Each Sunday we gather in this place to worship and to sing God’s praises. We do so to deepen our faith in God, to renew our trust in God, and to revive our commitment to God. We do not come together simply for the sake of being together, or to help sustain a congregation and a small institution. Instead we convene to nurture and inform our faith, so that we may be more effective servants of God in the world. Therefore let us, with confidence, worship the God who gives us our faith.
Pastoral Prayer
Our hearts are filled with praise and thanksgiving, O God, for all the blessings Thou hast given us. We are free people in a free nation, and we express gratitude for that freedom. We have far more than enough of the world’s provisions to sustain us, and for that we also give Thee thanks. We praise Thee for the community of faith we find in this setting, and also for the world-wide community of people with whom we share the affinity of faith. Bless all of Thy children everywhere who believe in Thee and seek to serve Thee. Bless also the religious institutions which serve them, and which seek to be effective conduits of Thy love and grace.
We pray for those who are seeking election to national legislative offices. Give to our politicians a far greater commitment to the good of the people than to the good of the party. Enable them to work with one another rather than against one another. Loving God, we ponder what it must be like for Thee to be above the perpetual human fray, and to see the entire picture of human life and history, which we trust shall issue in ultimate victory. Help us to live as fruitfully as we can among vexing problems and seemingly insoluble issues. Keep us from unhealthy disgust or despair, and teach us how, individually and corporately, we can attempt to establish a better world around us.
We pray for those who most feel the need of Thy presence in their lives: the impoverished, who lack the basics necessary to sustain life; those who are addicted to anything which may be destroying their lives; the physically ill, who suffer pain and uncertainty; the mentally ill, who may or may not be aware of how far from the norm of human behavior their illness has taken them; and for those who have gone through the breaking of a relationship which has long sustained them and which may never again be repaired. Thou art the answer to all our prayers, O God, and we ask Thee to enable us to perceive that in new and affirming ways. All our prayers we make in Jesus’ name, who taught his disciples to pray together, saying, Our Father….