Weekly Prayer 06/17/2026

Week of June 17, 2026

Rev. Amber Lloyd

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These days of summer have grown long, and we see the beauty of a bright sun in a blue sky late into the evening hours. We give thanks for birdsong, the scent of blooming flowers, and the gift of summer rain showers. Our home in East Tennessee is a beautiful representation of your glory, creativity, and wonder.

The stalwart Smoky Mountains sit on our horizon, so we cannot see the retreating glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland or the melting Arctic sea ice. Our state is not on the coast, so we don’t always notice the rising sea levels or the increasing temperature of our oceans. Our brothers and sisters in Chad, Bangladesh, and Madagascar bear the worst of the consequences of change in our climate. We see and read about their suffering, but in East Tennessee, we are far from their plight.

God, we confess that we have not always cared for your created world in the ways we ought to have done. Forgive us for over-consuming, exploiting, and ravaging the resources of our Earth. We repent of the greed that has made ours the wealthiest, most wasteful country on the planet. Help us to be mindful of the environment which we inhabit. When we hear birdsong, may we consider how we can protect those birds and their homes. When we admire the scent of blooming flowers, may we encourage their healthy proliferation and that of the bees that pollinate them. When a summer rain shower catches us by surprise, may we find ways to use less plastic and conserve energy in our homes.

You see us and know us. You have even numbered the hairs on our heads. But you have also clothed the lilies and you care for the sparrows. Knowing that your concern is for all of your creation, we boldly lift the petitions of these persons now:

We pray for ….

• A sister in need of reconciliation and forgiveness.
• A family who navigates the declining health of their beloved sister.
• A friend who fractured their hip and is in the hospital.
• A sister struggling with cancer and related illnesses.

We continue to pray for …

• A sister who is looking for God’s guidance regarding her medical practice.
• A brother who is seeking justice.
• A friend’s parents who are struggling.
• A friend’s marriage and spiritual guidance.
• A friend’s healing of body and spirit.
• A member who recently had a bad fall.

We give thanks for ….

• All of God’s creation.
• Increasing health and strength for those who are ill.

May our prayers be as fragrant incense and the lifting of our hands an evening sacrifice, O God. Together, we pray the words which your son taught us, saying

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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