cancer; husband with bouts of depression
  • Blessings upon all attending a benefit luncheon on May 19
  • Prayers that innocents in Ukraine might be protected
  • Wisdom for leaders of the free world to help end the war in Ukraine 
  • God’s grace to surround all who are grieving 
  • Presence of the Spirit with family during memorial service May 22
  • Courage and healing for member with advanced cancer & her family
  • Prayers for open doors for one seeking a new job
  • For our bishop, cabinet, and all clergy facing transitions
  • Grace to surround a faithful member nearing death
  • Wisdom for daughter facing a bitter divorce and her children
  • Pray for all young people making transitions this season & their families 
  • New employment for couple experiencing downturn in income
  • Healing of an extreme voice ailment and depression   
  • Continued prayers: Friend injured in accident, remains in ICU
  • For community leaders to address poverty and other inequities  
  • Mother with heart condition 
  • An uncle and grandmother in hospice care & their families
  • Easing of tensions within family grieving deaths of two members
  • Lift up all teens amid the mental health crisis & all teens adjusting to life in community after Covid

I am the Word that leads all to freedom.

 I am the peace that the world cannot give.

I will call your name, embracing all your pain.

Stand up, now walk, and live!

We have found peace in your presence, rest in your loving arms.  Renew in us your vision for your world – SHALOM – peace with justice for ALL your children – on earth as it is in heaven. Through the waters of our baptism, we have become new creations, empowered by the Holy Spirit to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Give us the courage and the strength to fully claim our identity so that the vows we made – to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they find themselves – may, with God’s help, be the foundation on which we live out our lives.  In that spirit, we confidently and with boldness pray the prayer 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.

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*Words in bold and italics taken from the hymn, “You Are Mine” by David Haas.
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Weekly Prayer – May 11, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 11, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O Light of Each New Day and Luster of Evening Star, we tremble when we consider how your goodness permeates every hour of every day!  You have brought us safely to this point, as the curtain of dusk falls softly all around. And here in the shadows we ponder how your holiness has touched our encounters in this week just passed: the stranger that offered a helping hand, the promising report from a physician, the cheery note that arrived when most needed, the safe arrival at a destination, worship moments that filled our hearts to the brim, friends who demonstrated their concern, and also . . . . . . . . . . We thank you, Lord, for coming to us in such quiet graciousness; you slip in unheralded, so softly that we often overlook your presence.  Ah, but here in these moments, we recall how your providence ever flows through circumstances, creating blessings where none are expected or deserved. 

Faithful Spirit, receive our prayer.

Keeper of All Our Stories, you know the stories of our lives – of the times we failed miserably, when we chose the wrong roads, when we were betrayed, when we placed our trust in the wrong places and persons, when our dreams collapsed, the times when grief overtook us, when bitter tears were our food day and night.  Even in these times, remembering your own story of suffering, you colored our hurts with your love, cradled us in your arms, told us that there is always a new beginning, and that your mercy would help us find it.  As you gather us under your wings, remind us that all our stories begin and end in you, for you are also the Keeper of our Souls.

Faithful Spirit, receive our prayer.

You know us through and through, Lord, and we pray we might come to know ourselves in entirety as well.  Surprise us with insights into our own assumptions and motives; give us wisdom to ask the most difficult questions of ourselves. Move us out of our complacency into a life of fullness.  

Faithful Spirit, receive our prayer.

Accept, O Lord, these private prayers we carry in our hearts . . . . . . . . . . and also these praises and concerns offered by your people at Church Street:

  • Gratitude: our gifted high school seniors who led Sunday worship 
  • Thankful that a husband with Parkinson’s is regaining strength
  • Family celebrate a successful pacemaker procedure this week
  • Blessed news of a daughter’s pregnancy
  • One appreciates successful surgery & all who prayed
  • Member gives thanks for a wonderful vacation
  • Grateful for the Spirit’s presence in a mother’s peaceful death
  • Thanksgiving for a son’s happy wedding last weekend
  • One offers thanks for friends who offered help & wisdom in regard to an important decision
  • Family thankful for daughter’s beautiful beach wedding on Saturday
  • Gratitude: a member has overcome a second bout of Covid
  • Grateful for prayers – cancer patient has not contracted Covid after exposure
  • Two grateful for having overcome recent illnesses
  • Prayers that innocents in Ukraine might be protected
  • Wisdom for leaders of the free world to help end the war in Ukraine 
  • All who are grieving the deaths of loved ones
  • Guidance for family making decisions following bereavement
  • Courage & healing for member with advanced cancer & her family
  • Wisdom & guidance for daughter facing a bitter divorce
  • Husband with Parkinson’s, easing of depression & help with his caregiving
  • Prayers for all young people making transitions this season & their families 
  • Prayers that a pathology report is clear
  • Infirm member anxious about an upcoming physical evaluation
  • Couple experiencing downturn in income, seek financial security 
  • Healing of an extreme voice ailment & the sufferer’s depression   
  • Continued prayers: friend injured in accident, remains in ICU
  • Healing for two women with untreatable eye disease 
  • Addressing of poverty in our community 
  • Correct diagnosis for mother with heart condition
  • Young man seeking work in college athletics
  • For the Spirit to abide with family during memorial service on Saturday 
  • An uncle & grandmother in hospice care & their families
  • An ill mother-in-law & concerned family, for recovery

Faithful Spirit, we would be channels of your light, mercy, and peace as we live out our days; so fill us with grace that we may open ourselves to be used in whatever ways you desire. And, as always, we offer all these things in the name of the Risen 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?

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Weekly Prayer – May 4, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of May 4, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

From the grain of the field and from the fruit of the vine you continue to feed us, O Sustainer.  Having received the bread of life and the cup of grace in our community this past Sunday, you addressed our brokenness and have given us strength to go out in your world and feed others who do not know of your mercy.  Without your divine energy regularly implanted within us, we could not venture to reach out to those who are difficult to love, to speak a word of kindness to those who question our motives and may even hold us in contempt.  And though we often fumble, we believe you know of our deep desire to do for others what you have done for us.  Continue to feed us your mysteries, we pray, that the outpouring of your love through Christ will be made manifest in our lives.

Enduring One, hear our prayer.

As each day of this week unfolds, we ask that your mercy would accompany us, for you know how swiftly we can make that wrong turn called discouragement. There are those detours that haunt us daily: our worries about family members and friends, the news of bloodshed and atrocities across the world, reports of famine and needless deaths of the innocents, the deep divide within our nation’s leadership, the growing number of drug addictions, and the multitudes suffering natural disasters.  We often feel our efforts are so paltry in the face of these complex situations; but save us from despair, we pray, for your love can permeate every circumstance and every heart.  Place your hands upon our hearts as we move through each tomorrow we are given, that we will always trust in your promise to watch over our going out and our coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Enduring One, hear our prayer.

And we confess that most tenacious temptation – our desire to please ourselves.   Still that voice within us — that voice that mimics the noise of the marketplace, whispering that we need more and more of the world’s goods. You have filled us to overflowing and have blessed us in ways we do not merit. So let us be content with what we have and give praise to the Giver of all good gifts!

Enduring One, hear our prayer.

And because you are the Author of our Faith, whose only Son endured all things for our sake, we are bold to turn to you with our joys and with our burdens.  

  • Thankful an ill brother-in-law is home from rehab
  • Member is grateful for her new solid employment position
  • Family celebrates the baptism of their young daughter
  • Gratitude for good report following evaluation at Vanderbilt
  • A brother’s surgery went well on Monday at Vanderbilt
  • Thanksgiving for presentation by our Youth & Children’s Choirs
  • Member thankful for recent eye treatment
  • Family celebrates the birth of healthy baby boy
  • Family grateful for an opportunity to live abroad next year
  • Family grateful for prayers: home purchase is final
  • Thanksgiving for the Christian witness of two members who will be buried this week
  • Couple celebrating their wedding anniversary this week
  • Thanksgiving an arm infection has almost completely healed
  • Prayers for an end to the horror & violence in Ukraine
  • Three member families who are grieving deaths this week
  • Courage for 4 church members with Parkinson’s 
  • Lift up our high school seniors & their families this season
  • Prayers that a pathology report is clear
  • Prayers for couple seeking financial security
  • Please pray for 5 persons on the heart of a member
  • Singer with a voice malady, healing of illness & depression 
  • Prayers for a young son whose father died of an overdose  
  • Continued prayers: friend injured in accident, remains in ICU
  • Healing for two women with untreatable eye disease 
  • Correct diagnosis for mother with heart condition
  • Cancer patient exposed to Covid, pray that she is not infected
  • Young man seeking work in college athletics
  • Ease of pain for son awaiting shoulder surgery 
  • An uncle & grandmother in hospice care & their families
  • An ill mother-in-law & concerned family, for recovery 
  • A grandson with a difficult home life
  • Prayers for all taking part in a wedding on Saturday 

We thank you, Enduring One, for knitting us together as the body of Christ and for accepting our prayers that are offered in the name of your Son. May your Spirit continue its sustaining flow within us and through us until we reach those gates above, where we shall joyfully serve together with Jesus himself.

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 – April 27, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of April 27, 2022

Rev. Catherine Nance*

Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew,

That I may love what thou dost love, and do what thou wouldst do. 

Breathe on me, Breath of God. Breathe on us, Breath of God. Life-giving God, we are thankful for the image in our scriptures of Jesus breathing on the disciples and offering peace. We remember your breathing over the waters and bringing forth creation; breathing into humanity as you formed us in your image. O God we pray that as we inhale, we would take in your grace and love and all that is good. We desire to feel your presence in our very beings; at our core; in our hearts. Breathe on us the transforming breath of Jesus; the transformative breath… We pray for a calmness when we are facing tense situations and difficult conversations. Breathe on us.

We pray for peace in our world; breathe on our leaders and those around the world who make decisions based on maps and land and power, not on the hearts and wellbeing of people. Breathe on them; fill them with life anew. We pray for a steadiness of heart as Christians as we make decisions.  We pray for an abundance of your Spirit as we read your scriptures and seek guidance for our living. Breathe on us.

We pray for your church, O God. Breathe on your church – for ministers and laity everywhere who strive to build up the body of Christ and your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We especially pray for those young ones who were confirmed on Sunday in our congregation as they seek to walk in the way of Christ. And bless, we pray, each one who has recently come forward to be baptized and to become a new members of our congregation. Guide them to find here nurture in faith, true fellowship, and a place of joyful service. Breathe on us; fill us with life anew.

Spirit of Life, as you hav delivered healing and revived hope to so many, we bring our prayers of praise this day.  And may your divine energy move within us and through us, Holy Lord, that we may become conduits of holy healing to these others who wait for your breath of renewal:

  • Gratitude for prayers: member recovers from successful hip surgery
  • Thanksgiving that a niece’s home has sold
  • Couple celebrates 40 years of marriage
  • Daughter thankful for her mother’s successful surgery
  • Prayers appreciated: no sign of cancer cells following transplant
  • Prayers of gratitude: a daughter’s home has sold
  • Widow feels blessed in a new home closer to family
  • One expresses gratitude for support of congregation
  • Gratitude: 2 families steadily recovering from Covid infections
  • Parents thankful for a son’s renewed effort to combat drug use
  • Ovarian cancer surgery completed with good results – grateful for prayers
  • One grateful for a restorative short vacation with friend
  • Thanksgiving that a friend’s cancer cells have been contained
  • Prayers for an end to the horror & violence in Ukraine
  • Prayers for husband with Parkinson’s – increasing difficulties
  • A father with Parkinson’s & his family; for a workable treatment plan
  • Easing of stress: family awaiting a home closing
  • Prayers for proper diagnosis- member returns to Vanderbilt Thursday
  • Professional singer with a voice malady, for healing & direction
  • Proper treatment for a brother with cancer near bladder 
  • Elderly neighbor injured in car accident, now on ventilator 
  • Hospitalized mother & wisdom for family making decisions  
  • Please pray for healing: two women with untreatable eye disease 
  • Correct diagnosis for mother with heart condition
  • Healing young granddaughter having seizures
  • Young man seeking work in college athletics
  • Son with shoulder injury, comfort as he awaits surgery
  • An uncle in hospice care & peace for his family standing by
  • Prayers that a young son recently exposed does not contract Covid
  • Prayers for anxious couple awaiting news of pregnancy
  • An ill mother-in-law & concerned family, for recovery 
  • Healing for nephew in cancer treatment  

Inhaling and exhaling is such a simple act, an involuntary act; yet without it we would die. As we breathe in, O God, may we remember that we are raised in new life with Christ. May we live into that life.

Breathe on us breath of God; fill us with life anew.

That we would love what thou wouldst love; and do what thou wouldst do.

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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*Inspired by Hymn Breathe on Me, Breath of God by Edwin Hatch, 1878
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Weekly Prayer – April 20, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of April 20, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Hail thee Festival Day! It was just before dawn when the glow of the Easter moon pulled our eyes upward — the first to disclose that darkness was fleeing – the first to whisper that new life was coming into the world.  Praises that we did not miss the dawn of your day of triumph, Faithful Lord! Praises that you appeared to us in the faces of so many blessed ones around us! Praises that your light penetrated our marred exteriors and pierced our souls!  “Shine on,” you seemed to say, “that this holy light will pour out forever through you!”Ah, such is the love that cleanses and refines, that erases the sins of yesterday and points toward tomorrow, that ever offers a new beginning!

Yes, O God, our hearts became wings on Easter as your splendor lifted us to hope of heaven! Yet we know many who continue to bear the wounds of Good Friday and remain locked in the dark tomb of pain: the ill of mind and body, the forgotten, the poor and the lonely, the dispirited and victims of terror.  We remember those times when you resurrected the dead parts within ourselves and offered us another way of living; and so we pray for those who are searching for a glimmer of relief, especially these we name in our hearts before you: . . . . . . . . . . Give them also, Father of Mercy, a new way of living, and remember, as well, these members of our church family who bring earnest prayers this day: 

  • Thanksgiving for a first grandchild, expected in a few weeks
  • Grateful for our church musicians and music directors
  • Gratitude for young persons who will be confirmed on Sunday
  • Couple is celebrating a major employment promotion
  • Gratitude that a family member has agreed to help with caregiving
  • Family thankful that daughter is home after many months in rehab
  • Thanksgiving: work of the Holy Spirit throughout a memorial service
  • A father celebrates his daughter’s graduation from college
  • Ukrainians suffering grave losses; for an end to the violence
  • Lift up member having hip surgery on Thursday, April 21
  • Prayers for husband with Parkinson’s – increasing difficulties
  • A father with Parkinson’s and his family; for a workable treatment plan
  • Please pray for two families, both awaiting home closings
  • Healing for a professional singer with a voice malady 
  • Remember a brother at Vanderbilt this week, bladder cancer
  • Continued prayers for member continuing to struggle with pneumonia 
  • Solace for nieces grieving their mother’s untimely death 
  • Please pray for a member with debilitating eye disease
  • Healing of one’s severe depression and anxiety
  • Correct diagnosis for mother with heart condition
  • Healing young granddaughter having seizures
  • Dear sister recovering from massive strokes, for improvement
  • Young man seeking work in college athletics
  • New treatment plan for one at Vanderbilt for consultation
  • Please pray for one having a 2nd employment interview on April 25
  • An uncle in hospice care & his family standing by
  • Peace for two overwhelmed with responsibilities
  • Healing of cousin in ICU, that his kidneys and heart may heal
  • Prayers for anxious couple awaiting news of pregnancy
  • Young wife with cancer, that recent treatment may help her recover
  • An ill mother-in-law and concerned family, for recovery 
  • Safe travel for member returning from NYC; safety for member in Ireland
  • Healing for a nephew in radiation treatment
  • Relative in treatment for ovarian cancer; longtime friend with cancer
  • Prayers for a mother beginning proton therapy for a malignancy
  • Adult son suffering a shoulder injury

It is true, O Sacred One, that we remain unsure of ourselves, too often afraid to stretch out our hand to clasp your own. Make firm our trust, we pray, so that we may become true Easter people, willingly releasing everything that hinders our walk with you, even our very lives.  Remind us, in whatever way you will, that what has been lost, you will reclaim; what has been harmed, you will remake; and all that is unwell, you will restore. These prayers we lift up the name of the Resurrected One, whose love was and is too deep for words: 

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 Lenten Prayer – April 12, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of April 12, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Lord, we watched as you sat astride that lowly donkey, painting a scene that echoed your self-effacing mission on this earth. We may have strewn our jackets down to soften your stony ride; we may have waved our palm branches as enthusiastically as the others; we may even have shouted your name when you passed by. All well and good; yet we confess that our steps became slow as we approached the city gates, and the truth is, many of us still hover near those outer walls. We are fearful to follow too closely, for so much is asked of us. Parades are one thing, but what if there is death on the other side? You will just have to hold us up, Holy Jesus, for our spirits shrivel when we face the specter of pain and uncertainty.

Bless us, Lord, with your courage.

Your journey, Most Humble One, is surely meant to be our journey, despite our reticence. The Father doesn’t desire our company on Sundays only; he wants all that we are at all times. In coming days we will again be mystified by sacred scriptures – those passages that make us ask ourselves if we are true disciples, or if we are merely followers who hang out at a distance, waiting for another celebration. Our wills are weak and our knees wobbly; yet as you have never failed to accompany us in our trials, may we join that faithful band walking with you on your course most grievous.

Bless us, Lord, with your strength.

We admit our failings freely, Gracious One, especially . . . . . . . . . . Wash us clean, we pray, as you so tenderly washed the feet of your disciples that long ago night. And show us how to draw close and wash the feet of those who suffer everywhere – the confused and the grieving; the imprisoned and their captors; the infirm and their caregivers; all who are caught up in humanitarian crises in Yemen, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, S. Sudan and Somalia. You know too well that human pain can cut too deep for words, so pierce us with a burning warmth that we might reach out to all hurting souls and even to our enemies.

Bless us, Lord, with your love.

And receive, we pray, both the needs and the praises offered by your people in our own church community:

  • Gratitude: an infant granddaughter needs no surgery
  • Prayers appreciated: friend in hospice care died peacefully with no pain
  • Grateful for prayers: member’s foot surgery went smoothly
  • One offers praise for healing of family relationships
  • Thanksgiving for a mother’s 96th birthday
  • Prayers appreciated: pain from kidney stone has ceased
  • Family joyfully look forward to a son’s wedding
  • Thanksgiving for one recovered from Covid
  • Gratitude for our music leaders & all devoted choir members
  • Member recovering in NHC, for improvement in Parkinson’s
  • Solace for 3 nieces grieving their mother’s untimely death
  • Prayers please for a mother in rehab
  • Beloved mother with a heart condition, for correct diagnosis
  • Grandmother in comfort care and strength for caregiving daughter
  • Please pray for a home to sell in short order
  • For Russia to end violence and upholding the poor people of Ukraine
  • Continued strength for a mother in cancer treatment
  • Please pray for an employment interview on April 13
  • Improved health for a brother with congestive heart failure
  • Calming anxiety of a member overwhelmed with responsibilities
  • Direction for an aunt who lost her home & business in the recent fires
  • Prayers for anxious couple awaiting news of pregnancy
  • Comfort for cherished husband/father & his grieving family
  • Young wife with cancer, that recent treatment may help her recover
  • An uncle in hospice care – prayers for family
  • Husband’s continued healing from pneumonia
  • An ill mother-in-law and concerned family, for recovery
  • Safe travel to and from NYC
  • 5 friends who are dealing with grave challenges
  • Healing for a nephew in radiation treatment
  • For employment doors to open for a young professional
  • Relative in treatment for ovarian cancer
  • For our 6th graders – discerning & preparing for confirmation
  • Longtime friend with advanced cancer & wisdom for physicians

Yes, Good Lord, we are too much absorbed in the trivial, half-blind to the crucial callings of our neighbors and our world. Please don’t stop nudging us, don’t cease rousing us when we become too comfortable. And as we revisit the shock and sorrow of your own suffering on the cross, may we recommit ourselves to the solemn promises we have made in your 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.

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Weekly Lenten Prayer – April 5, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of April 5, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

God of Every Season, we count these 40 days of Lent as a gift, realizing that you speak to us throughout each day, as creation sings its song of newness. How can we fail to note the hidden messages you have planted in our blessed surroundings? How can we fail to hear your whispers in the wind, in the bird call, in the river’s roar, in the spring rains?  Even the events and encounters of our days are filled with wonder.  And when challenges arise, you help us meet them with the grace of Christ, for within our troubles we discover anew your astonishing favor. 

God of All Faithfulness, you bless us.

Merciful Father, examine our souls, we pray, for we recall those instances when we raced to be first in line, when had to have the last word, when we grabbed more than we needed, when we flashed our banners of superiority, when we took you for granted, O Lord. We now cringe as we remember and name our private sins of commission and omission . . . . . . . . . . . Hold your lamp of truth high to reveal our misdeeds, especially those that have been embedded in the darkest crevices of our hearts for so long that we hardly notice them.  Then cleanse us with your fiery love, that we might burn as beacons for others who also seek to follow Jesus. 

God of All Faithfulness, you bless us.

Holy Protector, we shudder at the destruction and danger in our world, much of which we ourselves have caused; we cannot fathom the pain of those who live in the midst of war and turmoil, exposed to dread and fear, smothered by evil and atrocities.  May your wisdom flow through your people, that we might learn to live in your will and in harmony with all people upon this extraordinary planet you have given us. And though you know them already, we lift up to you our personal needs of this day . . . . . . . . . . ; and also these needs and thanksgivings that rest in the hearts of your people at Church Street:  

  • Thankful for prayers: Adult friend passed her driving test
  • Gratitude: Prayers appreciated – brother released from hospital
  • Gratitude: Mother released from hospital, returned to her residence
  • Thanksgiving: Brother-in-law in frail health survived surgery on Friday
  • Family celebrates an infant daughter’s baptism on Sunday
  • Parents offer gratitude for infant son’s release from NICU after 107 days & for all who have been helping & praying for the family
  • One sends gratitude for a successful eye procedure last Thursday
  • Prayers appreciated: Husband’s April 1 surgery was successful
  • Prayers for solace & peace for family: Mother died suddenly after a fall
  • For God’s presence with a lonely woman in hospice care
  • Beloved mother with a heart condition, for correct diagnosis
  • Improved health for a brother with congestive heart failure 
  • Lift prayers for member having foot surgery on Thursday & her surgeon
  • Calming anxiety of a member overwhelmed with responsibilities
  • Prayers for an aunt who lost her home & business in the recent fires
  • Healing of a co-worker suffering from Covid, protection for her husband
  • Prayers for husband/father in trauma care & his family at his side
  • Continued prayers for a nephew in deep grief
  • Dear friend recovering from blood transplant
  • Prayers for a daughter suffering with kidney stones
  • Healing for a young nephew with cancerous growth on vocal cord 
  • For employment doors to open for a young professional
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – for an end to the violence
  • Relative in treatment for ovarian cancer
  • For our 6th graders who are discerning & preparing for confirmation
  • Longtime friend with advanced cancer & wisdom for physicians

O God of All Faithfulness, we have threaded our way through this Lenten season, realizing we have not progressed in our spiritual renewal as much as we had hoped. Still, we know you are pleased with our efforts and are always holding us in your hands. Therefore, we take our rest in you, asking that you accept all our prayers offered in the name of your Son, who took that most lonely walk on our behalf, 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.

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Weekly Lenten Prayer – March 29, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of March 29, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high!  Ah, Lord, we cannot fathom the love that willingly cloaked itself in human form and entered fully into mortal life, accepting all our frailties. Yet by your coming, you affirmed the value of every life; and by your suffering, you proclaimed that death is not the story’s end.  We trust in your redemption, knowing the lives lost in this brutal raging war are not lost forever. Instead, they press us to open our eyes to the hate and vengeance that thrive in our world.  And they have now joined in your eternal refrain that speaks to our world’s crucial need for love.  May we become still enough to listen to those voices, now in your keeping, and also take up their song of love for Christ’s sake. 

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high! We come to you with our individual interior worries: for those who are ill or unemployed; those who are lonely, facing grave danger or death; those who mourn; those who live in fear, confusion, discord, or danger. Especially we lift up those souls in sorrow who are known to us: . . . . . . . . . . We are aware, Lord, that our own behaviors often contribute to the pain in our lives and in the lives of others.  Such admissions make us uncomfortable, but hear us as we confess our hurtful and thoughtless ways . . . . . . . . . . . Show us, we pray, how to move toward the healing you offer.

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high!  When we were absorbed in other things in recent times, still you drew near, opening doors and setting things right. We reflect upon those days just passed, remembering your presence and mercy, particularly in . . . . . . . . . . For all the ways you enter our lives so silently and steadily, we are grateful.  And in the conviction that your holy power makes all things new, we offer these prayers of praise and mercy on behalf of our Church Street family: 

  • Thankful for prayers: a blood transplant completed & friend recovering 
  • Help appreciated: dispute with a neighbor successfully addressed
  • Thanksgiving for life & peaceful death of a treasured friend
  • Prayers appreciated: a member’s knee surgery successful 
  • Thankful for prayers: mother’s cancer scans were most promising 
  • Member grateful for healing from desert fever
  • Celebration of young son’s baptism on Sunday
  • Praises for a wonderful Day of Missions on Saturday
  • Four offer thanks for safe & rejuvenating spring vacations with families
  • Member grateful for help of Parish Health Team
  • Prayers answered: hospitalized member much improved
  • Member offers thanks for good care & thoughtful friends, now home from hospital
  • Gratitude: a member’s successful cataract surgery last week
  • Prayers that an indigent mother may pass her driving test on Thursday
  • Family & friends mourning death of cherished wife/mother
  • For God’s presence with a lonely woman in hospice care, that she has no pain and that grace surrounds her when death comes
  • Prayers for member in pain with foot injury, for guidance in treatment
  • Remember in prayer a member in fragile health & pain, for wisdom in making decisions
  • Family of cherished member whose funeral is Saturday, April 2 
  • Continued prayers for a mother recovering from a stroke
  • Restoration of relationships within a family 
  • A nephew continuing to grieve the death of his wife
  • Lift up grieving family – husband whose wife died at age 60 & their adult children
  • Healing for a young nephew with cancerous growth on vocal cord
  • Please pray for a pregnant cousin & safe delivery of her child 
  • For doors to open for a young professional
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – for an end to the violence
  • Prayers that a sister-in-law is able to carry her baby to term
  • Daughter seeks prayer for guidance in caring for her infirm mother 
  • Healing of a longtime friend, wisdom for her physicians
  • Sustaining three beloved women in cancer treatment
  • Thankful for prayers – friend with pneumonia now recovered

O Love, how deep, how broad, how high!  How you have honored us by planting in our hearts the deep desire to know you and to please you, a desire to be better people.  We admit our faith is not the full faith for which we aim, but in your grace, continue to guide us by your steady hand.  We would be yours, Lord, wholly and completely, vessels of love poured out for the healing of the world.  In the name of Jesus, Love Incarnate, we make our prayer:

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 Lenten Prayer – March 22, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of March 22, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O God of the Watchful Eye, scripture says no sparrow falls without your notice, and in our amazement, we feel the depth of your concern for all in your earthly family. We sense your grace and glory embedded in the natural world around us, realizing all love begins and ends in you. May the seeds of concern you have scattered so profusely take root in our souls, that we might also learn how to love without condition or gain, but for the pure joy of emulating you.
Lord in your mercy, receive our prayer.
Savior of Limitless Love, we embarked upon our Lenten journey, chronicling our flaws, determined to repent and choose a new route. By your grace, we have progressed; but we confess that we have often stumbled in our aims and have already broken our vows to you and to ourselves, particularly in . . . . . . . . . . Still, we ask that you erase our blunders, and watch over us now, as we sparrows pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and wing onward toward Jerusalem, where you wait in hope for our arrival.
Lord in your mercy, receive our prayer.
There was once a time when we could claim we knew little of the afflictions of the world, but in our technological age, that time is no longer. The misery of the world is immense and is portrayed vividly. The pain of one is your pain and it is ours, O Lord. We, therefore, lift up all involved in the Ukrainian war, especially the innocents and the brave ones serving the injured, bereaved, and homeless; the ill in China who suffer from a new form of the Covid virus; for the victims of crimes here in our own country; for all your people in Eritrea, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan who are imprisoned because their faith or opinions differ from the powerful. Our efforts to rectify often seem so flimsy, yet we pray we might remain hearts who care amid the chaos.
Lord in your mercy, receive our prayer.
As we believe you are the One Whose Concern Never Ceases, we ask that you also receive these expressions of gratitude and the pleas for support from your people at Church Street:
  • Thankful for prayers: a blood transplant was completed on Friday
  • Praises for visit with infant grandson in CA
  • Thankful for father with dementia – still a blessing to all
  • Thanksgiving for a job promotion for one of our young members
  • Gratitude and hope for the possibility of career advancement
  • Prayers appreciated: mother recovering from stroke, now at home
  • Gratitude for the love of a mother & for the gentle end to her earthly life
  • Celebrations for a colleague’s beautiful wedding on March 20
  • Grateful that two members were released from the hospital
  • Family thankful that an offer on new home was accepted
  • Member offers praise: no sign of cancer on recent scans
  • Lift up the family & friends mourning death of cherished wife/mother
  • Prayers that surgery for a member will not be required
  • Lift up a member having knee surgery on March 24
  • Mercy for suffering people of Ukraine – the displaced, the bereaved, the frightened, the wounded, and all in harm’s way
  • Prayers for a solution to dispute with neighbor
  • Wisdom for world leaders in ending destruction in Eastern Europe
  • Prayers for a mother to carry her baby to term
  • A member asks for prayer for her cataract surgery today
  • Prayers for a family whose daughter died of an overdose last week
  • Answers and healing for a mother undergoing GI tests this week
  • Prayers of healing for two families grieving the sudden losses of their children
  • Wisdom in dealing w/ widowed mother, depressed & confused
  • Comfort for member who lost his sister-in-law on March 18
  • Healing of a longtime friend, wisdom for her physicians
  • Hope for two young couples deeply desiring children
  • Sustaining two beloved women in cancer treatment
  • Cherished mother who is enduring harsh chemotherapy
  • Beloved brother recovering in the hospital from infection
  • Prayers for a position opening for young man
  • Courage, strength for mother having extensive cancer scans
By your mercy, O Empowering One, you have forged a road, you have led us to this very day, and you are guiding us home to your kingdom. May our gratitude be as deep as your love for your children who bow to offer this prayer of Jesus:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

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