March 27, 2022 Prayer of the People - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

With grateful hearts,  Dear God, we gather together in a place we love … a place filled with

history and memories, friendship and faith, learning and much love … a place wherein the call of Christ is proclaimed with joy … the challenges of life are faced with courage. A place, O LORD, you have sanctified with your presence! A place where you have promised to meet us.

We dedicate this moment to the high and holy purpose of Christ - to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives; recovery of sight to the blind; and to let the oppressed go free.

We vow anew, Dear God, to follow Christ where’re he lead … to live his truth, and trust his grace. Deliver us, we pray, from ideas and behaviors that harm our loved ones, and damage our souls. 

With grateful hearts, O God, we pray:

For loved ones, family and friends … for your mercy in all they undertake, your love in every moment, the power of forgiveness to hold them, and the peace of Christ to guard them.

We pray for the leaders of our nation - for the women and men who wear the mantle of politics … we pray that your Holy Spirit will guide their thoughts and frame their words. And may they, one and all, reflect the great ideals of our nation, and the highest ambitions of humanity.

O LORD our God, We pray for the people of Ukraine - surrounded by death and destruction - we pray that the nations of the world will provide adequate support in all regards, and peace will win the day.

We pray for the people of Russia, that the light of truth will help them counter the instincts of war, to find a better pathway to national security and their future.

And here in this blessed moment, we consider ourselves, Dear God - we know so well how fragile we are … we carry burdens no one else can see … we’re often afraid and dispirited … that you should love us is our comfort; that you should hear our prayers, and guide our ways, is our peace.

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. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. 

March 20, 2022 Prayers of the People - Westminster PC

Prayers of the People, 3.20.22

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, to whom we belong.

In mind, body, heart and soul.

We give thanks for the gift of life, the love of Christ, this church, and the present moment in which we find ourselves called, called to live the ways of faith, hope, and love … called to let our light shine, clear and bright … called to grieve the violence and hate all around us, called to celebrate all those who point to the higher way, and live for the sake of others.

With all that we are, Dear God, and all that we hope to be, we set ourselves to the tasks at hand - we pray with all our might that we would further the welfare of our world.

And to that end, Dear God, we lift up our politicians and judges, those whom we have elected to serve the needs of our nation … and we pray for the leaders of the world who now face inordinate challenges, as the dogs of war have once again been unleashed, in a most horrible and hideous way. 

We pray for our own peace of mind, O God, not that we wish to be undisturbed, but rather in our disturbance, we would feel your compassion and your distress - for this is part of what it means to carry our cross - to feel deeply the pains of your world, it’s sorrows and it’s fears, and we will carry our cross, O LORD, as best we can.

We pray, now for our loved ones near and far - we pray for your legions of angels to surround them and keep them safe, in body and soul - we pray for our parents, our children, our grandchildren.

And we pray for our Westminster church - and for the church universal - that women and men of good conscience, girls and boys, will continue to lift up the name of Christ in ways that are constructive and healing.

All of this, 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. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.