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

 Prayers of Church & Community, September 15, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, Eternal Light …

Forgive our erroring ways … guide us, we pray, to the better days … of faith, hope, and love … grace, mercy, and peace.

Remind us, dear God, of that which counts … give us the eyes of Christ to see clearly what is true and good, right and decent, and the courage to reject what is false, hurtful, and wrong.

We pray, O God, for the People of Haiti, their daily struggles and deep sorrows … we pray for the Haitians in our nation, and the lies now being told about them … we pray for their children who bear the brunt of such things … we pray for the schools now closed because of vile threats by misguided people … people seduced by hatred and bigotry, O God … people so small in spirit, they cannot rise above themselves … crippled by fear, they cannot love … broken in soul, they cannot forgive, nor seek forgiveness … uncertain of themselves, they can only damn others … may the grace of your love, dear God, may the stars above and the sunshine of the day, help them find their way, their way to a better life, something bright and good, to build up and create anew, to affirm and to celebrate, to stand tall and not fall, to be good and not rude, to see beyond the lies to the truth that sets us all free.

We pray for churches across the land … we pray for Westminster … we pray your blessing upon our quest for the next minister … we thank you for what has been, we thank you for what is, and we thank you for what shall be … because your hand is upon us, your grace is within us, your love all around us.

We pray for our loved ones … we pray for their physical needs and their spiritual wellbeing … we pray for the lost and the lonely, the fearful and the forgotten … we pray for those in deep sorrow, and those facing the end of their days … 

May the bright light of Christ shine upon them all … may the grace of your kindly hand guide them along the highways and byways of life and death, the beginnings and endings of all things.

Holy God, Eternal Light, we begin our days in your love, and we end our journey in your love … your love brings us forth, your love walks beside us, and in the end, O God, your love takes us by the hand into the eternal realms of glory.

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. 

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, September 8, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, Eternal Light,

Creator of the heavens and the earth.

Help us, we pray, with your Holy Spirit, to align our hearts with the heart of Christ, our minds to see the world he saves, our feet to walk in his pathways, our hands ready to bless the children of the world.

We are grieved, O God, by the school shootings in Georgia & Maryland … 

LORD God Almighty, we pray for mercy … and we pray for courage … 

The courage to create good laws on the sale of guns and ammunition … health care programs to assist families with troubled children … leaders who will help us face the causes of social violence, who will speak the truth to all of us … 

In your mercy, dear God, do not forgive us … but trouble us all the more, stir the waters of conscience, reveal to us our sins of greed and power, that the death of children is not a fact of life, but a failure of our soul … trouble us, we pray, until we see our responsibility in all of this.

Holy God, in this place of rest and peace, we find find our true selves - daughters and sons of the Most High God, servants of Christ … 

Thank you, dear God, for who we are, for the gifts of life you’ve so generously given … 

Holy God, Eternal Light, remind us that our work here and now is connected to eternity … every earthly good deed adds to the glory and beauty of heaven … our words, our prayers added to the songs of angels and to the high praise of the saints.

Bless Westminster, we pray … bless our loved ones … bless us one and all, that we might leave here revived and restored, ready to face the week ahead, what e’re may come … 

For you, O God, are at our side, your Spirit lives within us … your faithfulness endures to all generations … your steadfast love is our comfort …you are the Good Shepherd, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort us.

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. 

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, September 1, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, Eternal Light … forever present … always kind … 

A present help in the daily grind … you encourage us all along the way … 

In the best moments of life, O God, you strengthen us for the journey … in the best of times, and the worst of times.

When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death … you walk quietly beside us … 

you stop and wait with us, when we cannot walk one step further, 

you sit with us when we cannot rise … 

you lay down with us when we are laid low … 

you hold us when we tremble … 

you do not let us go, dear God … 

even when we want to run away from you, and go and hide somewhere … 

Blessed Redeemer, creator of the heavens and earth … we give thanks for the creative energies you give to our world …

Bless our schools, O God, and all the children … bless their teachers, O LORD, and the administrators, the counselors, lunchroom workers, maintenance and cleaning staff … it takes a village, O God, to raise a child.

We’re mindful, O God, of Gus Walz … and millions of children and young adults who share his world. Protect them, we pray.

Thank you, Dear God, for those who gave us Labor Day … help our nation, O LORD, to not only enjoy its wealth, but to share its wealth … to be as eager in our generosity, as we are in our gain.

Bless our nation in this campaign season … bless Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, bless Donald Trump and J.D. Vance … bless all who seek office … instill within all of us, and each of us, a fresh desire to be the more perfect union … with liberty and justice for all.

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. 

8.25.24 Pastoral Prayer, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Prayers of Church & Community, August 25, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Dear God, the Father of all our hope, the Mother of all our dreams …

Help us, we pray, to be your people, to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world … help us, we pray, to fulfill our promises to you, to embody the grace of Christ, the intelligence of the Prophets, the passion of the Apostle Paul.

Help us, we pray, by the power and goodness of your Holy Spirit, to believe in the very things for which we pray:

To believe in hope, because you are forever present in the warp and woof of life …

To believe in compassion, and so to live compassionate lives …

To believe in mercy, and thus to be merciful …

To believe in goodness, and then strive for it.

To believe in forgiveness, 

to forgive those who’ve done us harm …

to forgive ourselves for the wretched things we’ve done …

To believe in the renewal of life … that we can always start over, always find help, and help others to regain their footing and rebuild their lives.

We thank you:

For love sublime, 

for beauty, 

for the energy of life, 

for creative ideas, 

for our opportunities to make something of ourselves … 

For those who’ve been patient with us, who’ve taught us good things, who’ve guided and blessed our lives all along the way.

With gratitude and trust, we pray for the daily tasks required of us … we pray for those with whom we work … classmates and teachers … the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker … bless them, one and all, we pray, and bless us with the love of Christ, all the more … that our light might shine, and the world be a better place.

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. 

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, August 18, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, Eternal Light … 

Love divine, all loves excelling …

Remind us, we pray, that we are yours … in life and in death, in time and for eternity … remind us that our trials and tribulations are held in your hands, that you are at work in all things for good … 

Instruct us in the ways of Christ, that we might be the salt of the earth and the light of the world … 

Give us this day our daily bread … forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors …

Holy God, Eternal Light,

Love divine, all loves excelling …

We pray for the people of Greece … those who fight the raging fires … who protect life and limb … who comfort the bereaved … who rebuild and restore … who live on for another day …

We pray for the scientists who study climate change … who pay attention to things we might otherwise ignore … give us, we pray, eyes to see your world of trees and creatures, and ears to hear their words … words of hope and cries of distress …

Save us, we pray, from those who speak lies to further their own interests … who confuse the matter to hide their greed … who fail the tests of credibility and decency … 

Give us, we pray, the courage to face the realities of the day … to live in the present and not hide in the past, to reach for the future, and welcome the new.

We pray for our children and grandchildren … we pray for our parents and grandparents … we pray for all who love us, and for all whom we love … 

Help us, we pray, to seek the better idea … to practice the fine arts of compassion and kindness … help us, we pray, to be patient in our decision-making, to speak the truth in love, and to live for the love of truth … we entrust ourselves to your care, dear God, and we care about thy kingdom, thy kingdom come, thy will be done … on earth as it is in heaven.

We pray for churches all around the world … we pray for synagogues and temples, mosques and monasteries … we pray for priests and pastors, imams and rabbis … 

We pray for Westminster on Lake Avenue … we pray for the Tower that still stands … may all who see it, see faith, hope, and love … may our doors, dear God, be open to all - the prodigal child, the lost coin, the wandering sheep … may everyone find shelter in this sanctuary … this home away from home, wherein the gospel is proclaimed with confidence and joy, forgiveness is the cornerstone of all that we are  … a place of innovation and creativity, fresh ideas and ancient wisdom … love divine, all loves excelling … 

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. 

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, August 11, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Your love, dear God, is our salvation.

Your kindness is the anchor of our soul.

Your mercy is a guiding light 

in every lonely darkened night.

We are yours … O God.

Your hand is upon us.

Christ in our hearts.

Christ in our dreams.

Christ all along the way.

We pray for ourselves, dear God, that we might embrace more of Christ, live more intentionally, and be ever so kind to one another. 

We pray for health of mind and body, 

we pray for the courage to speak up … in the face of ignorance and bigotry … and we pray for patience, and the wisdom, to hold our tongue, and be quiet.

we pray for peace of mind …  

we pray for confidence in your faithfulness, 

When we have done all that we can, O God, remind us of the great truth of faith:

you will complete the work that remains, 

and call into being - that which is still to come.

We pray for those who lead … for the United Nations … women and men of vision, who see the better day - a world where children are fed, women honored, a world where everyone can sit in the shade of their own fig tree and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Bless Westminster, we pray, in its quest for the future … bless all who come here to worship … all who join with us via YouTube … bless our neighborhoods, our schools and libraries … bless the banker and the broker, the shop keeper and the postal clerk, the truck driver and the warehouse worker; the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker … bless the community organizer and the social worker … bless the fire fighter and the police officer … bless, we pray, the story teller and the actor, those in front of the camera, and those behind it … those who dance and sing and lift our spirits … we lift them up to you, O LORD, and hold them in our prayers.

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.