12.17.23 Prayers of Church & Community - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

 This prayer was triggered by the violent rise of hate crimes ... such a vast sadness has taken hold of the world ... in contrast to Mary's Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent, her candle, Joy!

Holy God, LORD of light and love,

We lament the rise of hate crimes … all around us, hot-tempered voices, misplaced anger … a complete failure of the human spirit.

We pray for those who have given their souls to hatred, lost in a briar patch of twisted thoughts, wandering in a wilderness of pain and violence. LORD, free them from their sins, we pray, and lead, them to green pastures and fresh water, to find and enjoy their true personhood.

We pray for the victims of their hate:

our Jewish sisters and brothers … their safety, their synagogues … their hopes and dreams …

our Muslim sisters and brothers … their well-being, their mosques … their prayers and aspirations …

all people of color, who are regularly met with suspicion in stores and malls across the land …

the Asian-American community, often told, “go back to where you came from.”

the Latino community, often told to “speak English.” 

we pray for the children, dear God, children who want to play and laugh like children anywhere … eyes wide with fear, little hearts pounding, tears flowing.

With sorrow all around us, dear God, we set our sights upon Mary, the Mother of our LORD and Savior … her courage, her faith, her vision … her decision to welcome Christ into her womb, to bear the Savior of the World, to give to the world what the world so desperately needs, what the world too often destroys and buries, what the world longs for, even as it turns away.

Help us do as Mary does - to welcome Christ into the womb of our heart, our soul, our being … to welcome Christ, that Christ might be born anew through each one of us … to give ourselves to faith, hope, and love, that we might give Christ to the world.

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. 

12.10.23 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, Dec. 10, 2023

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, LORD of light and peace, 

Christ is born anew in our hearts and homes, dear God;

a star shines bright and clear in the quiet places of our soul … Mary’s love remains … O Little Town of Bethlehem … how grateful we are, O God, to lift our hearts to the heavens, and be comforted, consoled, and guided.

Revive our spirits, we pray, and give us fresh purpose … may the sweet bells of Christmas awaken ancient dreams of peace and good will for all.

Eternal God, we pray for loved ones and friends.  

We pray for our nation, our president and vice-president … members of Congress and those who sit upon the bench …we pray for those who serve the flag, and those who command their destinies … we pray for our diplomats and our civil servants … 

We pray for folks caught up in conspiracy theories and hate … ensnared by lies and bigotry, the allure of white supremacy and power … we pray for their souls … for healing, restoration, and a fresh vision of life … a return to virtue and nobility.

We pray for folks who would mislead us … the mean spirits of our age, who wield power improperly … who shade the truth and bend reality … who bow down to Baal, and worship the Golden Calf.

We pray for the victims of hate, dear God - who fear for their lives, who find graffiti scrawled on their synagogues and homes, who hear the slurs and see the face of hell - who try to shield their children and prepare them for what no child should ever have to face.

O LORD our God, preserve our Democracy … guard those who stand upon the ramparts of liberty, who remember the ideals: one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.

Holy God, we pray for world leaders … for the United Nations … Doctors without Borders … all who work on behalf of peace.

We give thanks for the peacemakers in Palestine … we pray for Venezuela and Guyana … the people of Ukraine and Russia … and always the children, O LORD … always, the children.

We pray for Westminster … for houses of worship all around the world … religious leaders, priests, rabbis, Imams, preachers and prophets …  

O LORD, our God, we give you profound thanks for the gospel, for the Season of Advent, for the love of Christ, for the work of the Holy Spirit within our souls … you call us to life, lift us up, bring us into the light, help us along the way … Holy are you, O God, and greatly to be praised.

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. 

12.3.23 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, 12.3.23

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, creator of the heavens and the earth, we give thanks for your goodness at work in all things … in ways and means beyond our grasp, beyond our understanding, yet in our hearts, O God, you speak to us the Words of Hope … in the hymns we sing, the prayers we say, thou art present … thou art the way, the truth, and the life.

Our lives, O LORD, are a jumble of good things and things not so good … our hearts, dear God, are not pure … thoughts of ill-will and envy, jealously and rage, roam around freely … we are so often slaves to ourselves, unable to love as we should, as we must, as we could. 

O LORD, help us, we pray, in our need for salvation, our need for redemption, and healing.  

With gratitude and hope, 

We pray for our nation, for the preservation of our Democracy … we pray for the House of Representatives and we pray for the Senate … guide them, we pray, by your Holy Spirit … may the virtues of liberty and justice-for-all be their guiding light … a test for what they propose, how they vote, what they tell us … 

We pray for the welfare of Westminster, dear God … this building raised to your glory, a sanctuary for all, a place of welcome and peace. 

Guide us, we pray, to new days and new ways … show to us, we pray, what can be done, what must be done … to lift up the name of Christ, to be a healing balm in the midst of our times, to welcome all who cross our threshold, to be people of good cheer, and deep faith.

We pray for loved ones and friends … we pray for George Coulter and his family … we pray for Mark Riggs and his dear mother, Jo … we pray for Dahlia Burden and her health needs …

We pray for those who grieve … those stricken with illness … those for whom life is an unbearable burden of sorrow and regret … hold them, dear God, in the hollow of your hand.

O LORD, our God, we pray for houses of worship all around the world … we pray for the People of Palestine, Jew, Christian, and Muslim - all of them, dear God, beloved children of Father Abraham and Mother Sarah … may their fear be replaced by faith, may war cease, and peace be found

Holy God, LORD of light and love, bless upon our hearts, we pray, this First Sunday of Advent - reach deep into our souls, dear God, to plant anew the power of hope - that in all things, we might turn to you in faith and trust, and follow in the ways of Christ our LORD, the hope of the world, and the light of the soul.

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. 

11.26.23 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, Nov. 26, 2023

Westminster Presbyterian Church

We lift our hearts to you, O God, in grateful song and thoughtful prayer … 

You are the creator of the heavens and the earth!

The sun, moon and the stars are your creatures, 

incredible and vast; you know them by name, 

and they know you … 

And you know our name, as well … you know us through and through, from having watched us take shape in our mother’s womb … 

You are the quiet presence of faith, hope, and love.

You are the forceful presence of justice, truth, and equality.

You are the impulse of goodness.

You are the light of the world.

We pray today for transit workers … who drive a bus on a crowded street, who drive the subway beneath our feet   … who work the taxis, Lyft and Uber … who drive us to and fro.

We pray today for those in need of healing … healing for weary bodies and tired souls … we pray for the newly born, and we pray for those on the threshold of death.

Holy God, I pray for the preservation of our Democracy … I pray for its defenders … those who write the books and point the way, those who craft the legislation and defend the rule of law … I pray for our teachers and our school boards, for librarians and and archivists - those who stand watch on the ramparts of freedom, who guard the literature of great writers and poets.

I pray, O God, in gratitude and sorrow, with those upon whose land this church stands … those who were here in ages past … who lost their lands in the tragedies of time, when steel and gunpowder took what they wanted … I pray, O God, that I will always hear their quiet voice calling to me … calling to all of us, O God - the earth crying out with the blood of our sisters and brothers. 

We pray for Palestine … we pray that the progress made in peace between the State of Israel and Hamas will hold and grow … and pave the way for a greater peace in that troubled land of hope and sorrow … 

Help our sisters and brothers around the world to work for peace, even as we pray for it. Help the leaders of the world see the folly of their ways … help us all, we pray, to seek peace with as much effort as we wage war.

Holy God, Light Divine, thank you for the gift of life … help us, we pray, to use it well, to bring peace to our world, and love to one another.

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. 

11.19.23 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, Nov. 19, 2020

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, LORD of light and love, we give thanks …

For the material comforts of life … a light switch on the wall, a faucet with a sink, a refrigerator and a microwave, a computer and a smart phone … and a roof over our heads.

Even as we give thanks, O LORD, remind us of those for whom life is mean and hard, for whom life is bitter and broken … in our comfort, O LORD, remind us of the needy, and help us to live and think and behave in ways that relieve their suffering, build a good nation, and lead us to the better day.

We give thanks for our families … for those who love us, and those whom we love … parents and grandparents … children and grandchildren … brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces.

We give thanks for our YouTube members - for Anne Marie and Stan, for Charles, for Mark … and for folks all around the world … we thank you, O God, for their devotion, their prayers, and bless our prayers for them.

We give thanks for our friends … childhood friends, and the friends of our maturity … with whom we share the goodness and the mercy of laughter and tears.

Most of all, O LORD, we give thanks for you … your creation, your love, your covenant … a pillar of fire at night to protect us … a pillar of cloud by day to lead us … manna in the morning, and water from a rock … Moses and the Ten Commandments … the Prophets of truth and justice, and Jesus of Nazareth, your Son, our LORD … born of Mary, your word incarnate … your goodness and your mercy enfleshed, sharing in the toil and turmoil of time … to save us from our sin, to set us free for life, to give us hope eternal.

We give your our thanks, O God: for those who give us the gospel … parents who pray for us, ministers and priests who give us your love, teachers who instruct us in the ways of faith … and for the Holy Spirit, dear God, at work in our souls, in our hearts and minds, leading us always to Christ.

And for the gospel, O God, the Good News of your unfailing love … that which is true forever … 

We are grateful … we give you our Thanks.

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. 

11.12.23 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, Nov. 12, 2023

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, your hands hold time and space … your glory shines in our souls … your grace paves the way, undoes the ravages of sin, holds before us a vision of life and liberty, a goodness greater than we could ever imagine, a plan to move forward, the possibility of love … love of one another, dear God, love of the lost and the lonely, a love that doesn’t retreat, or run away, or hide, but a love that goes to the heart of the matter, a love that welcomes the sun of the morning, and the quiet of the night, a love that welcomes all and turns none away.

We pray, O God, for our loved ones … 

Those in need of physical healing … where illness or trauma have harmed … where distress of soul is waging a battle against the future … where there is too much darkness on the horizon, and not enough light … O LORD, hear our prayer … grant the warmth of the morning sun, the light of day to lead the way, for relief and comfort, wellbeing and peace, healing and restoration.

We know all too well, dear LORD, that we’re mortal … so help us, we pray, to put our mortality into your everlasting arms, to know that all will be well … in life and in death, O Christ we belong to you, a most faithful Savior.

We pray for the influencers of the day … those who chase the dream of fame, who count their hearts and likes and loves every hour or so, who wait for the big break, and some cold hard cash.

We pray for the young who imagine wonderful things … for the elderly who recount what they did, and those in between … wondering what it’s all about anyway.

We pray for our nation … for the women and men of vision who bravely wave the flag of faith upon the ramparts of our Democracy, who lift up the torch of wisdom and freedom, who point us to the more perfect union.

We pray for Westminster Presbyterian Church … with thanks for those who built this Tower as a witness to the world, that you, O God, are the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega … you are the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Giver of Life … that in all times and in every place, our lives are caught up in your providential care for the world - that everyone counts, everyone is loved, everywhere is where you are to be found … for you are the everlasting God of grace and glory … the vast universe is your home, a child’s heart your sweet abode … you walk with the weary, you lay down with the infirm, you rejoice in a young mother’s laughter, a young father’s delight … you stand by every bedside, you hold the hands of the dying, your earth welcomes their mortal remains, your heart welcomes their soul … all in safe keeping until that great Gettin’ Up Morning, when all shall be made new.

Give us, we pray, our daily bread … the grace of Christ, the love that surpasses all our dreams, the energy to live, and to live well … to be ambassadors of Christ, holding forth the gospel in all of its integrity and goodness … the gospel of justice and peace … that which lifts up the fallen, heals the broken, and restores the lost.

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.