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

 Prayers of Church & Community, January 26, 2025

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, light of the world, comfort us, we pray, in our time of need and loss …

We pray for our nation … and those who govern us … 

We pray for Wall Street and Main Street, we pray for businesses, large and small … we pray for the captains of capital and America’s working women and men … save us, one and all, from the gods of greed; that we might embrace the wisdom of true wealth, that in giving, we receive … in receiving, we learn the great truth of life - to find what we want, we must give what others need.

We pray for the frightened … folks deemed unworthy by misguided politicians, and fanatical preachers … we pray for those who proclaim hate, and call it good … we pray for those who claim the name of Christ and reject their sisters and brothers.

We pray for writers and historians, journalists and podcasters … who search for the stories behind the stories, the truth of the matter, to help us see clearly. 

We pray for our universities and colleges … professors and administrators … those who touch the minds of the young, who stir the conscience … and awaken the best kinds of dreams.

We pray for houses of worship and prayer … we pray imams and priests, rabbis and pastors … we pray for spiritual leaders and their congregations … for elders and deacons, Sunday School teachers and choirs … 

Especially we pray for those who speak truth to power, who lift up the cross of Christ, who hold forth the hands of mercy … we pray for the Rev. Mariann Budde, and the National Cathedral … 

We pray for Westminster, O God, here on Lake Avenue … fill this building with your glory, fill our hearts with your love, fill our minds with your thoughts … help us, to love justice, to do good, and to walk humbly with you, our God and Savior.

We pray for our own souls, dear God … that we might possess the integrity of Christ, the vision of your salvation, the strength of the gospel … that we might never give up on our journey with Christ … that we might have divine strength, to bear the cross and follow Christ where e’er he lead.

That we might be the light of the world, the salt of the earth … 

By mercy untold, and grace ever bright, the Tower still stands, dear God, a beacon of light, a tower of hope.

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. 

1.19.25 prayers of church & community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, January 19, 2025

Westminster Presbyterian Church

In the smoke of our sorrows …

In the winds of our lament …

In the ashes of our tears …

O LORD, our God, creator of the heavens and the earth, we cry out for your mercies and your guidance … for your love and your strength … for the comfort and consolation of your Holy Spirit, for the gentle touch of Christ … to take our hand and lead the way … the way forward, the way through it all …

With heavy hearts, we pray for those who’ve lost their homes … and those with damaged homes … communities lost to us forever … the stores and the shops, the gatherings places of commerce and conversation … schools and churches and a billion memories …

We are, dear God, creatures of this earth … we are material through and through, and to the material things of life we belong, and in their loss, our lives are depleted … from tooth brushes and toothpicks … to cars and clothes, to pots and pans … and screwdrivers and scotch tape …

We pray for those coming to our aid … government agencies and private organizations, and personal generosity from all around the nation, the world …

Bless our nation, we pray … as we transition to a new administration … may the better angels of peace and goodness sound the trumpets of hope … may wisdom and mercy prevail.

For the Middle East, O God, we pray … may the peacemakers be heard, may arms be laid down, may justice be done …

We pray for our troubled world … we pray that humanity will find its way … we pray for all houses of worship … for imams and priests, for pastors and rabbis … for all lift their voices in song, who fold their hands in prayer …

Holy God, Eternal Light, teach us of Christ … help us, we pray, to bow the knee in humble prayer and faithful love … guide our footsteps along the difficult pathways of life … when we’re weak, O God, you are our strength … when we’re sad, O God, your love remains our joy.

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. 

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, 1.12.25

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, Eternal Light … the comfort of your people … speak tenderly to us, we pray, in these days of great need and bewilderment …

Save us from darkness of soul …keep us focused on your goodness, and the love of life … help us to mourn and shed our tears, dear God, but do not let us get lost in our sorrows … when we’re angry, help us to be careful … when we want to blame, help us to find constructive pathways … save us from the bitterness of soul that only makes things worse.

Dear God, we are mindful of our losses … the destruction of our communities, our neighborhoods, all the familiar places that makeup the character and goodness of life … we are shaken to the core … our spirits tremble, tears come unbidden, emotions wander in the wilderness of confusion.

Bless those who have come to our rescue … organizations and government agencies to work on our behalf, to help us find new homes, new ways of life, new arrangements … we pray for insurance agents, and we pray for the resources of our nation.

In this moment of worship, dear God, touch our hearts with the great love of Christ … he stands in the river of life, in the mud and the hurt, in the sorrows and the pains of loss and death and loneliness; he stands in our hearts and minds … he stands by the ruins, and he stands with those whose hands and love will help us rebuild … 

In the renewing of our baptism, dear God, wash away the grit of anger and fear, bless our sorrows, inspire us in this time of great need, bless our tears, as we turn to the future and seek a new day … see us through, O Lord, with patience, and with the love of others … with good memories and bright hopes.

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.