.png)
Continued Prayers
for
Our Broken & Fearful World
​
Refuse to fall down.
If you cannot refuse to fall down,
refuse to stay down.
If you cannot refuse to stay down,
lift your heart toward heaven
and like a hungry beggar
ask that it be filled,
and it will be filled.
You may be pushed down.
You may be kept from rising.
But no one can keep you from lifting your heart toward heaven;
only you.
It is in the middle of misery
that so much becomes clear.
The one who says
nothing good came of this
is not yet listening.
​
Clarissa Pinkoloa Estes
Holy God, we cry out to you as we grieve the brokeness of our world. We place our trust in you, that you will hear our prayers, with mercy and tenderness. Take our fear, our anger, our frustration and our weary souls. Embolden us as your disciples to share love of Jesus Christ in these days. It is in the bold confidence of this love that:
We pray for peace -
Not with easy words that make no demands,
but the peace of the cross,
where we bear agony in love,
overcoming divisions,
being the bridges of love in Christ.
Where enmity and fear
give way to forgiveness.
We pray for hope -
A hope that spring from resurrection,
not founded on human solutions,
but the hope that is in the One
who has and will come again.
We pray for power -
The power to endure
the long night of waiting,
that we may be faithful to the end.
The power to be unmoved
when evil appears triumphant
and the battle for truth seems lost.
The power to love
when hate explodes into violence
and we are tempted to see violence
as the only way.
The power to start building again
when all we trusted in is crashing around us.
We pray for courage -
The courage to be a pilgrim people
traveling into the unknown
in the confidence that the way is know to God,
The courage to be the body of Christ,
so that all who have sorrow
may know the love of Christ through us.
Amen.
(adeated by Sara Lisherness from the Presbyterian Church of Irelenad - found in Who Do You Say that I Am? World Alliance of Reformed Churches)
Because you made the world,
and intended it to be a good place,
and called its people your children;
because, when things seemed at their worst,
you came in Christ to bring out the best in us;
so gracious God, we gladly say:
Goodness is stronger than evil,
Love is stronger than hate,
Light is stronger than darkness.
Truth is stronger than lies.
Because confusion can reign inside us,
despite our faith;
because anger, tension, bitterness and envy distort our vision;
because our minds sometimes worry small things
out of all proportion;
because we do not always get it right,
we want to believe:
Goodness is stronger than evil,
Love is stronger than hate,
Light is stronger than darkness,
Truth is stronger than lies.
Because you have promised to hear us,
and are able to change us,
and are willing to make our hearts your home,
we ask you to confront,
control, forgive and encourage us,
as you know best.
Then let us cherish in our hearts
that which we proclaim with your lips:
Goodness is stronger than evil,
Love is stronger than hate,
Light is stronger than darkness,
Truth is stronger than lies.
Lord, hear our prayer,
and change our lives
until we illustrate the grace
of the God who makes all things new.
Amen.
Iona Community
​
Blessing When the World is Ending
Look, the world
is always ending
somewhere.
Somewhere
the sun has come
crashing down.
Somewhere
it has gone
completely dark.
Somewhere
it has ended
with the gun,
the knife,
the fist.
Somewhere
it has ended
with the slammed door,
the shattered hope.
Somewhere
it has ended
with the utter quiet
that follows the news
from the phone,
the television,
the hospital room.
Somewhere
it has ended
with a tenderness
that will break
your heart.
But, listen,
this blessing means
to be anything
but morose.
It has not come
to cause despair.
It is simply here
because there is nothing
a blessing
is better suited for
than an ending,
nothing that cries out more
for a blessing
than when a world
is falling apart.
This blessing
will not fix you,
will not mend you,
will not give you
false comfort;
it will not talk to you
about one door opening
when another one closes.
It will simply
sit itself beside you
among the shards
and gently turn your face
toward the direction
from which the light
will come,
gathering itself
about you
as the world begins
again.
—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace
Do you have a prayer request?
You are welcome to submit
a prayer request at any time.
At your direction your prayer request is either
1) shared with the congregation so that all can be united in prayer;
2) offered silently by the pastor while being held in confidence
3) shared with a small group of members who maintain a prayer chain.
Prayer shawls, created by loving hands and blessed by our Prayer Shawl Ministry, are also available upon request.
All prayer requests can called in to the Deacon vociemail box (732 329-2463 ext. 4), and will be shared with the pastor. Please indicate which of the 3 ways listed above this church can pray for you.
​