We are grateful, O God, for the gift of life:
To love and be loved,
To cherish and to hold,
To forgive and be forgiven,
To know something of Jesus our LORD … to be a part of the church, to lift up the light of hope, and to make this a better world.
We pray today for the Rev. Dr. Harold Kidd, our new moderator of the Presbytery of the Pacific … and we pray for the Presbytery staff:
The Rev. Linda Culbertson
The Rev. Steve Smith
The Rev. Bill Hazen
Kathy Porter
Doug Rozendal
Veronica Sanchez-Morales
Betty Simen
The Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble
We pray for Christians everywhere … a myriad of voices and styles – store front churches in Chicago and a thatched roof shed in Haiti – a spired cathedral in London and a New England white clapboard – fancy to plain; small and large; sometimes silly and sanctimonious, sometimes harsh and judgmental, sometimes proud and pompous, sometimes grand and glorious, good and gracious, wise and welcoming – but mostly, LORD, just human beings whom you have touched with grace – trying to figure it out – wondering what it means to follow Jesus.
We pray, O God, for our President and for Congress and the courts of the land … we pray for our ambassadors and for our military … we pray for peace and we pray for the healing of the nations.
We pray for the millions in our land who have lost job and home … who struggle to keep bread on the table and a roof over their heads …
Help us to marshal our resources for the well-being of our people – to pay attention to the least of these in our midst – we pray, O God, that we may have your eyes and your love – your compassion and your purpose –
Fill us, we pray with the Spirit of Christ and the passion of the prophets – to challenge the self-serving powers within all of us and within our land, to challenge the self-righteous instincts of religion – to push and to prod, to be real and to be kind, to be thoughtful and merciful – to be a light for our world and the salt of the earth.
And in your mercy, O God, help us we pray: we face problems that perplex us, tasks for which we feel unequal. Our inner lives are often a battlefield where faith and fear contend. We see in our lives failure that only your mercy can pardon, and possibilities of good that only your grace can bring to fulfillment. In this and all the matters of life, dear God, we need your help.
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name …
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Prayers of the People – Sunday, February 8, 2009
What does it mean to live, O God?
We have lots of questions … and we’re not sure what any of it means, but, LORD, we do our best, and we thank you for your grace … the daily bread of your mercy … the presence of the Holy Spirit, for we are not alone in our journey – you walk beside us, and a great cloud of witnesses encourage us.
We pray today for Congress and President Obama.
They have a lot on their plates, LORD … a lot to think about.
The weight of the nation’s present turmoil lies uneasy on their shoulders.
We pray for the banks of our nation …
We pray for the board rooms of America … the women and men of Wall Street …
And we pray for the American people …
In such times, O LORD, give us vision.
Help us live the ethic of contentment, especially when we have enough … to be peaceable with one another …
To come to one another’s defense.
And for those who have enough, to be mindful of those who have too little:
A child in a crumbling classroom …
A man who cannot find a job …
Workers around the nation paid to little and who live in a state of constant fear, that today will be their last day on the job.
A mentally challenged student whose family cannot afford the private school.
An elderly couple who cannot afford medical care and rent at the same time.
LORD, there’s a lot of folks who live on the downside of life … and for them, and for their wellbeing, we pray, and we do more than pray, we work …
For justice and for fair play.
For a level playing field.
And for kindness – to care for those who will never be able to care for themselves … to provide for their welfare, in the same spirit with which you, O God, provide for ours – free of charge!
LORD, we gather here this morning in sober reflection …
And joyful thanksgiving …
Much to ponder … and much to do.
But most of all, we say Thank You!
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done …
We have lots of questions … and we’re not sure what any of it means, but, LORD, we do our best, and we thank you for your grace … the daily bread of your mercy … the presence of the Holy Spirit, for we are not alone in our journey – you walk beside us, and a great cloud of witnesses encourage us.
We pray today for Congress and President Obama.
They have a lot on their plates, LORD … a lot to think about.
The weight of the nation’s present turmoil lies uneasy on their shoulders.
We pray for the banks of our nation …
We pray for the board rooms of America … the women and men of Wall Street …
And we pray for the American people …
In such times, O LORD, give us vision.
Help us live the ethic of contentment, especially when we have enough … to be peaceable with one another …
To come to one another’s defense.
And for those who have enough, to be mindful of those who have too little:
A child in a crumbling classroom …
A man who cannot find a job …
Workers around the nation paid to little and who live in a state of constant fear, that today will be their last day on the job.
A mentally challenged student whose family cannot afford the private school.
An elderly couple who cannot afford medical care and rent at the same time.
LORD, there’s a lot of folks who live on the downside of life … and for them, and for their wellbeing, we pray, and we do more than pray, we work …
For justice and for fair play.
For a level playing field.
And for kindness – to care for those who will never be able to care for themselves … to provide for their welfare, in the same spirit with which you, O God, provide for ours – free of charge!
LORD, we gather here this morning in sober reflection …
And joyful thanksgiving …
Much to ponder … and much to do.
But most of all, we say Thank You!
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done …
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Prayers of the People - February 1, 2009
We are grateful, O God, for the delight of life and its many, many, joys … while there are plenty of things to test our spirit and try our soul, we take pleasure in family and in friends – the simple things of life: a good dish of pasta with meatballs, a salad with crisp lettuce, a fine glass of wine – and the laughter of the soul.
O LORD our God, in times as these,
Help us keep our balance.
Though fear is in the air,
Help us remain close to you, trusting you in all things.
Keep us steadfast LORD, determined to make a difference … to uphold the values of love … to become all the more engaged in projects and programs to keep our nation faithful to the vision of our founding mothers and fathers – a nation wherein all the world can find a home, where justice is never rationed, but given freely for all, and everyone has a chance to pursue their own dreams of happiness.
Help us, as those who follow Christ,
To embody the love he gives.
The love for which he died.
And the love that breaks forth from the empty tomb.
A love that cannot die again.
A love pure and bright.
A love that builds up and restores,
And makes all things new.
We thank you for the heroes of our faith, great women and men who swim against the tide, who march to the beat of heaven’s drummers …
But more than heroes, we give thanks for a million deeds of kindness done everyday by a million people who make life better for us … every word said with kindness, every prayer uttered, every deed well done, every bit and piece of love offered up to make life good and beautiful.
For those who work in soup kitchens and food pantries,
For those who gather up used clothing and furniture and get those things into needy hands and needy homes.
For a wife who faithfully cares for her ailing husband.
For parents who anguish quietly and faithfully for a child having a hard time of it.
For a man who goes to work anyway, to support his family.
For preachers and pastors, for missionaries and Sunday School teachers … for singers and musicians … for millions of folks who keep the faith and love one another.
The faithfulness of millions who do it well, even the smallest of things, when they don’t feel like it, when they don’t want to, but they do it anyway.
Who lead with vision.
Who serve with humility.
Who inspire and encourage.
Who appreciate the co-worker and put up with the difficult.
Who sew and sell, who make and manage, with graceful dignity and patient endurance.
All the small deeds of good, O LORD - the love that builds up the whole world.
Thanks be to you, O God …
For Jesus and the church.
For this table and the bread and drink of communion.
Tomorrow, LORD, another day.
We’ll do our best.
We’ll love and try again.
We’ll seek your counsel and rely on your mercy.
We’ll keep on growing and keep on going.
We’ll not give up.
We’ll not be persuaded by materialism.
We’ll be persuaded by the eternal things of faith, hope and love.
By your grace, we will be,
The salt of the earth,
And the light of the world.
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done …
O LORD our God, in times as these,
Help us keep our balance.
Though fear is in the air,
Help us remain close to you, trusting you in all things.
Keep us steadfast LORD, determined to make a difference … to uphold the values of love … to become all the more engaged in projects and programs to keep our nation faithful to the vision of our founding mothers and fathers – a nation wherein all the world can find a home, where justice is never rationed, but given freely for all, and everyone has a chance to pursue their own dreams of happiness.
Help us, as those who follow Christ,
To embody the love he gives.
The love for which he died.
And the love that breaks forth from the empty tomb.
A love that cannot die again.
A love pure and bright.
A love that builds up and restores,
And makes all things new.
We thank you for the heroes of our faith, great women and men who swim against the tide, who march to the beat of heaven’s drummers …
But more than heroes, we give thanks for a million deeds of kindness done everyday by a million people who make life better for us … every word said with kindness, every prayer uttered, every deed well done, every bit and piece of love offered up to make life good and beautiful.
For those who work in soup kitchens and food pantries,
For those who gather up used clothing and furniture and get those things into needy hands and needy homes.
For a wife who faithfully cares for her ailing husband.
For parents who anguish quietly and faithfully for a child having a hard time of it.
For a man who goes to work anyway, to support his family.
For preachers and pastors, for missionaries and Sunday School teachers … for singers and musicians … for millions of folks who keep the faith and love one another.
The faithfulness of millions who do it well, even the smallest of things, when they don’t feel like it, when they don’t want to, but they do it anyway.
Who lead with vision.
Who serve with humility.
Who inspire and encourage.
Who appreciate the co-worker and put up with the difficult.
Who sew and sell, who make and manage, with graceful dignity and patient endurance.
All the small deeds of good, O LORD - the love that builds up the whole world.
Thanks be to you, O God …
For Jesus and the church.
For this table and the bread and drink of communion.
Tomorrow, LORD, another day.
We’ll do our best.
We’ll love and try again.
We’ll seek your counsel and rely on your mercy.
We’ll keep on growing and keep on going.
We’ll not give up.
We’ll not be persuaded by materialism.
We’ll be persuaded by the eternal things of faith, hope and love.
By your grace, we will be,
The salt of the earth,
And the light of the world.
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done …
Prayers of the People - February 1, 2009
Prayers of the People – Sunday, February 1, 2009
We are grateful, O God, for the delight of life and its many, many, joys … while there are plenty of things to test our spirit and try our soul, we take pleasure in family and in friends – the simple things of life: a good dish of pasta with meatballs, a salad with crisp lettuce, a fine glass of wine – and the laughter of the soul.
O LORD our God, in times as these,
Help us keep our balance.
Though fear is in the air,
Help us remain close to you, trusting you in all things.
Keep us steadfast LORD, determined to make a difference … to uphold the values of love … to become all the more engaged in projects and programs to keep our nation faithful to the vision of our founding mothers and fathers – a nation wherein all the world can find a home, where justice is never rationed, but given freely for all, and everyone has a chance to pursue their own dreams of happiness.
Help us, as those who follow Christ,
To embody the love he gives.
The love for which he died.
And the love that breaks forth from the empty tomb.
A love that cannot die again.
A love pure and bright.
A love that builds up and restores,
And makes all things new.
We thank you for the heroes of our faith, great women and men who swim against the tide, who march to the beat of heaven’s drummers …
But more than heroes, we give thanks for a million deeds of kindness done everyday by a million people who make life better for us … every word said with kindness, every prayer uttered, every deed well done, every bit and piece of love offered up to make life good and beautiful.
For those who work in soup kitchens and food pantries,
For those who gather up used clothing and furniture and get those things into needy hands and needy homes.
For a wife who faithfully cares for her ailing husband.
For parents who anguish quietly and faithfully for a child having a hard time of it.
For a man who goes to work anyway, to support his family.
For preachers and pastors, for missionaries and Sunday School teachers … for singers and musicians … for millions of folks who keep the faith and love one another.
The faithfulness of millions who do it well, even the smallest of things, when they don’t feel like it, when they don’t want to, but they do it anyway.
Who lead with vision.
Who serve with humility.
Who inspire and encourage.
Who appreciate the co-worker and put up with the difficult.
Who sew and sell, who make and manage, with graceful dignity and patient endurance.
All the small deeds of good, O LORD - the love that builds up the whole world.
Thanks be to you, O God …
For Jesus and the church.
For this table and the bread and drink of communion.
Tomorrow, LORD, another day.
We’ll do our best.
We’ll love and try again.
We’ll seek your counsel and rely on your mercy.
We’ll keep on growing and keep on going.
We’ll not give up.
We’ll not be persuaded by materialism.
We’ll be persuaded by the eternal things of faith, hope and love.
By your grace, we will be,
The salt of the earth,
And the light of the world.
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done …
We are grateful, O God, for the delight of life and its many, many, joys … while there are plenty of things to test our spirit and try our soul, we take pleasure in family and in friends – the simple things of life: a good dish of pasta with meatballs, a salad with crisp lettuce, a fine glass of wine – and the laughter of the soul.
O LORD our God, in times as these,
Help us keep our balance.
Though fear is in the air,
Help us remain close to you, trusting you in all things.
Keep us steadfast LORD, determined to make a difference … to uphold the values of love … to become all the more engaged in projects and programs to keep our nation faithful to the vision of our founding mothers and fathers – a nation wherein all the world can find a home, where justice is never rationed, but given freely for all, and everyone has a chance to pursue their own dreams of happiness.
Help us, as those who follow Christ,
To embody the love he gives.
The love for which he died.
And the love that breaks forth from the empty tomb.
A love that cannot die again.
A love pure and bright.
A love that builds up and restores,
And makes all things new.
We thank you for the heroes of our faith, great women and men who swim against the tide, who march to the beat of heaven’s drummers …
But more than heroes, we give thanks for a million deeds of kindness done everyday by a million people who make life better for us … every word said with kindness, every prayer uttered, every deed well done, every bit and piece of love offered up to make life good and beautiful.
For those who work in soup kitchens and food pantries,
For those who gather up used clothing and furniture and get those things into needy hands and needy homes.
For a wife who faithfully cares for her ailing husband.
For parents who anguish quietly and faithfully for a child having a hard time of it.
For a man who goes to work anyway, to support his family.
For preachers and pastors, for missionaries and Sunday School teachers … for singers and musicians … for millions of folks who keep the faith and love one another.
The faithfulness of millions who do it well, even the smallest of things, when they don’t feel like it, when they don’t want to, but they do it anyway.
Who lead with vision.
Who serve with humility.
Who inspire and encourage.
Who appreciate the co-worker and put up with the difficult.
Who sew and sell, who make and manage, with graceful dignity and patient endurance.
All the small deeds of good, O LORD - the love that builds up the whole world.
Thanks be to you, O God …
For Jesus and the church.
For this table and the bread and drink of communion.
Tomorrow, LORD, another day.
We’ll do our best.
We’ll love and try again.
We’ll seek your counsel and rely on your mercy.
We’ll keep on growing and keep on going.
We’ll not give up.
We’ll not be persuaded by materialism.
We’ll be persuaded by the eternal things of faith, hope and love.
By your grace, we will be,
The salt of the earth,
And the light of the world.
In the name of our LORD Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done …
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday Prayers – January 25, 2009
To hear again the stories of Jesus …
To renew our promises to you and to one another …
To start all over again …
Or maybe to start for the first time … to follow Jesus our LORD.
We pray in a time of crisis, O God.
Our nation teeters on the brink of financial failure …
And for many today, as we pray,
They’ve already slipped over the edge.
The pink slip on the desk …
Bills piling up …
Foreclosure, or the threat of it.
For so many, O LORD, hard times are here …
We pray for our leadership.
For our President and his family.
For our members of Congress …
For Democrats and Republicans …
They have a lot on their plate …
To keep them awake at night …
May your Spirit help them.
We pray in time of global wariness …
Changes and shifts in the balance of power …
Peoples on the move …
For those of over 50, O God, it’s a very different world.
For those under 30, it’s the only world they’ve known – a world of many colors and many tongues; a world of many religions and philosophies, all bumping up against one another … an internet world, of text messaging and instant news …
But God, it’s still your world.
You are still at work in all things …
Your Holy Spirit strives with our spirit …
To give us vision and hope,
To point the way
You are still the God who pays us a visit in the cool of the day …
You are the God always born anew, in some Bethlehem, in the corners of our soul … in places unexpected … in times we cannot understand … you are still the God of mercy and kindness.
We pray, O God, in a time of judgment.
When greed and violence have come to naught.
When excess and pride have run their course.
When war and rumors of war have wearied the soul.
When godless dreams and self-serving interests have brought us nothing but chaff and straw.
When religion itself has proved shallow and wanting.
Your hand is upon the nations of the world, O God.
Your hand is heavy, as it should be.
To counsel and to correct.
To reveal the hollowness of the heart.
To undress the soul and reveal its poverty.
To awaken dormant dreams of a better world for all.
To restore our balance and rekindle the fires of justice.
We pray, O God, to seek your grace and kindness.
Not merely that we would be comfortable, but that we might be conformed – conformed to the image of your Son, Jesus our LORD.
We pray, O God, to have less of ourselves and more of you.
We pray, O God, that in hard times, we’ll keep our eyes upon you, and help others do the same.
We pray, O God, for you are, our rock and our redeemer.
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 …
Monday, January 19, 2009
Prayers … Sunday, January 18, 2009
That you have found us …
And made us a part of Christ …
It’s always a miracle of grace … that we should be here!
We are grateful for all things great and small … for you are at work in all things … in the bright and the beautiful; in the sad and the bitter … at work for good, and we give thanks … as you mold our lives and establish our character – that we might discover along the ways of our life the glories of your love and the wonder of your ways.
We give thanks today for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who saw a need and rose to the occasion … who faltered at times, but didn’t give up … who faced untold threats and stayed the course … who prayed to you with joy and with tears … who wrote and preached a consistent message of equality and justice for all.
We give thanks for all such folks, some known to the world, and some known but to you – folks who see a need and fill it … who pray and write … love and lead … help and hope … changing the world with their courage and their convictions …
We pray for our nation today as we prepare to inaugurate our 44th president, Barak Hussein Obama … we pray for his wife, Michelle, and his two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
We pray for Joe and Jill Biden and their children …
We pray for our legislators and our judges …
And for the wellbeing of our nation …
To marshal our resources and firm up our resolve, O LORD …
To take big steps to heal the wounds and restore our economy …
To care for one another as our Founding Fathers and Mothers envisioned … in this new land … a haven for the world … from sea to shining sea.
We pray, as well, O LORD, for Covenant on the Corner …
Our part of the church of Jesus Christ …
We thank you for what has been in our 60 years …
For what is …
And what shall be …
O LORD our God, we would be faithful to you …
As you have been faithful to us …
Pour out upon us the full measure of your Holy Spirit …
We cannot do this on our own …
Wouldn’t want to do it on our own …
For in your light, we see light …
By your grace, we are found.
We bless and praise you, O God,
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 …
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Prayer- January 4, 2009
In the turning of the page, O God, a fresh start …
A new year upon us …
A chance to review the way it’s been …
And maybe craft a few new ideas for how we’re going to live.
We thank you, O God, that we’re here …
It’s good to be alive,
To have friends and family …
To love and be loved …
To have a church called Covenant…
To have a job …
To be retired …
To have bread on the table and a place to lay our head …
Help us, we pray, O God, for the year to come …
To be people of faith … to put ourselves more completely into your hands … to become better acquainted with Jesus and to follow more clearly …
To believe deeply and fervently in the spiritual character of life … that life is more than just food and drink, and the passing of time like sand through our fingers …
To see the sacred in every moment … the sacred in every human being … to see your son Jesus in the least of the least …
Help us, we pray, to be women and men of hope …
Because you are at work in all things …
And all things work together for good …
When others see only darkness, help us to let our light shine.
When others are discouraged, give us patience to walk slowly with them on their own dark road …
When the angry voices of our world shout loudly, give us words of peace and forgiveness …
When the news brings so much sadness, energize us with hope, O God, so that we, your people, can apply ourselves creatively and hopefully to the resolution of the world’s ills …
And for all those groups who work for peace … who work on behalf of hope …
Who light a candle in the dark …
Who offer a helping hand …
Who stand beside the poor and the oppressed …
Who challenge the corrupt values of power and greed …
O God, we thank you for the grace at work in our world … and the hope we have in Jesus our LORD.
Help us, we pray, to be a people of great love …
To love the sunrise and the sounds of music …
To love the wind in the leaves and a fresh cup of coffee …
To love with action as well as words …
To love life with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind …
To love kindness, practice justice, and walk humbly with you …
To love you and to love one another as Jesus does … for he is love, and to love is see you, and to see you is to love …
To be people, O God, of faith, hope and love …
For the year ahead …
For 2009 …
For all that shall be …
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 …
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