May 1, 2022 "Prayers of the People" Westminster Presbyterian Church Pasadena

Eternal God, you have made the world with all of its beauty and all of its power … you have given us a place in its story. Guide us, we pray, that we might be the caretakers of beauty, and humbled before the powers of earth and universe. We’re mindful of our mistakes, O God - the harm we do the earth, and to one another … here and now, we vow anew to resist the

instincts of greed and to promote the impulse of love.

In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, we give thanks for your ceaseless grace and endless mercy … we are grateful to receive the gifts of life … from the moment of our birth to the end of our days … the best of times, the worst of times, your faithfulness sustains our faith; your hope, our hope; your love, our love.

We pray for loved one and friends … we pray with deep assurance; the assurance that our prayers are heard in the halls of heaven, and well received in your heart … that every prayer, O God, is honored, every prayer is answered … prayers of faith, and prayers of panic … prayers of hope, and prayers of despair … prayers noble and wise, prayers shallow and selfish … all kinds of prayers, Dear God, and all kinds of people, in all kinds of places and times … you are the God of mercy, and always the God of Hope … the God who hears every prayer.

For our church family, O God, we give thanks … for those who’ve gone this way before us, with song and good cheer, giving in every way they could, to build this sanctuary, speak peace to the community, fund ministries and mission around the world. We are eternally in their debt, Dear God, and pay it forward for generations still to come.

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 24, 2022, Prayers of the People, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena

 Prayers of the People, Sunday, April 24

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, Holy God, loving God, by your word we are created … we find love by your love … we see light in your light.

Help us, this day, to see ourselves clearly … to live and to laugh, to sing and to dance … to care for your earth and to build the world, a world fit for all your creatures, great and small.

Help us to pay attention to the people with whom we have commerce - the call-center voice trying to answer our questions … the receptionist checking us in for our appointment … the teen sitting in her car at the light, next to us, bouncing away with her music … the bedraggled lady in the roadway median with a sign asking for help … help us to pay attention to them, dear God … they are human beings; they have family and friends - someone knows the deeps of their soul, the struggles they have, the burdens they carry, the love they want, the life they have to live. 

We give them to you, O LORD … we give them a smile, a nod of the head, a word spoken gently - to let them know that we see them, hear them, because they are worth more than gold, created in your image … and help us, Dear God, to order our society in ways that are consistent with our better angels … the angels of compassion and generosity - a society, O God, that cares for everyone, whatever the need, however life has turned out.

Help our loved ones, O God … their wellbeing, their health, their ambitions and dreams. Bless us, too, O LORD, who gather here - we, too, need your healing, your guidance, your mercy, your love … on our own road of life. 

Help our world leaders to quiet the dogs of war, to seek the angels of peace … to back away from brinkmanship, to choose diplomacy over armed threat … to be leaders of hope rather than tyrants of fear.

Bless Westminster Presbyterian Church, Dear God, that we might grow all the more in the grace and wisdom of our LORD Jesus Christ … that our Tower would remain a beacon of hope for all the world, and our life together, a sign of your kingdom, a sign of goodness and compassion.

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. 

March 20, 2022 Prayers of the People - Westminster PC

Prayers of the People, 3.20.22

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Eternal God, to whom we belong.

In mind, body, heart and soul.

We give thanks for the gift of life, the love of Christ, this church, and the present moment in which we find ourselves called, called to live the ways of faith, hope, and love … called to let our light shine, clear and bright … called to grieve the violence and hate all around us, called to celebrate all those who point to the higher way, and live for the sake of others.

With all that we are, Dear God, and all that we hope to be, we set ourselves to the tasks at hand - we pray with all our might that we would further the welfare of our world.

And to that end, Dear God, we lift up our politicians and judges, those whom we have elected to serve the needs of our nation … and we pray for the leaders of the world who now face inordinate challenges, as the dogs of war have once again been unleashed, in a most horrible and hideous way. 

We pray for our own peace of mind, O God, not that we wish to be undisturbed, but rather in our disturbance, we would feel your compassion and your distress - for this is part of what it means to carry our cross - to feel deeply the pains of your world, it’s sorrows and it’s fears, and we will carry our cross, O LORD, as best we can.

We pray, now for our loved ones near and far - we pray for your legions of angels to surround them and keep them safe, in body and soul - we pray for our parents, our children, our grandchildren.

And we pray for our Westminster church - and for the church universal - that women and men of good conscience, girls and boys, will continue to lift up the name of Christ in ways that are constructive and healing.

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.