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."

Alabama Outdoors

Ya'll, I am sitting outside on my porch meditating. It is a beautiful day with a nice cool breeze. The flowers are beautiful My backdoor neighbor must be a master gardner.

Last night we had fun playing soccer with the kids outside and cleaning up the back yard so they could play.

Sunday is called the Good Shepherd Sunday. I am meditating on the Psalm for Sunday which is Psalm 23. Today I am meditating on Psalm 23 as I sit outdoors on myporch. I don't really know about sheep, sheepherding or Shepherds, but that doesn't seem to be the point does it. I do know the Shepherd and I want to know him more, and that seems to be the point.

There are a lot of different versions that have been written of Psalm 23 from the Sailor’s Prayer to the Indian’s version to the newest version. Psalm 23 is often described as the most popular Psalm, and most well known. If it is read at funerals, people can recite it with the reader. And even though we no longer in an agrarian society we are still touched by the opening words, The Lord is my shepherd.

If you want to know more, go read my thoughts on my Preaching blog.

For Bob's Birhday

Bob's birthday was the Monday after Easter. We celebrated it with an ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins made with his favorite flavor. Can you guess which? You would be right pralines and cream, yum, yum. Oh and it had a chocolate Easter bunny on top. Perfect.
He got some nice gifts from the kids and me. We treated him like a King. And then I gave him a different kind of gift. I gave him a sponsorship of a child from Compassion International. I have to say it was hard to choose which kid, but I chose a little boy close to Zach's age. I figured since we can't have any more children and are now too old to adopt anymore, we can sponsor a child Bob liked it and the kids really liked it. However, they didn't quite like the idea of sponsoring as opposed to adopting. They wanted us to go get him right away. We had to explain it to them, and they were okay with that after the explanation. So Happy Birthday Bob!

Earth Day

Have you hugged your earth today?

In honor of it being Earth Day, I have posted the daily devotional I sent out for today;

Thought for the day
I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up to the heavens and say there is no God.-Abraham Lincoln

Scripture for the day Psalm 8 (New Living Translation)
1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2 You have taught children and infants

to tell of your strength,[b]

silencing your enemies

and all who oppose you.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

the moon and the stars you set in place—

4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

human beings that you should care for them?[c]

5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God[d]

and crowned them[e] with glory and honor.

6 You gave them charge of everything you made,

putting all things under their authority—

7 the flocks and the herds

and all the wild animals,

8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,

and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Prayer for the day
Based on Psalm 8
Wonderful Creator God,
the whole earth declares your greatness.
Your glory glows in the heavens and is seen in the
moon and the stars which you have set in place.
What are we that you care for us?
Yet you have made us only a little lower than yourself
and crowned us with glory and honor.
You have given us responsibility to care for the sheep and cattle,
for wild things, for all creatures that swim and fly.
Forgive us for destroying rather than restoring
and for polluting rather than nurturing.
Help us to declare your glory and the glory of your world.
Amen from The Micah Challenge

Blessing for the day
The path I walk,

Christ walks;
The land I am in,
let it not be blighted.
This is the first stanza of a poem attributed to Colum Cille, edited by James Carney in "Three Old Irish accentual poems" in Ériu, xxii (1971).

A visual meditation on Psalm 8

Ben Parr has listed Five Inspirational Earth Day Videos worth viewing.

1. Learn about Earth Day

2. Picturing Excess

3. How to Regrow a Rainforest

4. Corneille Ewango: A Hero of the Congo Forest

5. Trailer: Earth

Check them out at this link

An almost Baptismal drowning, I mean immersion

Sunday, I had the privilege of Baptising by immersion one of our young confimands.
We went over the mountain to one of our newest Methodist Churches, the Cove who has a Baptismal, to do it at. We could have done it out in the rain though it was raining cats and dogs.
I used the Methodist liturgy, had prayer, and led the young man down in the baptismal. The water inside the baptismal was cold and so we took our time going in. I explained to him how I was going to do it and the element of trust. Well, he did alright until the very moment of getting his head all the way under. He just could not do it, and so I had to um force his head under, well he fought but we got the head under all the way. He came up gasping and crying. Then I felt like a heel, and held him and talke to him calmly until he calmed down. The Youth Pastor later said that he knew we were going to have problems when he saw the tuft of hair still sticking out of the water. The parents were okay as were the church members. I asked him if he was okay and he said he was. I have never had it happen before to me. But I guess there is always a first time. I did tell him that when I was baptised, my feet couldn't touch the bottom, and I floated. He and everybody else laughed with me. Afterwords two of the young girls there told me they wanted to be baptised by immersion too. So I told them and their parents have them call us and we would set that up.

I was cautious around the baptismal because they had a microphone wire near by and other musical wiring around. I left another way, cause I was soaking wet. I just have a thing about electricity and water.

Easter Sunday at Trinity

This is a skit that was done for Easter Sunday in our contemporary worship. It is a look at the Resurrection of Jesus from the Performed on Easter Sunday 2009, this was the reaction to the Resurrection from the other side of the fence - the Romans. Written by R. Scott McCauley and Shane Kennedy ©2009 CodeName Productions called He Came Back

Monday after Easter Sunday

"And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here."-- St. Augustine

This quote of St. Augustine's makes me think about how has Jesus' death and resurrection made it possible for us to return to our hearts? How had we left our hearts in the first place? But I love that in our return we find Jesus there. Jesus is here in our hearts. I believe that is one of the wonders that we are struck with on Easter Sunday that Jesus is here in our hearts to return too.

I looked out over the 11 o'clock crowd that attended the traditional service as I stood at the lecturn. I realized at that moment, that most of the regulars had come to early service and the C and C service. I started praying then for those in the worship, that somehow someway they would experience Jesus this Easter Morning. Perhaps unconsciously those that we call the C and E only attenders keep coming back for those Sundays to find a way back if ever so briefly to that place in their own heart where Jesus is. Perhaps even we regular attenders are there for the same reason.

I must admit I started the Sunday in a ho hum mood, and didn't quite feel any spark in the early service. I wasn't up front leading worship or preaching, I was sitting back in the back as an attendee. I couldn't really see anything being as short as I am. But listening to Joe one of the other associates talk to the kids about God's love, started a warmth within me that grew as the morning went on.

I am exhausted today, yet happy. I enjoyed my own kids enjoying Easter. I enjoyed celebrating my husband's birthday with Easter. And I enjoyed having returned to Jesus in my heart.

Good Friday

This is my first Holy Week at Trinity, and it has been a busy one. I am tired but loving it.
I preached in C & C(contemporary worship) last Sunday for Palm Sunday. But it ended with more of Passion Sunday using a skit and the scripture reading.

Last night was the Maundy Thursday service. No foot washing. We did have the stripping of the altar. Very traditional, liturgical and dramatic. I did the Great Thanksgiving.

Tonight we are doing a tennebrae service in the New Room with a mixture of contemporary and traditional. We use the readings and extinguishing the candles. We will see how it goes.

I did have a great day off yesterday. It was good weather for once and we went for a hike on Green Mountain. Then we came home and worked in the yard. After the kids came home they were out playing and we were watching them.

I found this sms text for Good Friday on Sms ‘n’ Shayari.

I am da witness
2 his fearless death.
I am a token of his
last promise -4giveness
I am da CROSS
Blessings on Good Friday bysmsBabu

Put that in your Iphone and text it to others.

prayer for Fifth Sunday of Lent

Merciful God,
Have mercy on our souls,
according to your unwavering love;
according to your abundant mercy
wipe away our sins and the guilt we have carried for so long.

Instead write on our hearts your love
Your boundaries for our lives
Your salvation that sets us free from our sins.
To live the abundant life you have for each of us.

Lord we would see Jesus,
We would love Jesus,
We would follow Jesus
We would serve Jesus.

Lord,
Create in us clean hearts,
Renew your spirit within us.
Do not turn us away from your presence,
do not take your holy spirit from us.
Restore to us the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in us a willing spirit.
Write on our hearts, your love O God,
Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals and preaching to the choir

Prayer for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

Gracious and Compassionate God,
As we journey through our time of Lent
Our time in deserts and low places
Our time on the mountains and high places
We continue to seek you.

We need you more than ever
in our busyness
our loneliness
our sadness
our depression
our anger
our happiness
our joy
our excitement

We need
your presence
your compassion
your grace
your comfort
your renewal
your healing
your peace
your joy
your love
your salvation

Lord we are
reminded that
all this is embodied
in your son Jesus
in his life
his death
and his resurrection

and that all
this was freely given
that we may have
abundant life
eternal life
fullness of life
freed lives
loved lives
loving lives
grace giving lives

Come Lord
pour your mercy and grace and love and salvation over us
And for these gifts from you we are grateful. Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals and preaching to the choir

Prayer for Third Sunday of lent

Creator God, we listen as the heavens declare your glory,
We seek to likewise sing of you r glory.

And yet sometimes our word s fall short.
Our very actions cause us to fall on our face.

Lord even if we appear foolish to the world
Let us proclaim Christ crucified.

May we burn with zeal for you,
That we let nothing get in our way of telling others out Jesus

Lord let your presence be in us, around us
breathing new life into us,
so that we may do this work you have called us to

Now let the words of our mouths
and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable to you,
O LORD, our rock and our redeemer.

Prayer for Second Sunday in Lent

Oh, God of love, power and faithfulness,
We journey with your son,
ever closer to Jerusalem,
to his cross his true destiny.

We hear his words
“Take up your cross and follow me,”
but we aren’t sure if it’s the crosses of this life,
or the actual cross of death.

We hear his words,
“deny your self,”
and wonder which self it is;
the self we put on for others,
or the self centered self
that wants it all for ourselves?

Whichever it is,
it seems like Jesus
sure is asking a lot of us
and we aren’t sure we can do this.

God we will need your holy spirit
to be able to do this.
God we will need your grace and mercy
to be able to do this.

We remember
that you empowered your disciples,
the early Christians
and others who decided to follow you,
we believe that you will do likewise for us. Amen.

cross posted at revgalblogpals and preaching to the choir

Prayer for the First Sunday in Lent

God,
As we take this journey
That draws us ever closer to you
Walk with us
Sustain us,
Nurture us.

God, as we go through
The wilderness of lent and of our lives,
Send your manna to us,
give us wisdom to turn from temptation
And your grace to turn to.

God, as we walk through the pot holes of life,
The valleys, the pits of life,
Guide us with your hand
Keep our feet steady,
And our vision on you.

God, whether we choose to give up something for lent
Or do something positive,
Let us not do it out of obligation
Or the tyranny of oughtness,
But out of love for you.

Keep us in your paths of love, mercy and grace.
Lord help us to remember we are not alone
but that we are walking with our fellow/sister travelers . Amen