Prayer for Sunday, February 13, 2022

 And I am back. I took a little longer of a break from posting as I got settled here in my new call at St. Johns UCC in Fountain City, WI and Hope UCC in Cochrane, WI.  My husband remains in Florida until late March as he finishes recovery from a last minute hospitalization just before Christmas and the move here. (He developed an infection that required surgery- that is fully recovered and now he is working well towards recovering mobility after two weeks in bed in the hospital.) 

I earned my Doctor of Ministry in Family, Youth, and Culture at the end of November 2021. Now that I have a large chunk of time free from that, and that I am settling in here, my desire is to start doing some more blogging on my thoughts once we move into Lent. 

I hope to be posting my weekly Pastoral Prayer a day or two after that Sunday, and then spending some time sharing my thoughts under the subtitle "not that you asked, but..." . Thanks for being part of this journey.

Pastoral Prayer for February 13, 2022

Gracious God, you do not judge us by our circumstances or current position.  Why do we so often fail to do the same with ourselves or others? We love to create checklists of things to do that will tell us we are good or worthwhile, or what to avoid so we aren’t worthless or wrong. We form questions where the right answer means we are good and “in”, and the incorrect answer means we are wrong and “out”.

 When we are drawn to using these as measurements of worth, remind us that your only measurement is being your beloved child. Remind us the only question we need ask is “our we acting in the same love and compassion we see revealed in Jesus, and so reflecting your love and ways to the world?”

For the good news Jesus shared with his first disciples is needed still.

We long for a world where no longer there are those go without having their needs met, while some have more than needed for a thousand people as they only desire to amass more. Help us to live fully into your realm where not only do all have enough, but where those with more use their abundance freely and joyfully to provide what for the needs of others.

So many hunger for more than food O God. They long for justice, for the end of hatred and racism, for the establishment of a just peace. Wherever and whenever there is any type of hunger, bring about the ways of fulfilling such needs not only for a moment, but for eternity.

For those who weep O God, we long that they receive comfort.  When we are the ones who are grieved or pained, remind us that even in our sorrow or emptiness, we are still held in your love and care, still beloved by you.  

And for those who are hurting in body, mind, and spirit, we long that they experience the wholeness of life as your beloved child.  Provide relief from pain, peace even in its midst, and times of joy that reflect your desires of love for them. 

In these and all our prayers, when we can be part of your answers, give us the humility, courage, and love to do so.

We lift up all these prayers, as well as the unspoken ones of our hearts and minds, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Little Bit of a Break

 You might have notice I haven't posted for a few weeks.  I finished my time at the UCC church in Sanibel the end of October, and so haven't had need to write my "prayers of the people/pastoral prayers" for a few weeks. I am grateful for my 10 years serving the Sanibel Congregational UCC, but decided to take a two month "sabbatical".

I am happy to announce that as of January 2022 I will be the pastor of St.Johns UCC in Fountain City and Hope UCC in Cochrane, WI.  So over the next weeks any posting I have will be irregular, and may focus more on the thoughts than prayers. 

I look forward to posting regularly starting in January 2022. 

Prayer from October 17, 2021

It is amazing God, that your desire for us to serve you is not what we might expect. You don’t ask us to please you so that you provide us what we need, or to sacrifice all to make monuments or statutes to your name. You don’t desire worship at your feet to so that you can bask in words of praise that build your ego. Instead, it is serve you with love, through reaching out to those whose cries you hear, who are hurting, and those who are treated as less than your beloved children. You ask us to turn our hearts towards serving the needs of your children, our siblings, in your universal family- serving in the ways that we witness Jesus do.

And so this morning, we look to you for ways that we can do for others O God.  We seek the humility and compassion that Jesus exudes, longing to teach us as we follow his steps in your ways.

When we would myopically focus on ourselves, concerned with only how something impacts us personally, open our spirits to others.

When we seek your interventions in the challenges and suffering of the world, remind us that you ask us to become part of your work. Provide us direction as we long for: 

 

               Freedom for those who are oppressed,

                The end to violence in all its forms,

               And that all who hunger for food, for water, for medical care                                   and safe housing be satisfied.

 

When we pray for the end to all hate and discrimination, remind us that you have already provide to each of us what is needed for the elimination of the vestiges of racism and other isms that infest our systems, institutions, and sometimes even our very self.

 Where we lack the humility to do so, grant it to us- where we would confuse accountability for making changes that eradicate these vestiges of hate with being blamed or judged as causing them, move us to put aside our pride and instead be more concerned with how systemic racism, misogyny and other forms of hate and fear of differences affect others. Give us the willingness to bear the cost that may come with such changes, reminding us of those who have paid the cost for centuries on their own. 

We hope that this pandemic is heading towards an end. As it does, give us the willingness to reach across the divides, to sit at the same table and with others with whom we may disagree. Even if they are not returned, move us to reach out to them with love and compassion.

Remind us that serving others may not bring us praise, or adulation- for Jesus was often criticized, even violently opposed. He continued to serve by refusing to return the violence and instead accept death as another act of love, revealing a different way.

 

                   For it through our actions of dignity towards all                                                           that your love is expressed,

               Your love is experience in our acts of compassion,

               In our welcome and embrace of all people as your children                                       your grace and reconciling ways are spread.

 

We lift up these and all the prayers of our hearts and spirits in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

Prayer from the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, October 10, 2021

 Apologies for the lateness of this-sometimes Word doesn't want to cooperate. 

Holy God, you value justice and compassion over empty acts of worship and piety because those are part of your core that is Love. For this we are grateful. As we worship, fill us with your Spirit that inspires us to actions that reflect your compassion and justice – actions seeking reconciliation and amends, instead of punishment or banishment. Form us together through our worship the morning to become an invitation to your liberating ways. 

It was not just in ancient times that prophets were needed. We still need those who will not only speak but act as your prophets, calling for those considered last to be treated in the same manner as those who consider themselves first. Calling for justice that is not afraid to look at where we fall short, not to chastise our failures but so that we may change. Challenging us to humbly, honestly, and fearlessly to love for the ways we perpetuate injustice, discrimination, even oppression in our systemic issues, our institutions, our communities, even ourselves. Open our ears to the prophets aong us new, entreating us to hear the cries of those experiencing poverty, discrimination, fear, and those who are feared merely because of they are who they were born to be. Move our hearts to respond as you would and do.

For we don’t even need to look to people to see where acts of injustice and imbalance have taken a toll over the years. Stir us to act in new ways to stem if not reverse the centuries of misuse and misappropriation of your gift of Creation itself. We need only look at nature around- raging wildfires, floods, more animals extinct while other roam our streets because their habits are gone. Forgive us our self-centeredness and stir us to have compassion upon the environment itself.

Bring us together O God, as we seek to live out your ways in addressing these issues. Remind us that these are not about faceless issues, but people, individuals who are our siblings, our parents, our children, our friends – prod us to visual the face of one who would be helped whenever we seek out solutions and new ways. And when we disagree over how, remind us that the one we disagree with is also your child, as well as a child, parent, sibling, friend themselves.

We lift up all these prayers, as well as the unspoken ones of our hearts and spirits, in the name of Jesus. Amen.