June 14, 2020

PASTORAL PRAYER

O holy and gracious God, we bring before you the contents of our hearts and the abundance of feelings that swirl within us. We do offer you our thanks and praise for the gifts and graces of our lives, for the beauty and wonder of creation, for the wobbly legs of newborn deer and the regal flight of soaring eagles, for the fragility of hummingbird wings and the majesty of mountains, for the rain that soaks and waters, encourages new life and protects us from the threat of fire; for the warmth of the summer sun and gardens, fruits and flowers that burst with beauty and promise, nutrients and flavor. For the adventure of bike trails and fishing boats, the joy of campfires and gatherings at the river, the quiet of sunsets and rocking chairs. We give you thanks for family and friends, for all those who encourage and accompany us, who teach and coach, babysit and cook, repair and create, laugh and cry, cheer us on and bandage up our wounds. Your love is woven through all of the love in our lives, and we give you thanks for these and all your gifts.

We pray as well for our community, our country and our world. We’ve lifted up some names of those we carry on our hearts, those who are sick and grieving, in recovery and facing in to the final chapter of their lives. But there are others we carry whose names we rehearse in the dark and share only with you, prayers for the lonely, the vulnerable, those feeling isolated from the ones they love, those who battle addictions, who struggle with depression, who simply don’t know where their next meal is coming from or how they will provide shelter for their children. We pray, O God, for all who continue to suffer the ravages of the pandemic: the sick and those who offer them care, those whose well-being has been endangered from loss of income and of shelter, for the hungry and those without hope; for scientists and researchers who search for a vaccine and a cure; for lawmakers confronted with decisions about how best to serve and lead and tend the people in their care. We pray for the anger and hatred of racism, and for all whose protests call for change and justice. We pray for all who work in law enforcement, giving thanks for those who serve and protect while putting themselves in harms’ way, even as we call for an end to excessive force and unjust practices. Open our ears to hear the pain that cries out all around us, and open all our eyes that we might search together for new ways of living in community. Help us to not give in to fear or hatred, but to be bold and wise, living in your love, walking by your light. By your grace, help us to imagine new options and dream new dreams, until we usher in the new day of your longing, a day of peace and justice, love and kindness, compassion and mercy. Show us how to bring this day to birth, and if not now, tell us when.

Hear our prayers, spoken and unspoken, and hear us as we join together in the prayer Jesus taught, saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by 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.

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