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. 

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

 Prayers of Church & Community, March 17, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, Eternal Light … creator of the heavens and the earth … your poetry is written

across the evening sky, and inscribed upon our heart … you speak to us quietly and without fanfare … you speak in the tenderness of a child’s smile, their exuberance, and the pleading of their eyes, that we give them a future. You are the unsettling presence that stirs our conscience, you are the soothing mercy that heals the troubled soul. 

Holy God, Eternal Light … we pray for our needs, and those of our loved ones … we give thanks for the good we have done, and we express sorrow for the good we didn’t do … 

We pray, O God, for wisdom … to discern the difference between what is real and what is fantasy … to know falsehood and how it destroys, to know the truth and how it saves … to read the news with careful eyes, to hear the the stories of the day with thoughtful ears … to weigh carefully the claims made, to pray without ceasing, for the counsel of your Holy Spirit.

We give thanks for the likes of King David … his goodness and his achievements … and his honesty when he failed … when he failed those whom he loved, when he failed his nation, when he failed you, O God. 

May the leaders of our world know the boundaries of power … may they be saved from the delusions of status … may the great nations of the world learn the art of restraint, compromise, and doubt - self-doubt, O LORD, an important gift on the road to hope, for nations, and for each of us.

We pray for our YouTube Family - for John and Rose, Marla, Mark, Charles, Anne and Stan - all of them, and more … for their faithfulness, we are grateful, and we pray, O LORD, for their welfare, in mind, body, heart, and soul. 

For our Muslim sisters and brothers, and the Season of Ramadan … 

We pray this day for people of faith throughout our nation … a welter of voices, some claiming special revelation, others just going with the flow … more churchianity than christianity, more form than faith … help us, we pray, to move deeply into the mysteries of our faith, to draw large the circles of concern and purpose, to be more than what we are, to grow and not shrink, to enlarge our cache of wisdom, add to it, enlarge it, give it life, that we might give to the generations to come greatness of courage, breadth of compassion, deeps of serious thinking, and the ethics of justice 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. 

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

Eternal God, grant to us this day some relief from the stress of our times, some distance from the sorrows and challenges of the present … that we might heal in soul and spirit, regain our strength and resolve … to face the demands of life, to bear the burdens of sin and sorrow, to be of help to others, to embody the love of Christ in all that we are.

We give thanks for the blessings of life … things that cheer us, and make us laugh … things to lighten our spirits and refresh our souls … there is much in this world, O LORD, to heal the wounds and lift up the weary … give us, we pray, the eyes to see the glories of your world … the bright hues of a morning sky, the blaze of color in a field of poppies … and all around us, the joyous blooms of trees and bushes … a world of color and exuberance, delight and wonder, birth and rebirth.

We pray this day for our loved ones - family and friends … those with whom we work, those who sit beside us in school … loved ones far away … and for each of them, O God, we lift our prayers, for their wellbeing, in body and soul … to have great purpose and high ambition … to set their hands to the plow, and never look back, to face the days that lie ahead, with joy and hope, confidence and courage.

We pray, O God, for our San Gabriel Presbytery, for the Rev. Wendy Tajima, and all of our churches and ministers, our elders and deacons … musicians and staff … and the ever-faithful members who give and serve, love and help, sing and dance, to your glory, O God, and strive for the welfare of the world.

Holy God, light eternal, you are the father, the mother, of us all … you instruct us with the light of stars, you counsel us in the rush of wind, you speak to us in the eyes of a child … you shelter us in time of storm, you guide us with with your hand, you see us through the trials and temptations of life … as our father eternal, as our mother forever, Happy Mother’s Day … may your children make you proud.

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. 

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

Holy God, creator of the heavens and the earth, speak tenderly to us, we pray, for we need to be healed, to be loved, to be given some peace.

Speak forcefully to us, we pray, for we need our emotional defenses breached, our resistance conquered, our reluctance challenged.

Speak quietly to us, we pray … compel us to listen, for there is much we have to learn, much we need to know, O God, to transform our souls, all over again, day-by-day, that we might be ready for the challenges of the hour, the trials of life, moments of loss and sorrow, tragedy and fear.

Speak assuringly to us, we pray … remind us that you are the ultimate love of the universe, a love into which we can place our lives, our daily strivings, our loved ones, and do so, with confidence, dear God, even if the world should turn into darkness and pain.

Speak that we might hear … that we might know … that we might see the glory of Christ …

upon the Mt. of Transfiguration … that we might see Moses and Elijah at his side, that we might see the disciples on that mountain of peace and hope, bewilderment and wonder … and, there, to see ourselves, lost and found, blind and sighted, with Christ on the Mt, and with Christ in the valley … and with Christ all around the town.

We have given our lives to you, O God … and you have received us with boundless love and joy - by your Holy Spirit, you lead us upon the pathways of life … you forgive us in our failures, you restore us in times of loss and hurt, you assure us when we’re discouraged and frightened, you strengthen us when we stumble and lift us up when we’re tired … you bring us to rest when the day is done … and to eternal rest, when mortal life is ended.

We pray for President Jimmy Carter and his family … we give thanks for his life and work … in all such things, dear God, you guide him to the gates of heaven, and beyond. You are a faithful and loving God.

For this day, O God, we are grateful … we are glad to be here, to be with one another, to hear the gospel, to sing the songs of Zion, to celebrate Mardi Gras, kick up our heels a bit, as the saints come marching in.

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. 

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

God of grace and God of glory,

on your people pour your pow’r;

crown your ancient Church’s story,

bring its bud to glorious flow’r.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage

for the facing of this hour,

for the facing of this hour.

Eternal God, creator of the heavens and the earth, give us, we pray, the deeps of faith, the heights of hope, the strength of love … that we might carry the cross of Christ, the burden of care.

Eternal God, give us this day our daily bread … courage for the facing of this hour … a hour of tumult and strife, a world of war and a bundle of lies … families divided, friend against friend … a religious landscape blighted by false promises and abuse … too much greed, too much power, too little conscience, and not enough love.

These are the times, O God, and we are the people … we wish things were different, dear God, but we’re willing to face this hour, even as Christ had to face his time. Every generation, O God, has to choose, in the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side.

You have called us to follow Christ, and you have made it possible … your Holy Spirit creates within us, day-by-day, a readiness to serve, a willingness to say Yes … the desire to make a difference. 

You have called and created Westminster Presbyterian Church, a tower of truth, a beacon of hope, a place of safety, a fountain of love, to refresh a weary world.

With gratitude, O God, we pray for our family and friends … 

We pray for our communities and neighbors …

We pray for our churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.

Wherever faith is proclaimed.

Wherever questions are asked.

Wherever love is practiced.

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. 

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles






One of the finest I've ever read ... like an eight-course dinner in a five-star restaurant, every course just right, wonderfully plated and served with elegance, wine with every serving, plenty of time to savor every offering, delicious, with a stunned shake of the head ... can anything be this good? And it is.

Character development is rich ... Towles use of words masterful ... a man in charge of the words, and not, like so much self-published stuff, the words in charge of the writer.

The reader, at least this one, is swept up into the sorrows and joys of it all ... and on nearly every page, a quotable quote, and at all the right times, like a palette-cleansing sorbet, laughter, sometimes slight, and sometimes a hearty guffaw.

A book to be studied, enjoyed, loved, and when done, set aside with thanksgiving, that in this often crazy and cruel world, there are some who will not give in, but will find a way to find the gifts of life and love ... and Towles, as a master of the art, to tell the tale of hope.





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Pastoral Prayer, January 24, 2016

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

Pastoral Prayer

O LORD, our God:

The news of the day comes against us like a harsh wind out of the North … courage fails us … and we know not what to think or how to act.

Yet, here we are, O God, because we believe in the victory of better things … we believe love prevails, kindness wins; we believe justice and peace are part and parcel of the fabric of creation … we believe worship adds to the world’s wellbeing … and we believe in prayer.

So we pray for the leaders of the world - may they resist the temptations of saber-rattling and war … may they be devoted to the high arts of diplomacy and the disciplines of compromise … may they reach for the greater glory of life … bridges of understanding … people to accept one another … honor divergent cultures, celebrate religious diversity.

And may religious leaders be thoroughly disciplined by the demands of love … to proclaim welcome and justice, humility and virtue … to resist the dark side of religion, and to embrace the light … to do your will, and to become people of good will … devoted all the more to non-violence and the ways of love.

Of our nation, O God - America the Beautiful, from sea to shining sea, we are a great power; but temper our thoughts with humility and kindness … lest we be deluded and betrayed by our very own strength … and for our Founders we give thanks; for their vision of a new land and a new world order, wherein all are created equal, and all possess the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

O LORD our God, toward these high and lofty ends:

We pray for our President and Vice President and their families.

We pray for Congress, and the judiciary.

We pray for governors, mayors and county clerks.

And for us here, O God, in this place, the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles … with gratitude for our story, and a promise for tomorrow, we seek the love of Christ in all that we are, and for all that we hope to be … in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ we pray. Amen!