Weekly Prayer – January 5, 2022

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of January 5, 2022

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Holy God, with the bells of New Year’s Eve still ringing in our ears, we come to you in all humility; for how can we celebrate the turning of the calendar without praising you for the divine grace that has come to us so tenderly throughout the year just passed?  Your steady hand carried us through difficulties we thought would break us.  You restored our hope when we were stranded in confusion.  You brought renewal when we were swallowed up in despondency.  Remembering how you shepherded us even in perilous times, we remain in awe.

God of Grace, receive our praise!

Speak, Lord, said the young prophet, for your servant is listening. Here, as the new year dawns for us, may we also listen attentively for your voice.  Some of us are full of expectation, ready to give shape to any new challenge you set forth.   Some of us are overwhelmed and anxious and must lean heavily upon your shoulders no matter your expectations.  Others of us are weary and worn, fearing we may not possess the energy to even answer when you call.  And yet, you are the God who opens doors, who fashions possibilities, who supplies what is needed, who carves roads where none exist. In whatever condition we find ourselves, we pray we would somehow discern your voice and allow you to work your will within us. 

God Who Calls, hear our prayer.

Your Son gave us a vision of the world as it could be, enlivened by people who model your intentions and desires.  Jesus dreamed of a world where abundance was shared, where peace reigned, where cooperation birthed prosperity for all, where love and justice were the rule of the day, where health and well-being were honored. We hunger for such a world, but we confess that we often lose heart when setbacks come.  We fall back into our old habit of grousing and complaining when obstacles so frequently appear.  Forgive us, we pray, and help us to be hope-filled kingdom people as we work in your service each day of this new year.

God Who Inspires, rekindle your dream in our hearts.

On the cusp of this new month and new year, we are deeply aware of the realities that face us at present.  And as always, we boldly ask for restoration for the ill, comfort for those who mourn, companionship for the lonely, reconciliation for the estranged, release for those held by the chains of poverty and addiction.  To these we add those closest to our hearts . . . . . . . . . ; as well as all these praises and petitions offered by our church community:

  • Three offer gratitude for safe journeys and family visits
  • Gratitude for successful cornea transplant on Tuesday 
  • One is thankful for reconnection with two former friends
  • Member thankful for healing following three family deaths 
  • Gratitude: Granddaughter uninjured in a dangerous fire
  • Member thankful for the help of his Stephen Minister
  • One celebrates the restoration of a relationship 
  • Prayers appreciated: Three member families recovering from Covid
  • Family blessed by an extended holiday gathering in North Carolina
  • Gratitude for dedicated church musicians and choirs
  • Thanksgiving: Mother is off ventilator & is much improved
  • Solace for family who lost a mother and a father to death in 2 weeks’ time
  • Premature nephew born at 25 weeks, in ICU, for his survival
  • Recovery for a cherished mother-in-law, hospitalized
  • All who are mourning recent deaths of loved ones
  • Healing of a grandson’s depression
  • Pray for peaceful death for a niece’s husband 
  • A peaceful death for a kind Christian husband, courage for family
  • Member with grave vision impairment & neuropathy
  • Courage, guidance for wife, caregiver of husband with Parkinson’s
  • Recovery for daughter (42), brain surgery today at MD Anderson
  • Healing of friend recovering from serious accident
  • Faithful husband dealing with memory loss, his caregiver wife
  • For intervention: Physician nephew who is an alcoholic
  • Mother in South Carolina seriously ill, courage for three anxious adult children
  • God’s presence with adult daughter, grave Covid complications
  • Courage, guidance for young mother deserted by her husband
  • Grace for member valiantly enduring cancer treatments
  • Reconciliation of differences within three families
  • Pray for young couple recovering at home from serious illnesses
  • God’s grace to surround a mother with cancer, for renewed hope
  • Two suffering from depression and Parkinson’s-related illness 
  • A father who entered hospice January 3; for his sons who struggle

God Who Heals, receive our prayers.

Even now, Dear God, uncertain of how the coming months will unfold, we are confident you will continue to speak to us and will walk with us every step of the way. And on our journey into the new year, by your grace, we will endeavor to love you with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, and with all our strength.  All these prayers we offer in the name of our Most Faithful Companion, 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 – December 22, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of December 22, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;

ponder nothing earthly-minded, for with blessing in his hand

Christ our God, to earth descending, comes our homage to demand.

(from Liturgy of St. James)

O God of Wonder, we scurry about, scouring the aisles for gifts that please family and friends, too often overlooking the wondrous basket of blessings you have already set before us.  You have given us life itself, the opportunity to live, learn and share in the marvels of your creation.  You offer us our beloved church community which nourishes us with thoughtfulness and challenges us to become more faithful disciples.  When we draw back, fearing we aren’t good enough, you nudge us to use our talents for your worthy purposes.  When our pride swells, you turn our hearts again to the life of the One Most Humble.  When we grumble about our setbacks, you point us toward the healing way.  We make mistake after mistake, yet you hand us a cup overflowing with grace.  How dare we desire anything more this season, Beloved Benefactor, for you are the essence of all things holy and good!

Silent One, may our souls join with the shepherds who wait patiently in the fields as night closes in.  How deftly does the extraordinary cloak itself in typical garb; and if we do not quiet ourselves, we may miss both the messenger and the message. Perhaps we will be stunned by wonders spanning the sky.  Maybe we will hear angelic voices singing of newborn love.  Or maybe the sign will be only a whisper of assurance that penetrates the heart. In whatever manner it comes, may we be prepared to follow until we discover for ourselves the wonder we know to be true.  It is this Truth in which all our hopes and dreams are met.

As you were delivered on that sacred eve, so you came to deliver us from ourselves and from whatever threatens to separate us from your glory. We recognize the dark parts of our world engulfed in apathy, bitterness, pain, and loss. O Christ, open our souls to receive the good news of your very self, we pray, and bring us into the wonder of your living presence. And knowing the light of your mercy, we lift up those who are in need this night, particularly . . . . . . . . . . ; and we also pray you would touch each of these friends at Church Street who look to you as their Savior:

  • Thankful for husband’s improvement (Parkinson’s diagnosis)
  • Family offers thanks for a marriage blessing on Saturday
  • Family celebrates first family gathering in three years
  • Grateful: A father’s health is improving
  • Thanksgiving for freedom for kidnapped missionaries in Haiti
  • Member thankful for church support during his bereavement
  • Member appreciates friends who are helping her in days of need
  • Thanksgiving: mother in rehab, progressing steadily
  • Gratitude: Uplifting worship and music ministry
  • Praises that a brother’s prostate surgery was successful
  • One celebrates a good grade in a difficult graduate course
  • Pray for friend whose tongue was removed yesterday- cancer
  • Prayers for member recovering in ICU
  • Prayers for mother enduring chemo for lung cancer
  • Healing for daughter, ill with colitis
  • Support for a brother with Parkinson’s
  • Grace for member valiantly enduring cancer treatments
  • Upholding all church families in mourning during the holidays
  • Mother with lung cancer, that chemo may be tolerated
  • Young couple in Nashville hospitalized with serious illnesses
  • God’s grace to surround a mother with cancer, for renewed hope
  • Healing for cherished husband suffering from Parkinson’s and stress
  • Faithful husband struggling with memory loss
  • Member grieving the untimely death of her cousin
  • Longtime friend in Atlanta, ill with Covid and alone on Christmas
  • Grace to uphold dear friend soon to be placed in hospice care
  • Strength for daughter, extreme complications from Covid
  • For doors of employment to open for a talented professional man
  • Beloved husband undergoing chemotherapy
  • Wisdom and strength: Young mother enduring a painful separation
  • Healing two families: Parents estranged from children

You have come anew to every time and every age, Holy One, so we abide in confidence of your arrival to renew your covenant with us.  “Do not fear, only believe,” said the Teacher, reassuring a troubled father.  May those words echo within us this winter of uncertainty, as we plant our trust once again in the Son of the Most High, 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 – December 15, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of December 15, 2021

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Let evening come, O God Who Calls Us to Rest.  Spread your quiet shadows over your tired people who have allowed themselves to be pulled in too many directions this day.  You give us permission to turn off the music of productivity and constant availability. Someone else pulls the strings and we dance; but we, having fallen in love with movement, continue to forge ahead on our own, even when the strings are loosened.  Slow our minds and our steps, we pray, as we wait upon your most gracious eventide. Soothe our bodies and minds, Wise Creator, that we might find the renewal you have planned for us.  We need it, we desire it, we wait for it!

May it be so, Lord, may it be so.

As we reflect upon this day just passed, may we bring to mind those instances which were bursting with rich blessing.  And though, perhaps unrecognized in the moment, we now remember the kindness behind each occurrence, especially  . . . . . . . . . . Ah, how mysteriously, stitch by stitch, you knit your grace into our lives! Our gratitude may come as only a whisper, but we pray you will hear every prayer of adoration, and sew those, too, into your blanket of love.

May it be so, Lord, may it be so.

In one of the bleakest eras, an angel brought greetings of great joy to lonely ones in the field watching their flocks. Your tidings, O Holy One, are as meaningful to us today as they were to the shepherds under that chilly Middle Eastern sky. We also know many who are lost and lonely, those who feel overlooked and forgotten.  We confess that we can casually erase them from our minds, so forgive our arrogance, we pray.  But you have not forgotten them — you know each feeble and frail one by name; they are those who hunger most keenly for your hope. Have mercy, O Lord, and give us that same gnawing hunger. 

May it be so, Lord, may it be so.

Many still seek that infant born of Mary.  Mark the way for those wounded ones everywhere: the starving in Madagascar and Afghanistan; the tornado-ravaged territories of our own country; those who have lost not only their homes and belongings, but their family members and neighbors. We lift prayers for those everywhere who are shaken by tragedy, victims of injustice, and those who are pummeled by the deadly virus.  And again we ask for healing of the deep political divisions within our nation that are unraveling the fabric of community;  we speak of peace, but our actions are not aligned with those of the Prince of Peace.  Come, Lord Jesus, and set our feet back on that solid road to Bethlehem.

May it be so, Lord, may it be so.

To these petitions, we add these personal ones on the hearts of our church family, who bring their hurts, hopes, and praises this week:

  • Prayers appreciated: Family celebrates birth of heathy baby boy
  • Thankful husband now living in safety in rehab
  • Thanksgiving for helpful friends during a family illness
  • Family celebrates happy wedding of granddaughter
  • Thankful UMCOR already at recovery work in disaster areas
  • Member celebrates: Scans reveal no sign of cancer cells
  • Family grateful for a daughter’s wedding on December 18
  • Family offers thanks for safe travel to a family event
  • Pray for mother recovering from lung surgery, began chemotherapy today
  • Continued prayers: Mother hospitalized, recovering from fall & her ill husband recovering from Covid at home
  • Healing for daughter, very ill with painful, infectious colitis
  • Upholding all church families in mourning during the holidays
  • God’s grace to surround a mother suffering with cancer, for renewed hope; and her worried family standing by
  • Beloved friend in Nashville undergoing chemo to salvage transplant and her husband who is hospitalized with an illness
  • Healing for young man suffering from PTSD
  • Faithful husband struggling with memory loss
  • Solace for ill brother, that he might accept a move to a safer environment
  • Dear friend no longer able to tolerate cancer meds
  • Healing of wife’s injuries sustained in a fall
  • Strength for daughter, extreme complications from Covid
  • Relieving anxiety of daughter, estranged from her ill mother
  • For doors of employment to open for a talented professional man
  • Patience & healing for mother following colon surgery
  • Beloved husband undergoing chemotherapy
  • A father longs for reconciliation with his children
  • Wisdom & strength: Young mother enduring a painful separation
  • Mother seeking healing of relationship with her daughters
  • God’s guidance and healing for a mother with cancer diagnosis

You are our Safe Haven, our harbor amid the upheavals of our days, the Keeper of every moment of our lives. Scripture says that weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning; therefore, help us release to your care all those who are weighed down with burdens and all who are closest to our hearts. We commend each one to you, knowing that, in due time, their joy will be made complete through the coming of that Blessed Babe, your Beloved, who draws near each time we offer his most complete 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.

Have a Prayer Request?

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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.

Have a Prayer Request?

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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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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.

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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.

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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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Weekly Prayer – October 6, 2021

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Weekly Prayers for the Church Street Family

Week of October 6, 2021

Written by Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

O Author of All Our Days, our lives seem so scattered in this modern era, and we are quick to attach our lives to strings that others pull.  Go here! they say; Do that! they advise;  Follow me! they urge. And we confess that we frequently allow ourselves to be caught up in efforts that do not enrich our souls. Teach us, we pray, to listen more closely to the calling you so tenderly place in each of our hearts, to attend to your faint voice that whispers your will for us each day.  By your grace, help us live up to our commitment to Christ, and to realign our calendars, that we would find joy in the slackened pace, in your gift of the moment. As the apostle has said, What does it matter if we gain the world, if our hearts are not beating with the love of our Lord?  

In the liturgical year, the Church now finds itself in Ordinary Time, set apart from the high holy days. What better time to consider the mundane, the repetitive tasks of daily living – dusting and laundering, cooking and straightening, scouring and sweeping? In your great wisdom, O God of Harmony, you knew that if we performed these routine, ordinary chores, we might then become better stewards of our lives. For in ordering our households, companionship, creativity, learning and laughter, conversation and enjoyment might then have room to flourish. We remember our Savior who taught that every service performed with love, no matter how humble, will not be forgotten. Give us an openness of spirit, we pray, to once again discover both the joy and the importance of simple things.

God of Healing and Wholeness, we face the brokenness of our bodies, our spirits, and our relationships; and we confess that we do falter in our faith in this time of dread, disease, and dissension. Yes, some of our misfortunes we have brought upon ourselves; forgive our blindness, we pray.  Still other adversities stalk us through no fault of our own, and in our humanness, we search for explanations, when there are no explanations to be found.  As we are made in your image, O Divine One, you understand our pain and our perplexities; so come sit with us and linger awhile as we try to fashion a plan to move forward in faith.  Dispel our doubts, we pray, as we lift up the broken parts of ourselves to your healing. 

And hear also these praises and petitions that are offered by your people at Church Street. We know you as our refuge and strength in time of trouble; yet you have asked us not to give in to fear.  May it be so:

  • Gratitude for prayers: Aortic valve surgery successful
  • Thankfulness for life of a beloved husband
  • One celebrates a clear cancer scan
  • Bereaved member sends gratitude for support of church
  • ALS sufferer thankful for outpouring of financial help
  • Praises that knee surgery went smoothly
  • Member thankful for recent financial gift
  • Family grateful for God’s presence at death of father
  • Gratitude: Paralyzed grandson now able to feed himself
  • Homebound member thankful for supportive friends
  • One grateful for continued improvement following surgery
  • Pray for a family member in deep depression
  • A daughter who needs healing in her life
  • Relief & healing for very ill member hospitalized
  • Comfort for member whose brother died on Tuesday
  • College student and family grieving death of grandfather
  • Couple ask for prayers, tensions related to young son
  • Continued watchcare for young mothers-to-be
  • Healing for young family affected by addiction
  • Recovery for cousin on ventilator 
  • Courage and calm for one newly diagnosed with cancer
  • Cherished daughter in rehab, for recovery from Covid
  • Pray for ongoing progress of paralyzed grandson 
  • Healing for member, torn tendons in foot and ankle
  • Peace for best friend, aggressive cancer diagnosis

We thank you, O Redeemer, for the gift of your unfathomable love.  Grant that your loving power would sustain us as we work to re-order our lives in the days to come.  May we eschew the strong tugs of the world that lead to emptiness; but may embrace only those purposes which bring honor to you and to your Son, 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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