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

 Prayers of Church & Community, March 10, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Holy God, eternal light, savior of our souls …

We are grateful for this moment, dear God - to be here in this place of vast memories, and unhindered hope … a place connected to the deepest currents of time and faith … a place to find ourselves … ground ourselves in the eternal truths of Christ … find strength to work and to life and to love … to sing the great hymns of faith, to read and ponder the Scriptures, to see ourselves in the light of Christ, and in the light of Christ, to see your enteral glory, O God - all that is good and right and beautiful.

Holy God, you are the rising cloud of the day and the pillar of fire at night … you are water from the rock, and manna in the morning … you are the sustenance of our lives, you are the law of the soul, you are the light ahead, and the way forward.

How many times, O God, have you parted the sea, to take us by the hand, and lead us to the Promised Land … how many times, O LORD, have you saved us, protected us, seen us through the wilderness, to make a way for us through a barren land?

How many times, O God, have your forgiven our faults and failings … how many times have you given us a fresh start, a new day, to begin all over again the tasks of living.

Holy God, eternal light, we give thanks … 

We pray for Israel and Palestine - the children of Abraham … we pray that peace will be found, justice achieved … forgive our warring ways, O God … the dogs of war devour the human soul … ancient hatreds resist healing … the merchants of death prosper … let the road to a better day be ours, O God … the green pastures and the still waters of truth.

We pray for loved ones, family and friends …

We pray for our nation, our President and Vice-President, members of Congress and the judiciary. We pray for state and local governments … we pray for our colleges and universities … local school systems and school boards … teachers and librarians … we pray for the preservation of our Democracy.

Let the bells of freedom ring loud and clear … let half-truth clouds be swept away … let the foolish notions of selfish religion be transformed to serve the welfare of all. Reveal, we pray, to one and to all, the greater truths of Christ.

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. 

12.11.22 Prayers of Church & Community, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

With adoration and gratitude, O God, we lay before you our prayers of the day: you are a most generous God, working tirelessly to sustain the world you love, to guide the creature you endowed with remarkable abilities.

You forgive us that we might always have a way forward … you lead us our tomorrows … and along the way, you are the companion, the Good Shepherd.

We pray for our President and Vice President … we pray for our Senators and House Members, we pray for the judges of the land.

We pray for the leaders of industry, particularly our railroads … we pray for the women and men who assemble the trains, their hands upon the throttles, the switches, the lights and the gates … who make it all happen. We pray for them, their unions, and those who make the decisions …  

Bless and keep our loved ones, we pray … our children and grandchildren, our parents and grandparents … extended families and co-workers … all the people through whom we find our identity and purpose.

In this Season of Advent, dear God, we rehearse the great themes of our faith: grateful for the love of Christ, born anew in our hearts.

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. 

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

Holy God, LORD of all time, we give thanks for the waters of baptism … the promise of life, the goodness of Christ your Son … the Holy Spirit, O God, the giver of life, who guides and guards our soul … from the first breath taken, to the last breath given … from here to eternity, world without end.

Holy God, LORD of all time, we give thanks for what has been … for all the saints who have trod the pathways of life … who gave of themselves, with forethought and patience … who bore the cross of Christ, with courage and wisdom, who have set before us examples of faith, hope, and love. Help us, O God, to be worthy of them of their work.

Holy God, LORD of all time, we give thanks for what is … for all the saints who lift high the banner of Christ, who rejoice in the name of Christ, who engage in the deep struggles of life, who seek your glorious kingdom, O God, who care for the earth, and strive for the welfare of the nations. Help us, O God, to be worthy of this work.

Holy God, LORD of all time, we give thanks for what shall be … for all the saints not yet born, those who will receive the waters of baptism, and take up the yoke of Christ … who will walk in the ways of faith, hope, and love … to be the church of Jesus Christ, for generations and generations to come. Help us, O God, to lay before them a brave and creative example of Christian goodness and human purpose, that they might light to us with gratitude.

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. 

Class of 1966 Reunion

Yesterday, at the Class of 1966 Reunion, I felt nothing but gratitude.
To have made it this far.
To know what I know.
To know what I don't.
To love the folks I love.
And to be loved of them.

Along the way, a lot of friends.
Friends for a bit of time.
Friends for all the years.
Friends forgotten.
Friendship renewed.

Couldn't recognize anyone.
But take a few moments and some chat.
It's the eyes that are the same.
And the smile.
And like wiping a fogged mirror.
Yesterday's image appears.

On the back of the program.
A list.
Of those no longer here.
It's sad, for sure.
My throat clinched.

At the Commencement,
We sang.
Several thousand of us sang.
"This Is My Father's World" ...
I choked a few times.

Thanks to Calvin College for putting it all together.
Not a beat was missed.
Choreographed with kindness.
Memories, laughter, and the steady beat of love.
And the gracious reminders of something divine.

We are not alone in this life.
Nor are we our own.
But we belong.
To a gracious God.
Now, and forevermore.

It's been a remarkable weekend.
Gratitude running deep.
Love all around.
Thanksgiving for what has been.
The courage to live, here and now.
Hope for what shall be.
And that's the way it is for me.
Of the Class of 1966.