November 22, 2009 - Prayers of the People

Thank you, O God, for the gift of life.

To see and to hear, to taste, touch and smell.

We count our blessings, O God.

We try to name them, one-by-one.

But numbers fail us …

And so does time …

To count those who have loved us all along the journey,

And those whom we have loved,

With whom we have laughed and cried,

And found our way.

Today, we give thanks:

We thank you for your love, O God!

For the grace of Christ.

For the church of the ages – for all who have lived for the sake of love, who’ve made this a better world, who’ve stood against bigotry and prejudice, who’ve challenged kings and queens and prime ministers and presidents – who have put their lives on the line for others.

And for millions more who serve quietly without fame or fortune.

Teachers and attorneys, doctors and nurses.

Police officers and fire fighters.

Ambulance drivers and tug boat captains.

Train engineers and truck drivers.

Tool and die makers, and computer programmers.

The guy who cuts the French fries at In n Out.

The gal who checks us out at Trader Joe’s.

A whole world of people, O God, who make the world go around.

For all that is gentle, O God.

For all that is beautiful, and all that is good.

For simple things and profound things.

For the stars above, and the splash of a wave.

For Gramma’s pumpkin pie recipe and Grampa’s silly jokes.

For a box of old photographs and a bundle of love-letters tied in a blue ribbon.

For computers and email and social networks, too.

For Facebook and Twitter and Myspace and a thousand ways to stay in touch.

For cell phones that tell us where we are.

And most of all, for Christ, who tells us who we are.

For we are yours, O God.

In body, and in soul,

In life, and in death.

Now, and forever more.

And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, 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 …