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

 Prayers of Church & Community, May 12, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

God of time and eternity,

God of light and truth,

God of music, song, and dance

We are your people …

Help us, we pray, to pay attention … to live with care and awareness … 

Give us, we pray, ears to hear the cries of those in need and pain … eyes to see their distress and sorrow … hearts to feel the afflictions of life … 

And the will, O LORD, to be on the right side of history …  

In the times we live, O God:

Calm our spirits with the great love of Christ … keep us steady at the helm, keep us hopeful in the face of difficulties, keep us loving and kind.

Help us, we pray, to see the value of what we do here, in this place … there is goodness in remembering your Holy Name … there is peace and righteousness in our prayers and meditations … there is goodness in our being here … because you are here.

Dear God:

We pray for diplomatic services around the world … we pray for our armed forces, and those who command them … we pray for the nations of the world … why, O, why, must we wage war? why must we fight? why shed one another’s blood for what gain? 

O LORD our God, one by one, we’re a remarkable creation, but together, O LORD, we are capable of such horror as to shame the powers of hell. Forgive us, we pray, forgive us again and again, and maybe we can learn how to chart a better course.

Dear God:

We pray for family and friends …  

We pray for ourselves, too, O God …

We pray for Westminster … we thank you for what has been, what is, and for the future coming our 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. 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. 

5.5.24 Prayers of Church and Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, May 5, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

A world in turmoil, a time of distress.

The human story, onward we press.

Where is God? some must ask.

As we wonder about the needed task.

Come and follow me, says Jesus.

I offer you my deepest peace.

Take up your cross, and follow the love

Remember to sing to the God above.

Holy God, Eternal Light, we gather here in this quiet and thoughtful place, to consider who we are, and what must be done to care for the Garden you’ve given to us.

In song and sermon, in Scripture and prayer, dear God, you promise us your word, your counsel and your love … you speak to us in the morning sky … you call our attention to the lilies of the field … you remind us that the hairs of our heard are counted, and your eye is upon the sparrow.

We take heart in such things, and give thanks for your love.

We celebrate Cinco de Mayo, dear God … victory, freedom, and Democracy … chains of oppression broken, liberty proclaimed.

Help us, we pray, to face the challenges of the day: to pay attention, to listen to the cries of the broken heart …

A world in turmoil, dear God:

from Gaza to Israel, Sudan to Niger, China to Korea, 

Japan and the Philippines … 

Ukraine and Moldova, Russia and Europe … 

O God, there isn’t nation beyond your reach, a people too far from your love … we know that you are at work in all things for good … give us hope where there is despair, and give us patience to wait upon you - our LORD and our Savior.

Holy God, Eternal Light, we celebrate our dear Confirmands. We give thanks their families, their schools, and their classmates … they hold the future in their hands …

We pray for:

Avalon Baker … … Eden Baker … … Braden Fung … … Fletcher Paddock … … Ian Paddock … … Audrey Park

Bless them, we pray, with all of heaven’s mercies … shape their souls and minds in the image of Christ, and bring them to the world stage, there to make their mark and build your kingdom, the kingdom of light and 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.