Evening Prayer – March 22

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 22, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Song of the Late Hours, you bid us set aside the tools of our trade and enter the holy space at dusk.  As the sun heads for its bedroom, we turn our ears to your melody that plays in the distance, for it promises to open the door of truth. . . . . . . . . . .

Ever Present One, often during the daytime we can keep our pain at bay. After all, we are well-practiced in movement and busy-ness, and there are myriads of projects that can hold our attention. At day’s end, however, we come home to ourselves, the real ”us” that we generally hold at bay. Meet us here, Lord, for some of us are facing grave challenges.  Some of us are losing hope, some of us feel like giving up. Meet us here in our alone-ness, showing us in some way that your hand is upon our shoulders, instilling us with a strength that is beyond ourselves . . . . . . . . . .  And in that strength, may we remember that even birds with broken wings can learn to fly again.

Lord, you have forgiven far more than we will ever acknowledge, and you have wiped clean that slate of our misdeeds of old. And though we have earnestly tried to keep to your paved covenant road of Lent, we again confess that we have frequently found ourselves detained in the potholes of our own making.  Bend close, that we might even now reveal our most recent blunders . . . . . . . . . . We see you just ahead, Jesus, gesturing for us to pull ourselves out of the ruts, to dust off the clinging debris, and to re-join our fellow travelers who keep to more level ground. Steady our steps, we pray, for we do not wish to disappoint you when you meet your own hour of need.

So immense is your flow of grace that our thanksgivings can never enumerate the favors you send our way; but we extend our honor to you, O Breath of Benevolence, for the ways you have lifted our spirits in recent days . . . . . . . . . . . And receive also the praises from members of our own church family, as well as our pleas for holy assistance:

  • Gratitude: Teenage grandchild home from hospital
  • Prayers appreciated: Healthy grandchild born Saturday
  • Thankful: Mother in Texas released from hospital
  • Four send thanks for church’s help in acquiring virus vaccinations
  • Member grateful for generous financial gift
  • Clarity of vision for one in deliberation
  • Wife celebrates visitation with ill husband in rehab
  • Comfort for hospitalized member
  • Family surrounding mother in hospice care
  • Family mourning death of cherished mother
  • Husband with MS, relief for breathing issues
  • Correct diagnosis and treatment for one with lymphoma
  • Proper diagnosis of a 6-year-old’s seizures
  • Progress of elderly mother recovering in rehab
  • Comfort for one recovering from knee malady
  • Member healing from heart surgery
  • Prayers for those grappling with addiction
  • Healing grace for three in cancer treatment

Settle us down for the night as we leave all our insecurities in your capable hands, Gentle Savior, for we know that even in the precariousness of our world, your love and wisdom are sufficient. Soothe us now, and all whom we love, with your penetrating peace; and may we slumber in the divine assurance of Christ who said: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”:

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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Evening Prayer – March 18

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 18, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

We gaze upward, O God, as did all the ancient ones, pondering your movement and mystery. The heavens have preached a silent sermon of benevolence all day and the night winds are whispering grace. There is glory in the intricate weaving of the undulating clouds and power in the galaxies beyond our imagination. No words can capture your essence, Mighty Creator; we can only stare in astonishment and kneel in awe.

Accept our praise this evening, Mysterious One, for all the ways in which you have blessed us in these hours just passed:  . . . . . . . . . .  We must confess we have put ourselves first again, so we come seeking pardon for the ways we have erred and fallen short of our best intentions: . . . . . . . . . . Even after all this time, Blessed Redeemer, we still have trouble identifying our own stumbling blocks.  In your mercy, remove all those inner barriers that hold us back from becoming the disciples you desire for your kingdom. And though we may have blithely passed them by today, we pray tomorrow will bring us other chances to become Jesus for those disillusioned ones you send our way.

Beloved Parent, we wonder how you attend to so many children calling your name. Maybe it’s not for us to know, but whenever we cry out, we feel you recognize our individual voices. Accept the gratitude from your children at Church Street who have been touched by your readiness to draw close. Soothe the brows of the hurting ones this night with your hand of healing, we pray, and bend low as we again share the secret longings of our own hearts:

  • Gratitude: 7th grandson expected next week
  • Five express thanks for church’s help in securing vaccine
  • Prayers appreciated: One’s depression is easing
  • Thanksgiving for a grandson’s visit
  • Celebration of two recently ordained clergy
  • Thankful for final chemo treatment yesterday
  • Family grateful infant’s heart in normal function
  • Comfort for hospitalized member
  • Prayers for safe birth of grandchild
  • Husband with MS, relief for breathing issues
  • Comfort an peace for member awaiting treatment plan
  • Proper diagnosis of a 6-year-old’s seizures
  • Rest and recovery for two following oral surgery
  • Member healing from heart surgery
  • Adult son in need of rehab for addiction
  • Comfort for beloved mother in hospice care
  • Reduced side effects for three having chemo this week

In returning and rest, Lord, may we know the security of our salvation. Hold us this night, and all whom we love, in your peaceful womb of grace, where we hear only the reassuring heartbeat of your Loving 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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Evening Prayer – March 17

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 17, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Daylight lengthens and trails of today’s clouds have not yet yielded to dusk.  Their filmy luster forms a fine pillow for the crusty mountain tops. Settle us down, too, Lord, as we set aside our daily tasks; and let us keep company with the soothing silence and your love that never fades. There were times this day when our energy waned, when we doubted ourselves, and when our fears almost got the best of us, especially when . . . . . . . . . . And then somehow, not of our own volition, our fears melted and situations turned in our favor.  Again, it was your intervening grace that moved before us, gently unraveling all the testy obstacles that bound us.  We now bow in reverent silence, offering our praise. . . . . . . . .

Steadfast Friend, you called us to be your disciples and we pledged to follow wherever you chose to lead us.  In our joyful acceptance, we thought we could easily leave our doubts and insecurities, our prejudices and pride, our bitterness and grudges behind us. Little did we know they would be cropping up to mock us at every corner. Self-denial and humility, it appears, have joined forces to become a lifetime struggle. You assure us that you are in the struggle with us, Lord, and that you are pleased with the small progress we have made in learning to live as Jesus.  Maybe, when our steps are completely unreliable, you won’t even mind carrying us the rest of the way to the kingdom.

We do rejoice that your patience never grows thin and that we might ever express our daily cares to you, no matter how massive or inconsequential they may seem. You, O Merciful One, are always ready to receive our petitions and handle them with reverence; so we lay our gratitude at your feet and also our personal pleas, that you might mold them to bring glory to your name:

  • Gratitude: Willing volunteers to assist in worship
  • Prayers appreciated: Youngster with head injury has returned to school
  • Thanksgiving: Sister in rehab is progressing
  • Two at-risk persons grateful for church’s help in procuring vaccine
  • Couple celebrate the birth of baby girl yesterday
  • Grateful for prayers: A new home will soon be possible
  • Member celebrates the end of long-term chemo
  • Comfort for an uncle in very diminished health
  • Prayers for safe birth of grandchild
  • Husband with MS, relief for breathing issues
  • Solace for family in husband’s untimely death
  • Grace for friend awaiting treatment plan
  • Proper diagnosis of a 6-year-old’s seizures
  • Guidance and support for friend divorcing
  • Rest and recovery for one following throat surgery
  • One recovering from tongue malignancy
  • Member healing from heart surgery
  • Three having chemo this week, for reduced side effects

We lie down as privileged people, Silent Keeper, for you have forgiven us and have received our earnest prayers. Blanket us, we pray, and all whom we love, with your stole of reconciliation, that even our dreams are in accord with your own.

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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Evening Prayer – March 16

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 16, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Cloud of Promise, thank you for the promise of evening showers that soften the parched earth, moistening roots and dry seeds with your life-giving water. We confess that there are times when our souls are as dry as the hard-packed soil in last year’s garden and times when we find our dreams have turned to dust. We long to be as vibrant as we once were, but life has a way of beating us down, narrowing our options. As you formed streams in the desert for the people of old, meet us here in the shriveled valleys of our lives.  Sweep up the grit of our disappointments and dashed hopes; and whatever shows possibility, sprinkle with your water of renewal, that it might thrive again.

Forgive us when we seek the easier way, when we ask for lighter loads, for we know Jesus himself walked the road of great despair. For those situations which cannot be altered, O Empowering One, help us to bear them with grace and patience, as did he, knowing pain is part of life’s journey. For certain, we are an anxious people, desiring quick fixes and instant results; so help us find value in our waiting. And in time, perhaps even when we are looking the other way, we will find ourselves immersed in your ocean of mercy.

Meanwhile, we recognize the ways you are already upholding your people, and especially offer our prayers of thanksgiving for the personal ways you touched this day with your goodness: . . . . . . . . . . And these prayers from our church family we also lift up to your keeping:

  • Gratitude: Heart patient continues to improve
  • Thanksgiving for visit with beloved friend
  • Hospice patient thankful for vaccine
  • One thankful to be home following lengthy hospital stay
  • Gratitude: Husband bearing cancer treatment well
  • Prayers for safe birth of grandchild
  • Upholding families whose children fell victim to gun violence
  • Prayers for a husband’s MS symptoms to meet with relief
  • Comfort for all who mourn this day
  • Grace for one awaiting treatment plan
  • Comfort and proper diagnosis of a 6-year-old’s seizures
  • Healing: Young sister with ongoing cancer concerns
  • Two recovering from broken relationships
  • Guidance and support for friend divorcing
  • Rest and recovery for one following throat surgery
  • Easing pain for one recovering from tongue malignancy
  • Continued prayers for one healing from heart surgery
  • Young adult having his fourth round of chemo this week

We leave these prayers of our hearts with you, O Lord of the Night, certain that you count them as sacred offerings. And knowing that you will be tending each with compassion, we will sleep in peace and gratitude. Watch over us, and all who are closest to our hearts, we pray, that we may be as refreshed as the psalmist whom you led to still waters:

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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Evening Prayer – March 11

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 11, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

Evening Host, settle us down as the night air drifts in and the warm moon high above is captured in a blue mist. Night’s reverie is ours once again, and we turn our thoughts to our blessings of this day just past . . . . . . . . . . Your presence seemed to float before us, opening doors and windows when we were hemmed in by challenges. Forgive us when we fail to remember that even the breaths we take come as your gift to us. Truly, if we were to list all your favors in the journals of our hearts, the pages and margins could not contain such manifold entries.

O Gatherer of the Beloved Community, you have been faithful in tending us through this past year of travail; and now, in just a few days, we will once again be able to worship with our brothers and sisters in our own church building!  Having experienced all our seclusion and loneliness, our fears and losses, our anxieties and bereavements, we shall not return to your sanctuary as the same people we were before. We have been deeply humbled by this stealthy virus, but also by the ways you have brought about renewal. Let us sing praises to our God of Goodness whose silent work can never be squelched by illness, suffering, travesty, or even death!

Words fail us, as ever, but we offer gratitude that we are part of that great pilgrimage traveling to your heavenly home. The road is often steep and the crossroads confusing, yet you lend encouragement when we think of turning back. In your mercy, receive these specific prayers offered by your Church Street sojourners, and all our unspoken ones we carry with us:

  • Couple celebrates new baby arriving in July
  • Gratitude: Heart catheterization revealed no blockages
  • Cancer survivor is encouraged by church’s prayers
  • Members thankful for church’s educational offerings
  • Gratitude: Hospitalized sister is much improved
  • Healing: Young sister with ongoing cancer concerns
  • Comfort for family: Cherished mother in hospice care
  • Healing for colleague following risky surgery
  • Prayers that heart catheterization Friday goes well
  • Patience for one awaiting medical treatment
  • Prayers that new meds improve breathing issues
  • Safe delivery of first grandchild
  • Patience and healing for one recovering from surgery
  • Healing for grandson with lymphoma
  • Elderly mother in hospice care at home
  • Prayers for adult son to conquer his addiction
  • Recovery for youngster with head injury
  • Diagnosis for 6-year-old niece having seizures

Grant us, O Lord, and all whom we cherish, a peaceful rest under the panoply of stars. And as we sleep, silently engrave the name of Jesus upon our hearts, that all our thoughts and deeds may become extensions of the love of your Son, who taught us to pray with these 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.

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Evening Prayer – March 10

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 9, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

God of our Hearts, we awoke to your glory in the morning light, thankful for the promise of another day, teeming with opportunities to honor you.  And in some ways, we were faithful to our Christian calling in our encounters; but now in reflection at day’s end, we admit our blunders, especially . . . . . . . . . Even in these embarrassing instances, our hearts may have been in the right frame, but our egos caused us to lose control.  Forgive us, we pray, for listening too closely to that strident voice of arrogance that has made its home inside our heads.  Erase our indiscretions from your memory, Lord, as you always do.  And when tomorrow comes, may our hearts, swept clean by your Spirit, rule the day.

Maybe our arrogance is a cover-up for our feelings of insignificance.  Compared to notables around us, whose wisdom and works influence major policy shifts and restore hope and health around the globe, our own efforts sometimes seem so paltry.  The world is assuredly not beating on our doors seeking advice.  Instead, we labor as everyday folks – the grocer, the teacher, the loan officer, the trash collector, the homemaker, the salesclerk, the retiree. Center our minds, we pray, not on our station or influence in life, but on the One who took ordinary wine and bread.  And lifting them up with his blessing, these gifts were rendered transformative and sufficient to sustain the soul of every believer.  So let us be about the tasks we have set for ourselves: taking a meal to a neighbor, making a phone call when illness strikes, quilting a baby blanket, volunteering at the food bank, visiting the homebound, waiting with the dying.  We serve the God who takes ordinary gifts and counts them as sacred offerings for the kingdom.

Indeed, another sacred offering is the privilege of praying for one another, whether in joy or sorrow; therefore, we share with you, Caring One, these situations which hold prominent places in the hearts of your Church Street family:

  • Prayers appreciated: Tests show a tumor is shrinking
  • Grateful for prayers: A biopsy shows no sign of cancer
  • Thankful that a missing friend has been located and is safe
  • Member thankful for bereavement support
  • Two with heart ailments are on the road to healing
  • Gratitude for support of Stephen Ministers
  • Young wife is thankful her cancer is in early stage
  • Prayers for two undergoing heart procedures on Friday
  • Professional seeks a good job opening
  • Cherished mother in hospice care at home
  • Safe delivery of a grandchild next week
  • All who are in mourning
  • Healing for grandson with lymphoma
  • Family grieving death of mother/grandmother
  • Elderly mother entering hospice care
  • Beloved sister weakened by disease, hospitalized
  • Guidance and courage for family of addictive son
  • Ill member awaiting treatment plan
  • Recovery for youngster with head injury
  • Diagnosis for 6-year-old niece having seizures
  • Comfort for husband: MS and breathing issues

We leave our prayers with you, Tender Friend, knowing you want the best for us. Tuck us in with your hands of love, and we will take our rest under your quilt of grace. Whatever the new morn brings, we will face it with you, always remembering to pray as we were taught even as children:

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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Evening Prayer – March 9

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 9, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

For no one For no one can lay any foundation

other than what has been laid down.

That foundation is Jesus Christ.

(I Corinthians 3:11)

God of Wonder, we look upward in the ebbing day to perhaps glimpse the shadow of your face, and you do not fail us!  You are there – high above in the cool wind that playfully shifts the evening clouds, peeping out behind the violet mist just below the mountaintop, in the glowing steadiness of Orion and the North Star. Ever-Changing, but always the same, Constant Being, your majesty is revealed to us only in brief moments of our day, but these fleeting fragments are enough to steep our souls in wonder.

Yet even in our wonder, when we turn our eyes to the state of our world and the crushing burdens many must carry, we confess our belief sometimes withers. Those old doubts begin to gnaw at the weak places in the foundation of our faith. Fill in those gaps, we pray, with the tenets that upheld the saints and martyrs of long ago, who suffered even unto death. Tightly cement the fissures with the unwavering trust we had as children. Make our foundation strong and sturdy again, Sustaining One, that it would withstand any adversity the world throws at us, and would bear the weight of all the burdens we are privileged to carry on behalf of the weak and overwhelmed.

As we endeavor to draw closer to you this Lenten Season, you meet us half-way, ever holding out to us the promise of renewal. You know our emptiness, our loneliness, and the personal detours that block our passage, so steady us once again, we pray, to confront our private concerns . . . . . . . . . . ; and we also seek guidance for your Church Street family, who have earnestly asked to be remembered:

  • Gratitude: Family whose newborn died feel supported by our prayers
  • Lonely member offers thanks for a new friendship
  • Family celebrates baby boy born last night
  • Couple offer thanksgiving for new home
  • Family grateful for a new grandson in Ohio
  • Celebration of in-person worship on Sunday
  • Gratitude for prayers: Biopsies were negative
  • One thankful for successful surgery on Monday
  • Upholding young wife with Stage 2 breast cancer
  • Cherished mother in hospice care at home
  • Upholding family grieving death of mother/grandmother
  • Prayers for elderly mother hospitalized and her daughters
  • Healing for two recovering from risky surgery
  • Beloved sister weakened by disease, hospitalized
  • Guidance and courage for family of addictive son
  • Stamina for husband continuing cancer treatments
  • Courage for 5 year old with head injury and family as they care for him
  • Diagnosis for 6-year-old niece having seizures
  • Comfort for husband: MS and breathing issues
  • Two mourning the end of important relationships
  • Member awaiting PET scan and treatment plan

Elusive One, we take our rest this night, still wrapped in the wonder of life itself and of the love that will never let us go. May your mercy lie with us, and all whom we cherish, that even in our dreams we will not wander beyond your reach.

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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Evening Prayer – March 8

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 8, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

We lift our evening song to you, Creator of the Day and the Night. The voice of spring is thick in the air and you are busy planting seeds of hope and joy. You are providing all the elements that could bring reality all that you envision for us.  Give us the prudence to treasure these lengthening days you are bringing, to use them to ponder our relationship with you, to travel that extra mile to meet you afresh as Easter approaches. On that blessed day may we be found worthy to dance in the light of your grace.

It remains a holy mystery that your Son chose to share our lives, opting to reside among us in the everydayness of our existence, to suffer rejection and brokenness that we might become whole. Such outpouring we may never fully understand, yet we remember Jesus’ humility and service, and long to be counted among those who carry his legacy of selfless love. So much of the time we fail in our commitment, but we hold onto the certainty that you have planted seeds of compassion deep within us; and you use even our the tiniest of sprouts to help heal our hurting world.

Aware of your mercy and in awe of your grace, we kneel in gratitude for all the ways you continue to bless us, Gracious One, especially in these particular ways . . . . . . . . . . and also offer these prayers from the hearts of your people of Church Street:

  • Thankful for prayers: Chemo treatments going well
  • Thanksgiving: Colleague’s whipple surgery was successful
  • Grateful for prayers: Sister-in-law’s cancer prognosis is promising
  • Gratitude: Young mother home from the hospital
  • Prayers appreciated: Delicate cancer surgery was successful
  • Six offer thanks for church’s help in securing vaccine
  • Comfort for family who lost a loved one to COVID last week
  • Continued prayers for two recovering from risky surgery
  • Beloved mother with declining mental capacity
  • Easing anxiety of new mother-to-be
  • Stamina for husband continuing cancer treatments
  • Courage for 5 year old with head injury and family as they care for him
  • Prayers for two friends awaiting biopsy reports
  • Healing for 6-year-old niece having seizures
  • Comfort and healing for husband with breathing problems
  • Sister struggling with memory problems
  • Two mourning the end of important relationships
  • Member awaiting PET scan and news of treatment
  • Cherished mother in hospice care

Make a place for us, and all whom we love, this night in your haven of rest, where you cradle all who are worn and weary. We leave our cares in your hands, Tender Keeper, assured that your touch will bring wholeness in time to come.

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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Evening Prayer – March 4

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 4, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

What gift can we bring: What present or token?

What words can convey it- the joy of this day?

When grateful we come, remembering rejoicing,

What song can we offer in in honor and praise?

(Hymn by Jane Marshall)

In these hours past you spoke not a word, but the day was saturated with your sacred presence. Holy silence sang through tiny buds on nubby branches and happy tufts of green grass, washed clean by recent showers, sunned themselves on the lawn.  Both the delicate blossoms of Lenten roses and the stems of the old yew fluttered when you passed by.  Even now crystal stars are clustering above, a sparkling choir to sing your serenade of rest.  In this ordinary day, you have come to us in extraordinary ways.  Indeed, what song can we offer in honor in praise?

We remain humbled by the endless ways you express your love for us and offer our gratitude for these personal ways you have appeared to us this day . . . . . . . . . . Yet despite your presence and guidance, we feel the sting of the instances when we let you down . . . . . . . . . Sprinkle us with fresh water from your stream of forgiveness, we pray, and remind us that tomorrow is another day, teeming with opportunities to honorably serve the Author of all our Days.

And now, Caring One, we place in your compassionate care these ones whom you love, as they render to you their own thanksgivings and their personal struggles.

Give each a sense of your grace and presence as they face their individual challenges:

  • Gratitude: Two visits with homebound friends
  • Prayers appreciated: A job has opened up
  • Three grateful for church help in securing vaccine
  • Thanksgiving for last week’s successful surgery
  • Young mother released from hospital
  • Prayers for member having delicate surgery Friday and wisdom for his surgeons
  • Healing friend with Covid, on ventilator
  • Easing anxiety of new mother-to-be
  • Colleague recovering from difficult surgery
  • Upholding one with lymphoma
  • Prayers for friend awaiting biopsy report
  • Member with stomach ailment, awaiting pathology report
  • Recovery for friend in ICU with multiple injuries
  • Friend with pancreatic cancer and his caregiver wife
  • Sister struggling with memory problems
  • One grieving the end of a relationship
  • Comfort for one enduring radiation treatment
  • Mother with increasing memory deterioration

Give thanks for tomorrow full of surprises,

For knowing whatever tomorrow may bring,

The Word is our promise always forever.

We rest in God’s keeping and live in God’s love. 

Guardian of our Sleep, grant us a peaceful night, and look with kindness upon all whom we love, for we place our trust in you, Our Keeper, and your Blessed Son who invited 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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Evening Prayer – March 3

BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

March 3, 2021

Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away

through my groaning all day long. . . .   

My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;

and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

(Psalm 32:3-5)

Loving Parent, the poet spoke of the need to see ourselves as others see us. But more than that, we long to know how you, Holy One, see us.  As we reflect in evening shadows, we admit we sometimes think too highly of ourselves and act accordingly – lording it over others, pretending we have the solution to every situation. On the other hand, at times we feel we are inept, inadequate, completely unaware of any personal gifts worthy of notice. Surely in your eyes neither of these states is accurate.  Forgive us for both our grandiosity and our wallowing in self-pity. Grant us, Lord, a glimpse of your own perception of us, that we might acknowledge our sin and open ourselves more widely to the Spirit’s working in us and through us.

Enduring Truth, whatever is true in us causes us to see a world that is so in need of healing.  Your love is omniscient, but there are places where your love is invisible.  We know that whole populations are being killed, scattered and enslaved, while few take notice.  Greed has seeped into our relationships with other nations and we step on the backs of the poor to satisfy our personal desires.  Thank you for those who have taken on the brave beauty of your holy work, who tear down the wall between the haves and the have-nots, who labor for those who dream of life outside the ghettos.  May we ever see with the eyes of truth, and pray you would give courage to our convictions, that we might also use our individual gifts to join those who travel your road of justice.  Our steps may be small and sometimes wobbly, but you will show us how to run and not be weary, how to walk and not faint.

By you great mercy, bind our hearts, Lord, with all those who are hurting everywhere.  Freedom is meant to be shared, so let us spend the time you give us to break the bonds that shackle troubled souls. Receive these prayers of thanksgiving for the personal ways you have upheld us . . . . . . . . . . and accept these praises and pleas that are offered by the people of Church Street:

  • Gratitude for prayers: Back pain is easing
  • Thanks for encouraging news regarding financial help
  • Prayers appreciated: Ill member now eligible for vaccine
  • 2 couples thankful for church help obtaining vaccine
  • Thankful: severe headaches have improved
  • Thanksgiving for educators at every level who labor despite the challenges
  • One gives thanks for clear cancer scan
  • Thankful for the Christian witness of longtime cancer sufferer
  • Pray for dear friend in ICU, multiple injuries from car crash
  • Upholding an exhausted caregiver
  • Prayers for one having Whipple surgery Thursday and his surgeons
  • Member having delicate cancer surgery on Friday
  • Easing anxiety of new mother-to-be
  • New mother with high blood pressure
  • Upholding one with lymphoma
  • Friend with pancreatic cancer and his caregiver wife
  • Colleague on ventilator with Covid
  • Mother struggling with family finances
  • One grieving the end of a relationship
  • Comfort for one enduring radiation treatment

We make a pallet beside your own bed this night, Lord, knowing that your deep peace will carry us safely upon the sea of merciful sleep. We will arise with joyful hearts, ready to meet you on the other side of daybreak to continue our service in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:

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

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