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. 

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

 

Holy God, creator of the heavens and the earth …

Holy Trinity, forever our guide and our stay …

Eternal God, the anchor of all our hope …

Loving God, our inspiration, and our courage …

Deliver us, we pray, from the distractions that dull our spirits and weaken our faith … deliver us, we pray, from all that moves us away from peace, away from love, away from hope … 

Deliver us, we pray, unto your self … that we might, in these few moments of prayer and pondering, recenter ourselves in Christ, reclaim our spiritual legacies, regain our composure, and renew our confidence …

And so to face the world with a sense of what’s real and what isn’t … what matters and what doesn’t … what needs to be done, and what can be set aside … give to us, we pray, the priorities of Christ our LORD … to be prophets of truth, heralds of love, champions of faith, defenders of freedom, messengers of learning, wisdom, and knowledge.

We pray for family and friends … where healing is needed, may there be grace … where peace is needed, may there be mercy … where there’s hurt and sorrow, may there be the touch of friendship, and the gentle presence of your Holy Spirit.

We pray for our nation, dear God - for our President and Vice President … for members of Congress, for judges and juries  … may there be a great presence of mind in our midst, deep convictions for the welfare of the nation, a commitment to preserve our Democracy, to be a beacon of hope for the world … living proof - that justice for all, is possible.

We pray for all who are in transition … from one job to another, from a home here to a home elsewhere … and for those who cross the threshold of this church, established members and faithful visitors, some new to the neighborhood, looking for you, loving God …  

For each of them, this day, and for those with us via YouTube … may they all, in their own way, hear the gospel … behold the glory of Christ, experience the power and redemption of Lent … may the wonder and beauty of faith rise up strong in each of them … may the call of Christ be their joy, may the life of Christ be their assurance, may the peace of Christ be their strength.

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. 

2.12.23 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, we are yours, in life and in death … there is, finally, nothing that can separate us from your great love, given to us in Christ, and given to the world in a thousand different voices, and values, stories and prayers, hymns and poems, a chanting priest, a prayer wheel in Tibet, the cries of a mother and father for their child … you are the God, supreme, of every tear and every broken heart … you are the God, masterful, in the ebb and flow of time … you are the God of eternity, woven into the fabric of every life, every creature, ever grain of wheat and in the tumult of the earth.

We are stunned, O God, we are heartbroken, by the loss of life in Turkey and Syria … death at

every turn … survivors marked for the rest of their lives - too many orphans … too many families, now without their children … O LORD our God, we give thanks for the nations and corporations rising to the task of rescue and rebuilding … the world proves to itself, dear God, what you have called the world to be - caring and kind, generous and faithful, mindful and sensitive, to the cries of bereavement now ringing across the globe. Can the world do better, O God? Yes, we must do better … and we will.

Watch over us, we pray … keep us mindful of the world, help us to feel its pain and sorrow … remind us that lament and a broken heart are part of the human story … shield us not from the sorrows of the day, but the despair of soul that paralyses our quest for your Kingdom, tempts us to withdraw into the comforts and distractions of piety or pleasure.

Bless us here, O LORD - remind us to say thanks - thanks to you, dear God, and thanks to all the folks who’ve loved us all along the way - our parents and grandparents, our families of birth, our families of choice, our children and grandchildren … and for our spiritual family, dear God, the family of faith, the church, all around the world.

Bless our Scouts, dear God … their leaders … their work. Thank you for those who’ve come before us … who taken the Scout Oath to heart, who’ve lived the values and virtues of Scouting, who’ve made this a better world.

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. 

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

O LORD our God, we pray for wisdom, to think things through.

We pray for guidance, to act wisely.

We pray for the courage to shine the light of truth on gun violence and police brutality.

O LORD our God, all around us, people are dead … or maimed in body and soul, for the rest of their lives … families marked by loss, sorrow, anger, fear, regret, and loneliness.

We pray that our nation will be able to craft reasonable and responsible laws … that children can go to school safely, and adults can go to the mall, or a dance studio, and come home again, safe and sound.

We pray for the cities of Monterey Park and Alhambra … the Asian-Amercian community … all who’ve suffered loss …

We pray for the city of Memphis … we pray for Tryre Nichols, his family and friends, for the community, for the churches of Memphis, the police and city administrators … 

We continue to pray for our nation, and the nations of the world. We pray that leaders will be wise in the ways of peace, and determined to defend freedom when some would take it away.  

We pray for our loved ones, in all the comings and goings of their lives … we pray for ourselves, for our health and our well-being, in body and in soul. Help us along the way, dear God … to know more of Christ, to know more of ourselves and those around us, and what it means to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. 

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. 

6.5.22 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church PasadenaL

LORD God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, we give thanks for the gift of Christ, and the

work of the Holy Spirit … your goodness at work all around the world … in time and in space; in the bright avenues of life, and in the shadowy corners and darkened alleys of disappointment and sorrow … you are present, with grace, mercy, and peace … no place beyond your reach, no life beyond your touch, no sin greater than your forgiveness, no sorrow too vast for your kindness … no time or place surpassing your all-surpassing love.

Our world, dear God, has trouble aplenty … give us the strength, we pray, to live in this world, honestly, creatively, patiently, to yet see the good that remains: the cup of blessing and our daily bread - friendship and faith, folks who care … the love that remains.

Strengthen those who uphold the best and the noblest of the human story. 

Help us, we pray, to carry the cross of awareness, the cross of care and concern, the cross of love … yet give us rest, O God - when we’re tired, troubled, and tested … when we cry out and weep … you stand by us when we can no longer walk; you lay down with us when we cannot rise.

This day, O God, we pray especially for the children of Ukraine - little hearts and tender minds, impacted by unimaginable savagery … the sounds and smells of war - scarring their souls. Be merciful to the little ones, O LORD, for they are so utterly vulnerable to the sadness and misery of war.

Bless our church, we pray, that we might know the love of Christ all the more, that our church would remain a safe and welcoming place, a sanctuary of healing and hope … ready for a new day, a new era of mission, a new chapter to be written.

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. 

May 15, 2022, Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

With gladness of heart, O God, we gather together in this sacred place, a place hallowed by the praise and prayers of the saints and sinners who have walked in pathways of faith long

before we were here.

And we would do no less than they have done, O God … in their footsteps, we follow the Christ, sing your praise and rejoice in your provisioning love, a love that finds a way through the wilderness, a way to the Promised Land, a way of hope, peace, consolation and comfort, challenge and guidance. Your faithfulness to your church, to your people, is the bedrock of our faithful, our trust, our hope.

We pray today for the families and friends of those killed and injured in Buffalo … comfort them in their misery, in their loss and grief … help our nation, O God, to face the deeps of hatred in our nation’s story, a hatred embraced in the hearts of many, exploited by scheming politicians and careless preachers - bless, O LORD, the peace-makers, the truth-tellers … expand, we pray, the realms of knowledge and understanding … give to our leaders wisdom and vision, and the courage, O God, to act wisely, and purposefully, in our quest for better days.

We pray for our loved ones, O God … their health and wellbeing … watch over them, we pray … guide their footsteps and guard their souls.

We pray today for the Presbyterian Church throughout the land … and across the world … women and men of good conscience, girls and boys with joy in their hearts and hope for the future.

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. 

Save Us, We Pray

In a world of deep fractures and violence,
We are tempted to allege the guilt of others,
And protest our own clear and inviolable innocence..


Save us, O God, from such childish palaver,
That we might more honestly assess the nature
Of our broken and bleeding world.


For those injured, our prayers.
For the dead, our blessing.
For the grieving, our tears.


For those who can find no other recourse,
But their own death for the death of others,
We pray for the causes of such despair and hatred.


For the nations of the West which have so
Arrogantly toyed with the Middle East; the British
For the sake of India.


France for glory.
Russia for the Orthodox Church.
The United States for oil.


Bombs dropped from altitude kill, as well:
Children and babies and mothers and fathers.
And we say, "We sorry!"


And the rogue State of Israel continues
To foment outrage and instability.
While eradicating the Palestinians.


Where are the innocent?
Not in the capitals of power, that's for sure.
But the children.


Always the children, O God.
They're the innocent ones.
And Moms and Dads on their way.


O God, save us from mindless palaver.
The easy assignment of blame.
The autocratic pretense of political innocence.


Remind us, dear God, of Joshua.
Who ran to the man in the road.
Demanding to know on whose side he stood.


And the angel of the LORD said:
On no one's die.
And Joshua bowed down.


And so we pray, for the mechanisms of justice.
For a new resolve in the West to honor the Middle East.
To corral Israel and free the Palestinians.


And to pay attention to our Muslim neighbors and friends.
To honor those who seek for peace.
And correct the vast imbalances.


In a world of deep fractures and violence.
O LORD.
Hear our prayer. Amen!

Pastoral Prayer, October 11, 2015

First Congregational Church, Los Angeles

Eternal God, bless us we pray, with the mind of Christ … 

That we might be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

This day, O God, we pray for a great strengthening of our faith … to embrace the opportunities that stand all around us … opportunities for good, kindness, transformation … to lift a clear voice for the sake of the oppressed … to come to the defense of the poor … to stand firm against violence … the violence of fear and hatred … the violence that fails every test of trust and violates all the conventions of human kindness.

The world is a great sorrow, O God, … but we will not turn away from it … we will not hide in our homes, nor in our religion, neither in our work nor our play … for you have called us to great responsibility …

We pledge to you, O God.

The resources of life.

We promise to learn and grow.

Engage and serve.

Sign up and sign on.

We will add our strength to your strength, O God.

We will add our love and our hope.

Our time, talent and treasure.

We will read and study.

Ponder and pray.

To learn more of our world.

And of your ways.

Eternal God:

Your glory leads us.

Your mercy surrounds us.

Your purpose compels us.

Your love is everywhere.

Heaven beckons us onward.

And the saints cry out to us:

“Finish our work!”

Amen and Amen!