Church people the world over have a common purpose and goal and experience. Who we are and what we think are strongly influenced by our Christian upbringing and background. But millions of Americans do not share that background, and therefore may be almost oblivious to overt Christian values. We thank God for the influence which Christendom has had in our nation’s history and evolution, but we cannot take its continuation for granted. Nevertheless, we gather in confidence to worship the God who makes us part of the fabric of American Christendom.
Pastoral Prayer
Great and loving God, Thou hast brought the universe into being for purposes known only to Thee. As such we too are a part of Thy creative impulse, but we can never fully comprehend why specifically we have been brought into being. Nonetheless, we thank Thee that each of us has a part in the created order, and that we feel the leading of Thy spirit in our lives, our land, and our life together as human beings on this planet.
We thank Thee for the unique privilege which is ours to live in this community, to which millions of visitors come each year. Keep us from taking the benefits of Hilton Head Island and the Lowcountry of South Carolina for granted, and make us grateful residents of this beautiful community. When we look at the beach, we thank Thee. When we look at massive white clouds on an early afternoon in summer, we thank Thee. When we see squadrons of birds, when we observe phalanxes of many kinds of trees, when we see pairs of eyes squinting at our headlights in the darkness, we thank Thee. We express our pleasure at being blessed to live in this man-made Eden in a God-made world.
Gracious Father, we pray for anyone who at this particular time is unable to perceive the goodness of Thy creation: the very ill, who linger between life and death, and whose level of consciousness varies greatly from day to day; the sick of mind, who have lost the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy or good from evil; the financially destitute, who live from day to day uncertain of where their next meal may come from or where they may lay down to rest their weary and emaciated bodies; for the overworked and underpaid, the greatly talented and under-appreciated, and those who bear immensely heavy responsibilities but whose work can be totally understood by almost no one. Help us whose lives are relatively carefree to assist those who need the help of concerned people around them, and make us little Christs to our neighbors. We pray all things in the name of Jesus, our Lord. Now as he taught us we pray together, saying, Our Father….