BINDING SOUL AND SOURCE
Prayers for the Church Street Family
October 19, 2020
Rev. Dr. Jan Buxton Wade
Inspiring God, amid all the disorder and free-floating anger so close to home, we offer thanks for those souls around us who, even in the face of hard struggles, use their voices to speak of your goodness. And in spite of the unrest permeating our society, we thank you for those calm ones who offer kind words and reassurance.
And when confusion seems to rule the day, we are grateful for those who are able to articulate with clarity the higher road that leads to the welfare of the whole. When life seems harsh, we thank you for those who use their voices to sing of your love. Your inspiration shines through all these agents of grace. Grant that we, as they, might use our own voices to share your song of hope.
Gentle Spirit, hear our prayer.
God of Many Faces, in your love and wisdom, you have created such rich diversity among your people. Forgive us, we pray, when we fear our differences, for in doing so, we are really rejecting your creation and your holy will. Show us how to celebrate our varying individual gifts and graces, for we are each part of the Body of Christ. And as one complete community, remind us that when one of us is suffering, the rest of us share in his/her burden, or when one is celebrating, we share in his/her joy. Erase the strife and competition among us, that we may witness to Christ by the ways we lift up one another.
Gentle Spirit, hear our prayer.
O One Worthy of All Devotion, we know that your regard for us is deep and beyond our comprehending. And so we pray for ourselves . . . for our forgiveness . . . for holy wisdom to do your will . . . for our prayers which have no words, even the whispers of our hearts . . . And as you are eager to hear all our longings, we lift up the thanksgivings and burdens from the hearts of your people at Church Street:
- Gratitude for prayers: diagnosis at Mayo Clinic was reassuring
- Prayers appreciated: 4-day intensive course completed well
- Thankful a father is recovering steadily from virus
- 3 families express gratitude for rest & renewal during fall break
- Thanksgiving: 97-yr-old friend with Covid is very much improved
- Member undergoing surgery today, that all might go well
- Healing prayers: shrinking of tumor for one in radiation therapy
- Friend in Atlanta facing significant surgery today; for worried family, for wisdom & skill of her surgeons
- Friend whose husband was killed last week in a tragic auto accident
- Easing of a husband’s depression & his wife caring for ill mother
- Two members recovering from painful falls
- Upholding beloved husband in hospice care & strength for his wife
- Prayers for brother-in-law in Chicago w/ esophageal cancer; upholding of his wife who also cares for her father w/ dementia
- Friend w/ cancer, caregiver for sibling w/ cancer & an elderly mother
- Prayers for guidance for a member making a weighty decision
- Healing mercies for members of 2 families suffering from Covid-19
Loving God, may this day ahead be dedicated to you; and whatever transpires, may you be pleased with our efforts. May all that we undertake be reminiscent of those timeless deeds of goodness carried out by our Teacher, Jesus the Christ, who told 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.
