BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Prayers for the Church Street Family

August 18, 2020

Rev. Jan Buxton Wade

Most of the time you seem so silent, Unknowable One. We sit beneath faint clouds in the sky and speak to you. Our prayers seem to echo out into the valley of nowhere. “Where are you?” we ask. “Are you hearing us?” we want to know. Then we restrain ourselves and empty our prayers of words, speaking only the language of the heart. And while we’re still scouring the horizon ahead for a sign, the wind rouses high in the trees behind us, leaving a chill up the spine. It is your cool reassurance: “I am here,” you say. Why should we be startled? Your joy finds us even when we are occupied elsewhere, even when our trust is wafer thin.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Trusted Deliverer, you know us as a splintered society existing on the edge. We feel that we’re traveling the fringe of a precipice, along a tight, disturbing path. Given our own inner brokenness, our rancor and resentments, we teeter unsteadily, fearing the plunge to dangerous depths below. We have no idea when your rescue teams will arrive, but where there is violence, send your peace; where there is instability, send your calm presence; where there is exhaustion, send your restoration; where there is hatred, send your abundant love; where there is mourning, send your comfort; where there is suspicion, send your wisdom. You have been faithful from generation to generation, always touching us with your astonishing grace. Yes, it’s a fright-filled journey, but you are teaching us that every road is walkable when you travel with us.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Much as stones piled high, we name those sins and missteps that have created a wall between us and our brothers and sisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We thank you that you are tearing down these barriers, that we might be free to grow more fully in Jesus’ likeness. And receive also our gratitude for the personal ways you have enriched our lives in recent times . . . . . . . . . . .

Your mercies astound us, O Divine One, and we sense your permeating spirit at work in the lives of our people of Church Street:

• Thankful that a mother’s hip surgery Friday was successful
• Grateful for news of another grandchild on the way
• Gratitude: member recovering well from painful eye procedure
• Thanksgiving for the birth of a beautiful grandson in Cincinnati
• Thankful that a broken family is slowly beginning to heal
• Celebrating a sister-in-law’s full recovery from Covid-19
• Prayers & protection for one undergoing shoulder procedure today
• Sister in rehab facility with broken leg & ill husband who is lonely
• Prayers & blessings: member at Vanderbilt today for therapy consult
• Healing of daughter-in-law who is depressed, guidance for husband
• Safety for member in Nashville today, for guidance on cancer meds
• Prayers for a very ill father in Johnson City & his family who give care
• Protection for mother & family who presently live in fear
• Healing of granddaughter in Alabama with virus
• Family coping with death of beloved husband to the virus
• Comfort for family of son who died suddenly in New Zealand
• Continued healing of cousin recovering in burn clinic
• Healing for nephew with testicular cancer, for proper treatment

We confess that we love imperfectly, Lord, and our gestures of faith are sometimes half-hearted. But thankfully, your work within us is not yet finished; and we pray you would refine us to become shining agents of your kingdom. Begin your inner work afresh today, for we make this request, and indeed all our prayers, 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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BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 13, 2020

Pastor Jan

O Quiet Friend, we often feel that we fail at prayer, for our words are never adequate, our phrasing clumsy, and our descriptors fall short of what we want to say. Still, you meet us where we are, and it seems you carve out ample time to spend with us, simply listening as the non-judging presence you are. You are that treasure hidden away in the field. Blessed was the day we discovered you!

Lord of Grace, hear our prayer.

O God of Many Dialects and Customs, you are aware of the divisions that separate us from other followers. Could it be that we hold merely one corner of your truth fabric through which we know your grace? Perchance each faith tradition grasps a different remnant that leads to you. If all these diverse pieces were collected, you would arrange them into a beautiful pattern, then sew them together with the sinews of your mercy. Ah, we can just imagine your fashioning this single holy coverlet, stretching far and wide.  Once gathered beneath it, the seams of your love would hold all peoples together, and all our differences would melt away. Could you begin this work today, Lord, or are you waiting for us to make the first stitch?

Lord of Grace, hear our prayer.

We freely offer our gratitude, for you ever surprise us with that second chance, that assurance that all is not lost. And, as always, Lord, we lift up those within our own church family who are in sorrow, pain, sickness, or other adversity. On this day, may each feel your light of reassurance. Steel us all with courage, we pray, to carry our burdens and to share the loads of our friends who falter.

• Thankful for prayers: stepfather out of ICU & now at home with family
• Appreciation for prayers: a mediation is over & many issues resolved
• Gratitude: nephew’s cancer is stage 1 – treatable with chemo
• Cancer survivor grateful that she is well enough to gather with family
• Green Magnet School sends gratitude for church women making masks for the children & educators
• Healing for granddaughter in Alabama university – has Covid-19
• Isolated father in hospice care, comfort for his anxious daughter
• Prayers that a breast biopsy on Friday will be benign
• Recovery: Cousin (18) at Vanderbilt with 3^rd degree burns
• Healing prayers for member suffering debilitating effects of diabetes
• Strength & guidance for husband as he cares for his ill wife at home
• Healing prayers for young wife recovering from major surgery
• Family & friends grieving firefighter co-worker who died Monday of the virus
• Protection of health teams assisting in TX hospitals hard-hit by virus
• A daughter in NY with virus; a son & daughter-in-law also positive
• Son having hand surgery today to remove a poisonous fish barb
• Rest, recovery & patience for young husband with back injury
• Healing of a friend with diabetes, asthma & virus
• Grieving friends & family – wife died Tuesday of cancer
• Comfort & healing – father extremely ill, for family standing by

Lord of Grace, hear our prayer.

Although we are not worthy, you have made us members of your own family. And as such, we offer all our petitions and prayers in the name of our Friend and Brother Jesus, who taught us to pray:

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

Have a prayer request?

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BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 11, 2020

Pastor Jan

Loving One, when we behold this day that you have made, there are simply no words that capture what you entrust to us in the sheer bliss of morning. Especially in the wee hours, your holiness hovers closely above your good earth. But as the hours turn, our messiness soon will stir things up again. The traffic will boom, computers will whir, cellphones wlll ring, and televisions will blare. Amid all that shuffling about, help us remember this gift of a few soundless and sacred moments, offered to us without price. May we tuck this memory into the secret pocket of our souls, and keep it safe until we learn all it has to teach.

God of Grace and God of Glory, hear our prayer.

O Conveyor of Hope, we confess that we find ourselves staggering today under the weight of the worldwide pandemic. This strain that we acknowledge has the faces of friends, family, and acquaintances whom we hold in our prayers: those who are confined in close quarters in apartments; the weakened elderly existing in cubicles in nursing facilities, especially those who are confused when only masked ones answer their calls; the homeless whose emotional needs render them more vulnerable to the disease; those whose mourning continues, having buried their loved ones without a proper memorial; those who grieve dissolution of relationships caused by financial hardship; those who remain faithful to their call to healing, even jeopardizing their own health; and those who persevere in their search for an effective preventive for this mystifying plague. Yes, the burden is massive, but remind us, Good Lord, that you bear the pain of the world, and that we are not alone. You meet us in this darkness, sending angels to strengthen us in our time of trial. “The end will come,” they whisper, “so do not fear.”

God of Grace and God of Glory, hear our prayer.

O Guiding Hand, in scores of ways you present yourself to us, though sometimes we must take a backward glance to see how far we’ve come, by your grace. Your constant care means everything to us, and we acknowledge our total dependence upon you. Thank you for the privilege of lifting our gratitude and of turning over our cares to your keeping:

• A sister’s stress test met with good results – offering gratitude
• Thanksgiving: for a member’s new job with an increase in salary
• Prayers appreciated: oncologist meeting brought great hope Monday
• Grateful for prayers: young mother’s surgery was successful Monday
• Member praises God for bringing her a new vision during isolation
• Prayers for recovery: Cousin (18) at Vanderbilt with 3^rd degree burns
• Guidance for parents, children & educators as school terms begin
• Prayers for son-in-law to reduce his work as he recovers from surgery
• Relief for two members who deal with constant back pain
• Healing for a stepfather in ICU; a fragile sister & brother-in-law
• Courage & tolerance for member taking new cancer treatment
• Son having hand surgery to remove an infected, poisonous barb
• Dear friend with cancer, caring for husband with dementia & cancer
• Healing of a friend with diabetes, asthma & virus
• Recovery for a family of 3 ill with virus
• Continued healing for beloved friend recovering from cancer
• Prayers for member involved in a divorce & for 2 broken families

We praise for your readiness to receive our every prayer. And we praise you for sending those saints among us who are living out your call to love without reserve, buoying our spirits with their witness. Show us also how to take our narrow patterns of living outside our normal path, that others might see your likeness in us. We trust the road ahead to you, for your spirit is our peace and your love is our path.

God of Grace and Glory, hear our prayer.

We bow this day, O Lord, as children of the resurrection, proclaiming with all your people around the world who sing your unending hymn: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.

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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BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 6, 2020

Pastor Jan

Elusive Creator, our origins are in you, and we have long yearned to glimpse your face. Is your skin a lustrous ebony, pink as a mimosa blossom, or of a yellow tint? Are your eyes multi-colored, black as coal, or green as newly mown grass? Even the great masters tried to capture your essence, though their renderings were generally as lifeless and uninspiring as our own musings. We know you are beyond description and your ways inscrutable, for the psalmist long ago declared you to be unsearchable. Still, you did create us with this curiosity. And it just may be that curiosity leads to hope, hope leads to truth, truth leads to trust, and trust leads to faith.  Good Lord, faith is what we need!

God of a Thousand Faces, because you are beyond us, we will never be able to know you completely – your radiance is more than we could bear. Rather, you choose to come as a gift, as an unexpected visitor who goes by another name: the grocer who answers a complaint with understanding; the brave nurse who takes our virus sample; the pharmacist who exhibits patience, though weariness is in her eyes; the child who blows a kiss through the window, leaving his fingerprints on the glass. Help us to be ready to receive you, Lord, opening our eyes to behold you in unknown faces. May we become as the Benedictines, who, in observing the stranger, always ask: “Is that you, Jesus? Please tarry awhile!”

Thank you for opening our hearts to the ways in which you are healing us and drawing us closer together as a family of faith. Our celebrations and our worries we freely share with you, Our Constant Hope, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ, for your grace permeates all situations:

• Gratitude: member physician is excited to open a new practice (St. Louis)
• Isolated member sends gratitude for all notes & calls from other members
• Family celebrates a son-in-law’s important promotion at work
• Thanksgiving: a father is recovering from pneumonia, now out of ICU
• Dental worker grateful: she & coworkers have remained healthy throughout the past 3 months
• Prayers appreciated: no blockages detected in a heart cath procedure
• Mother thankful that paramedic daughter working in TX remains healthy
• Pray for guidance & peace for one facing cancer surgery
• Comfort for co-worker who has lost 3 family members to virus
• Courage & tolerance for member taking new cancer treatment
• Healing for dear friend with diabetes, asthma & Covid-19
• Recovery for a family of 3, all suffering with virus infection
• Calm, healing for cherished wife & mother having surgery Monday
• Healing for 92-yr-old friend with virus, that illness is not transmitted
• Sister who suffered broken leg & her husband who has lung cancer, both have diabetes
• Young mother with Covid-19, protection for her husband and son
• Dear friend fighting cancer & family awaiting virus test results
• Prayers that legal mediation goes well on Monday
• Healing – Friend in TX with virus, safety for his caregiver sister

Yes, you are veiled in mystery, O God, but we cling to our memories of Jesus, the Eternal Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us. We remember how he understood our everyday questions and problems, how he identified with the meek and shabby, and how he himself elevated the common, routine life to something sacred. Such memories are really all we need to hold us steady, so accept, we pray, all our prayers this day in the name of Christ:

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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BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE

Daily Prayers of the Church Street family

August 4, 2020

Pastor Jan

O Jesus, I have promised to serve thee to the end;
Be thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend.
I shall not fear the battle if thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway, if thou wilt be my guide.

We gather this day, praying with all our church family, most of whom have sung this hymn throughout their lives. And still these simple phrases remain as meaningful today as when they were penned over one hundred years ago. Oh Christ, we do ask for your presence with us and we ask for your direction, particularly in this time of unrest. We lift up our young people as they embark upon another school term just beginning. In whatever venue, whether in virtual studies or gathered personally in classrooms, we pray that each young one might know you as a ready protector. Give them the confidence to handle whatever challenges are presented. And watch over all educators that they might exhibit wisdom, patience, and grace as they perform their duties. We also lift up all parents and guardians, those who are anxious about the coming weeks. Remind us that this difficult period of contagion will end, so strengthen all to endure with faith and hope.

O let me feel thee near me! The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear.
My foes are ever near me, around me and within;
But Jesus, draw thou nearer and shield my soul from sin.

O Promised Shield, indeed there are many things that scramble for our attention these days. The incessant buzzing of newscasters is often more distracting than informative, and the reports stressed most prominently are bleak. There is the temptation for us to take the surface reports as truth, without taking the time to investigate for ourselves. Forgive us for allowing alarming broadcasts to color our attitudes, for allowing them to take the rainbows out of our skies. Yes, there is much cause for worry, but doesn’t hope also have a story of its own to tell? Shield us from giving in to despondency, when all around there are signs of your goodness.

O let me hear thee speaking in accents clear and still
Above the storms of passion, the murmurs of self-will.
O speak to reassure me, to hasten and control;
O speak and make me listen, thou guardian of my soul.

We are pilgrims on our journey with you, O Guardian of our Souls. There are many amusements and diversions along the highway, and we confess that we often become engrossed in pursuits that are not in our best interests. Prod us when we dawdle on the side road, when we become lazy and inattentive.  Coach us in how to listen to your voice alone, and ground us in your school of service, for we have vowed to follow obediently, to pray for each of our sojourners, and to help lift up all who are in danger of falling.

We have laid out our faults upon your blanket of mercy, knowing that you will favor us in your charity, O Merciful One; yet we also remember and recount the numerous benefits you are bringing about in our lives . . . . . . . . . . . .   Hear also these celebrations from members of our Church Street family, as well as their prayers for your divine assistance:

• Gratitude: member recovering well from hip surgery
• Thanksgiving: a grandson is healing
• Prayers appreciated: sister-in-law fully recovered from virus
• Thankful that daughter has recovered from virus, now healthy
• Celebrating a husband’s healing from pneumonia (in Ohio)
• Healing prayers for 3 women being treated for cancer
• Calm for a member having heart cath today, for promising results
• Parents carrying a heavy burden & healing of wife’s injured shoulder
• Healing for dear friend with diabetes, asthma & Covid-19
• Young mother with Covid-19, protection for her husband & son
• Dear friend fighting cancer & family awaiting virus test results
• Prayers for brother-in-law, malignant growth on esophagus
• Job openings for members who have lost jobs due to virus
• A way forward for adult son who is divorcing
• For healing & protection: a father hospitalized with pneumonia
• Prayers for researchers who seek an effective virus vaccine
• Healing – Friend in TX with virus, safety for his caregiver sister
• Courage & rest for daughter caring for her mother in hospice

For you are always listening, in spite of all my fear,
You always walk beside me, my comforter so near.
And Jesus I have promised to serve thee to the end,
O give me grace to follow my Master and my Friend.

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?

Submit your request confidentially online, and our prayer team will be in prayer with and for you.