Prayer for Pentecost Sunday

Holy Spirit,

you poured yourself out on the people of the early church, pour yourself out on us now.
Holy Spirit you set their tongues on fire with languages so as to speak to one another in ways that could be understood.
Set our tongues on fire to speak in different languages and ways so others may hear the good news about Jesus.

Jesus,

you said you had to go away so that the Holy Spirit, the advocate, the counselor would come and it was so.
Come once again Holy Spirit as the advocate that we all need, as the counselor we all need, and as the helper we all need.

Come Holy Spirit, fan your flames of love and empowerment, set us on fire for you once again. Bring life to each of our dry bones.
Amen.

Sunday prayer

Jesus,
just as you prayed for your disciples so long ago
Pray for us,
Pray for our wellbeing,
Pray for our protection.
Pray for your joy to be made complete in us.
Pray for our spiritual growth.
Pray for your truth to be made complete in us.

Jesus,

we often do not know how to pray,
So pray for us,
Pray with us,
That we may be one with you,
One with each other, and
One in ministry to the world.

Jesus,
Pray for your weak ones,
Your strong ones,
You ones who are have illnesses,
Your ones near death,
Your ones who breeze through life,
Your ones who struggle in life.

Jesus,
Pray for those who have lost loved ones,
Those who have especially loved ones in past wars.
Those who have lost ones in the present wars.
Those who fear theirs may die in these wars.

Jesus,
We join you in these prayers for all your people,
Amen.

Prayer for Easter 6B

Lord,
Loving God,
We come before you humbly thanking you for your love,
We pray for those in this world who don’t know your love who have not experienced your love, who are in loveless relationships, loveless families, loveless jobs, and loveless lives.

We thank you for your joy, we also pray for those who live joyless lives, whose joy has been taken from them, and who long for a just a little bit of joy in their lives.

We thank you for your friendship, we pray for those who lost their friends or are in need of a friend, or who don’t know how to be friendly.

Lord you put your song in our lives of love, joy and friendship may we sing that song to those in this world who have forgotten the song and how to sing it. Lord may your song fill all our lives, all our communities, all our churches, and our entire world so that the entire universe resounds with your song. Amen

Zach is turning 7

Psst don't tell Zach, but we are having a big birthday party at Pump It Up tonight. (It's less expensive on week nights than weekend.) He is so excited he can't stand it. Mom on the other hand is taking her ear plugs along to withstand the noise.

See ya'll later. Yea Zach.

Prayer for Easter 5B/Mother's day

Oh God you are so like a mothering hen to us,
You cry over us, protect us, and care for us;
God we thank you for mothering us
And we thank you for the mothers of the world.

Oh God you are the Vine dresser,
you make sure the vine is healthy,
and strong,
we thank you for making sure
we are healthy, and strong.

Oh God you are like a loving mother,
You nourish us with your love and grace every day. Oh God we thank you loving us like a mother.

Lord, we pray now for those
who need your healing, and caring touch.
We pray for those who are the ones among us
whose mothers have died or are dying.
We pray for those who children have died
We pray for those who have had the disappointment
of not being a mother or
who are going through some kind of infertility treatment
or looking to adopt.

Lord in your mercy put your arms around each one
and hold them in thy tender embrace of love.

O God we thank you for tending to us,
We thank you for your wise counsel,
We thank you for pruning those things
that suck the very life out of us
and keep us from abiding in you.

Amen

cross posted at revgalprayerpals.

Sunday prayer for Easter 4B/ Good Shepherd Sunday

O Lord, our Shepherding God,
come close to us now
Come near us in our time of need.

Shepherding God,
we need you in our time of anxiety.
We need you in our time of economic uncertainty.
We need you in a time of a globe trotting disease.
We need you to bind our wounds, pour your healing ointment on our heads .
We need the briars, and brambles, and burrs pulled out of our fleece and skin.

Shepherding God.
you guide us with your voice,
Help us to listen and follow no matter where your voice leads.
Help us to trust you.

Shepherding God,
protect us from the hired hands, that do not really care for us and have in the past neglected or abused us

Shepherding God,
thank you for your son who did lay down his life for hose who follow him and for those who are not in the fold yet..
Lord we pray for those who don’t know the shepherd, whose life circumstances kept them from knowing the good shepherd. We pray that by our actions, our behavior, and our reaching out into the community, they may come to know you

Shepherding God,
Renew us, Guide us with your love and renew us with your peace. Amen

Image from the Christian Catacombs in Rome.

Cross posted at revgalblogpals and preaching to the choir.

Prayer about the Swine Flu/H1N1

Almighty God, who cares for his children like a mother hen.
Care for the ones who already have contracted H1N1 and their family members.
Care for you little ones who are so vulnerable to this flu virus.
Care for your elderly, those already sick and weak who then are more vulnerable as well.
Care for the medical workers who are working day and night to treat those who already are sick, to keep this in check and stop the spread of this disease.
Care for our world leaders who are working together to halt the progress of this disease.
Care for those who have become stricken with fear because of it.
Help us to use wisdom to care for ourselves and one another, and to use regular hygiene.
God forgive those of us who may have used this to point fingers, call names or cause phobia of other people because of where the swine flu was first identified.
Help us as your followers to be servants in this hurting frightened world.
Amen.

You won't find many prayers out there just yet. So I thought I would write one.
You will find a couple at the Church of England website for General prayers for the developing situation regarding swine flu, for those who have contracted the virus and for the people of Mexico. Bravo for the Church of England.

Here also are the Prayer Points from the Presidental Prayer team:

Pray for God's help and wisdom for President Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Sibelius and CDC Acting Director Richard Besser.
Pray that the illness will be contained quickly.
Pray that citizens will be responsible in taking precautions including hand washing and covering sneezes.
Pray for parents who will need care plans for their children if their schools are temporarily closed.
Pray that those who suspect they are infected will avoid going to work and public places.
Pray for no further loss of life.
Pray for supplies of flu medication to reach those most in need.
Pray that those infected who enter our country will be successfully quarantined.
Pray for medical workers who risk their own health as they care for others.
Pray for those in Mexico who have lost loved ones to be comforted.

An Idea for Sunday Worship

We are still having Sunday School and worship Sunday. And we are still doing our Mission Sunday this Sunday. They have closed the schools in our county due to three cases of H1N1 in one of the schools. They are suggesting you don't go out in big crowds right now. I noticed yesterday at Wal Mart it was not as crowded as usual. I found this article and thought it helpful for Sunday Worship. I'll be breathing peace, not germs.
I think it is so appropriate that Sunday's sermon is on the Good Shepherd, how much we need him right now.

Swine flu panic? Pastor: 'Breathe peace, not germs'

Everyone's worried about the outbreak of swine flu. Some folks are even considering hunkering down in their homes and staying away from all kinds of gatherings, including church. But at least one United Methodist pastor is offering some common-sense counsel in the midst of pandemic panic.
The Rev. Diana Holbert, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in East Dallas, sent an email Wednesday to members and supporters of the church. In it, Rev. Holbert offered the following advice on church attendance:
"1. If you are coughing or sneezing, it's probably a good idea to stay home. Let us know and we'll send you a cassette tape of the service if you like!" says the pastor.
"2. If you are well, I encourage you to come together to worship and to pray for those who are sick or panicked."
Rev. Holbert adds that Grace UMC will continue its sanitary practice of washing hands and using hand sanitizer before serving the bread and grape juice of Holy Communion. These practices have become common at many churches that receive bread from a common loaf, which is a Christian symbol for the unity of the body of Christ, the church.
Grace UMC's pastor says in her email that she won't withhold the personal touch of fellowship: "I will continue to shake hands and offer hugs to those who desire it. For those who want to keep a distance, just smile and give a wave."

Rev. Holbert invites Grace UMC members and guests to attend worship this coming Sunday, May 3. "Let's take a deeper look at what Psalm 23 has to say to us today. It may just be what the Doctor ordered," she writes.

The pastor closes with the encouragement: "Breathe peace, not germs."