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

Prayers of Church & Community, Nov. 17, 2024

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Who are we, LORD? … and what will become of us?

Moving Right Along!

What shall we do, and who shall we be?

Our lives, dear God, are filled with questions.

Random thoughts race across our mind … 

fretfulness near at hand … 

daily tasks press in upon us … 

and always, dear God, the love of Christ … the ceaseless mercy of your Holy Spirit, the impulse of hope and faith … you have not forgotten us, dear God, nor can we ever forget Christ.

We are yours, dear God … from birth to death and beyond … you created us in your image … you endowed us with great abilities … you empower us with far-reaching dreams … you forgive our foolishness, you restore our strength, you lead us upon the pathways of goodness and wisdom.

Eternal God, bless our loved ones, we pray … keep them in the hollow of your hand … guide their footsteps, open doors for them, lead them upon the pathways of goodness … remind us, dear God, that as we so love our loved ones, so you love the world …

We pray for our nation, and the nations of the world, especially we pray for the democratic nations … we are grateful, dear God, for leaders who see the higher vision of life and peace, who labor long and hard to ease the suffering of our world … we pray for the Peace Corps, and Doctors Without Borders … we pray for universities and colleges … we pray for missionaries across the world … and ministers who proclaim the gospel.

Bless Westminster, dear God, that we might remain strong in Christ, faithful to one another … bless houses of worship everywhere … coffee shops and cathedrals, mosques and temples … let words of hope and truth ring bright and clear … for the healing of the nations …

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. 

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. 

April 17, 2022 Prayers of the People - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

In the quiet glow of the morning sun, at the breaking of the dawn,  when it seemed that death had the upper hand, and spoke the final word - you, O LORD - you rolled away the stone … and gave to the world the lasting hope, that life proves victorious, goodness reigns supreme, life and death, held and transformed, by the very hands of the Risen Christ.

We give thanks, O God, for the glories of creation, the cry of a gull, the rush of a wave … the hills alive with the sounds of music … open our eyes, we pray, to see … to really see the birds of the air and the fish of the sea … to pay attention to their distress and death … to be mindful of the policies of extraction and exploitation that threaten your earth and violate your commandments. O God, we earnestly pray for our leaders, to take up the tasks of creation-care … to learn the hard lessons of the past, and set a new course for tomorrow.

We give thanks for all our loved ones who preceded us in the journey of life - mothers and fathers, wives and husbands, children and friends … we remember them today, giving thanks for their strength of soul and purpose of body … and, now, O LORD, held in your everlasting arms, in the safekeeping of your mercy … until that great gettin’ up morning, when all shall be made new, and all tears wiped away.

Deliver us, we pray, from the false gods of hope, gods who promise so very much and take away our souls … the false gods, the gods of materialism, religion, commerce and trade  … the false gods of self-indulgence and power … O LORD our God, center us in what is true and lasting, good and right … center us, we pray, in the Risen Christ and the fellowship of faith … that at home and in work, in school and in rest, we will never lose sight of your eternal mercies and the final hope of Christ.

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. 

April 10, 2022 Prayers of the People - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

 Prayers of the People, April 10, 2022 Palm Sunday

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, creator of the heavens and the earth:

You are the shepherd of our souls … and to you we belong.

With gratitude, O God, we lay our prayers upon the the altar of Christ … with gratitude, we lift up our lives as an offering to the work of reconciliation … that we might be worthy ambassadors of the gospel.

Be with us, we pray, in our daily journey … in the mundane things we hardly notice, and in the momentous occasions, when life takes a new direction, for good or for ill … in the sorrows of life, and in its joys.

We pray for those dear to us O God … we delight in their happiness, and we feel their every pain … we pray for legions of angels to guide and to guard them … to offer council when perplexed, and protection when threatened.

We pray for the homeless on Lake Avenue … those who’ve lost hope … weighed down by emotional and physical adversity …

We pray for our world, O God … we pray for wise leaders … women and men possessed of greatness, greatness in spirit and thought, greatness in compassion and care …  

We pray for our schools and for our teachers, for administrators and school boards … protect them from the forces and factions of discord - those who dismiss science, and promote fear of children, trans, gay and lesbian children. Where there is such ignorance, O LORD, shine the light of your wisdom. Where there is fear, the light of faith. Where there is bigotry, the light of love and peace. 

With trembling trust and prayerful hope, Dear God, we affirm our faith in Christ and welcome his call to follow where’er he lead - here at home, or to the ends of the earth.

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. 

March 27, 2022 Prayer of the People - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

With grateful hearts,  Dear God, we gather together in a place we love … a place filled with

history and memories, friendship and faith, learning and much love … a place wherein the call of Christ is proclaimed with joy … the challenges of life are faced with courage. A place, O LORD, you have sanctified with your presence! A place where you have promised to meet us.

We dedicate this moment to the high and holy purpose of Christ - to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives; recovery of sight to the blind; and to let the oppressed go free.

We vow anew, Dear God, to follow Christ where’re he lead … to live his truth, and trust his grace. Deliver us, we pray, from ideas and behaviors that harm our loved ones, and damage our souls. 

With grateful hearts, O God, we pray:

For loved ones, family and friends … for your mercy in all they undertake, your love in every moment, the power of forgiveness to hold them, and the peace of Christ to guard them.

We pray for the leaders of our nation - for the women and men who wear the mantle of politics … we pray that your Holy Spirit will guide their thoughts and frame their words. And may they, one and all, reflect the great ideals of our nation, and the highest ambitions of humanity.

O LORD our God, We pray for the people of Ukraine - surrounded by death and destruction - we pray that the nations of the world will provide adequate support in all regards, and peace will win the day.

We pray for the people of Russia, that the light of truth will help them counter the instincts of war, to find a better pathway to national security and their future.

And here in this blessed moment, we consider ourselves, Dear God - we know so well how fragile we are … we carry burdens no one else can see … we’re often afraid and dispirited … that you should love us is our comfort; that you should hear our prayers, and guide our ways, is our 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.