Sunday Morning Prayers
The method in which we pray is never as important
as the spirit in which we pray.
Prayer grows in us not because of the technique or discipline
in which we pray;
it grows because of our willingness to open ourselves again and again,
in times of darkness as well as in times of enlightenment,
to the One who continues to love the world into being.
- Mark Yaconelli
Reflection for the second Sunday of Advent,
Dec 8, 2024
Adapted from the Salt Project
Image credit: Andre Moura from Pexels
Advent means “coming.” It is a time of longing, watching, and praying for God’s healing, transformative presence to be ever more vibrantly present in the world...
It's a time when we pray: “Thy kingdom come.”
PEACE
There is war in our world, and still so much violence in our communities, still so much unrest in our hearts. Hatred is still so strong and so many swords have not yet been remade into ploughshares.
As followers of the Jesus path, may we watch and work, hope and love with the light of God's love, to dispel the shadows of shame cast by violence, suffering, sorrow, and contempt.
May we not be afraid as we seek to live out the truth that peace is more enduring than war, hope is more powerful than despair, that love is stronger than hate.
In the face of war, violence, unrest, and hatred,
we light a candle of peace.
May we know God’s peace is coming,
on earth as it already is in heaven.
God’s peace is at hand.
May this peace overwhelm the world.
Reflection for the first Sunday of Advent,
Dec 1, 2024
Adapted from the Salt Project
Image credit: bernswaelz from pixabay
Advent means “coming.” It is a time of longing, watching, and praying for God’s healing, transformative presence to be ever more vibrantly present in the world...
It's a time when we pray: “Thy kingdom come.”
HOPE
When we look around, we see shadows of hunger. So many neighbours, nearby and around the world, will go to bed hungry tonight…We see shadows of injustice... the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer — and someone somewhere will fall asleep under a bridge tonight…
As followers of the Jesus path, may we not be afraid as we seek to live out the truth that love is stronger than hate, peace more enduring than war, hope more powerful than despair.
May we watch and work, hope and love with the light of God's love, to dispel the shadows of shame cast by violence, suffering, sorrow, and contempt.
In the face of hunger, injustice and despair, we light a candle of hope.
May we know God’s hope is coming, on earth as it already is in heaven. God’s hope is at hand. May this hope overwhelm the world.
Prayer for Sunday, Nov 24, 2024
In the Silence Name Me - Ted Loder
Photo Credit: herbert2512 from pixabay
Holy One,
Untamed by the names I give you,
In the silence
Name me,
That I may know
Who I am,
Hear the truth
You have put into me,
Trust the love
You have for me,
Which you call me to live out
[In the community of] your human family.
Prayer for Sunday, Nov 17, 2024
Loneliness (with a dash of Kate Bowler)
by Chris Woroch
Photo Credit: Suwinai Sukanant
Lonely people...Let us pray together.
Proactive God, we offer ourselves
and especially our loneliness to you,
the One who is always reaching out to us in love.
We confess that our loneliness
can cause us to withdraw, to cocoon,
and hinder the touch of others.
And while there may be many reasons and triggers
that move us into loneliness,
the creation account words ring true...
”It is not good for man (or anyone) to be alone”.
Thank you, God, for Karla’s words
of concern and insight on loneliness.
Help us to reflect on them, chew on them
and allow them to change us, by your Spirit.
Give us courage to honestly face and sit
with our loneliness.
Let the pain of our loneliness
motivate us to reach out to others.
And if we happen to be one of those “others”
who is being reached out to,
let us listen, let us care,
let us be Jesus to them.
Help us to grow through our loneliness,
to find beauty and thus,
to grow within and without.
God, open your heart to our hearts
and pour in your peace,
because
when all is said and done,
our loneliness does not have the final say.
For there is yet Another who has the final say,
from whom we receive
insight, clarity, steadiness, rest and hope.
And because of this we can go
with peace and go in peace.
Amen.
Prayer for Sunday, Nov 10, 2024
A Benedictine Prayer for Enemies
Photo Credit: Meinzahn from Getty Images
May you be happy. May you be free.
May you be loving. May you be loved.
May you know the fulfillment
of what God has planned for you.
May you experience God’s deep, profound love for you.
May you receive and grow
in the fullness of the graces Jesus has won for you.
May Jesus Christ be formed in you.
May you know the peace
that passes all understanding.
May all good things be yours.
May Jesus’s joy be in you,
and may that joy be complete.
May you know the Lord
in all His goodness and compassion.
May you be protected from the evil one
amid every temptation that comes your way.
May the Holy Spirit fill and permeate your entire being.
May you see His glory.
May you be forgiven of every sin.
I forgive you (or will try to forgive you)
of every wound and hurt with all my heart.
May God’s goodness and mercy
follow you all the days of your life.
Amen.
Blessed is the One
who comes to us
by the way of love
poured out with abandon.
Blessed is the One
who walks toward us
by the way of grace
that holds us fast.
Blessed is the One
who calls us to follow
in the way of blessing,
in the path of joy.
Loving God, through your goodness
we have this bread and wine to offer,
which earth has given
and human hands have made.
May we know your presence
in the sharing of this bread,
so that we may know your touch
in all bread, all matter.
We celebrate the life that Jesus has shared
among his community through the centuries,
and shares with us now.
Made one in Christ,
and one with each other,
we offer these gifts
and with them ourselves,
a single, holy, living sacrifice.
Amen.
God, I want my inside world to match my outside.
So I invite you in, turning my life over to you.
To my mind,
Bring order, truth, goodness.
To my heart,
Bring hope, courage, and true love.
To my soul,
I receive all you have for me.
Live and Love through me, God,
Through every aspect of my life.
Amen.
Blessing for Sunday, Oct 13, 2024
A People Full of Guilt & Accusations
Modified by Murray Baker from Walter Brueggemann’s “A People with Many Secrets”
Photo Credit: Pexels from pixabay
You are the God
from whom no secret is hid,
and we are a people,
often with so much hurt
anger and accusations
lacking willingness to forgive.
We know we need to tell
these truths about ourselves
but we dare not tell them
because they are deep and painful
and we know we will be rejected
- at least sometimes.
But you are the God of truth.
So we ask you to hear our truths
about which we will not bear false witness.
The truth of grief, unresolved.
The truth of pain, unacknowledged.
The truth of our fear - so child-like.
The truth that in our private thoughts
we accuse others.
The truth of our fear
of being taken advantage of,
of being used, manipulated, slandered,
so we are the first to lash out
with accusations,
The first to show others wrong and lost.
We judge proactively.
And...
We trust the great truth
of Your wondrous love
So, we now work
to reveal all these struggles
because in you there is no rejection.
As we confess the monstrous truths
we have brought to Your Church,
Be the God of All Truths, even ours.
We pray this in the name of Jesus
who lived among us and fully understands.
Amen
God bless us with wisdom
to respond well to what confronts us,
whether it be harsh or foolish words from others,
or our own emotions...
Shall we greet them as friends and invite them in?
Are they guides to follow without question?
Shall we see them as warning lights on the dashboard
or as trailheads indicating a path to take?
Maybe we should armour ourselves against them, as bitter enemies?
Show us God, what you see
And give us courage to face what must be faced
With grace, with love, with hope.
Blessing for Sunday, Sept 29, 2024
written by Chris Woroch
Photo by Delpixart
Thank you for this place where we can meet together,
a place to visit,
a place of friendship,
a place of refuge,
a place to listen and learn,
a place to give and a place to receive,
a place to grow in faith.
Having heard Brad’s words and the words of Scripture,
we pray for a realignment of mind and heart.
Save us from a faith that is ego-driven
with a desire to impress and enhance our self-image,
a faith from “the neck up”,
knowing all the right words, but void of love,
and steeped in our own biases and prejudices.
As we scuffle along the Jesus Path, activate our faith,
that every part of us may be alive and aware
unto a faith that is word and deed
driven from a Jesus-informed mind and heart.
And as we scuffle along,
thank you for your present tense
patience, love, grace, mercy and peace.
A new week has begun.
And as we step into this week we confess:
We…….Need…….You…..
Help us, we pray…
Amen
Blessing for Sunday, Sept 22, 2024
for when hope seems lost — Kate Bowler
Photo by Kasuma
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."
-Psalm 30:5, NKJV
Hope is only a half-remembered dream behind a closed door.
All is lost.
God, this reality is a current so strong
I feel certain, at least for now,
that it will sweep us all away.
Could you bless this honesty that feels like despair?
Can we whisper that, somehow, blessed are we,
with spirits starved for what is good?
Allow our eyes to see the small, sealed space
where pain has isolated us.
We cry: God, help me. I can't break out of this.
So please, break in.
Cut through the walls of this hard prison,
and flood it with the light of your presence.
Make prayer as natural as breathing
to release to you all that I know and think and feel,
and inhale deeply
some of your goodness and strength.
Blessed are we when we realize
that suddenly, already,
you never leave. You insisted on
breathing life and hope and truth
into my lungs,
filling everything,
until the pain dissolves
and I am free to move in faith again.
Blessed are we who have
a glimmer of certainty
that in that dark expanse,
and as sure as day follows night,
hope returns.
P.S. Take a deep breath.
Let a yawn come, and another.
See what new thing begins.
All by itself.
Ground Me in Your Grace - Ted Loder
Eternal One,
Silence
from whom my words come;
Questioner
from whom my questions arise;
Lover
of whom all my loves are hints;
Disturber
in whom alone I find my rest;
Mystery
in whose depths I find healing and myself;
enfold me now in your presence;
restore to me your peace;
renew me through your power;
and ground me in your grace.
Blessing the New Season - for Sunday, Sept 8, 2024
by Eliza Mills, inspired by Kate Bowler
photo by grapix
God of fresh starts and new beginnings,
We bring ourselves, our big feelings, our backpacks, to you.
In our backpacks, we carry blank pages,
sharpened pencils, and pointy crayons,
In our hearts, we carry big feelings, unanswered questions,
and hopeful expectations.
God our Teacher, who helps us to understand the world around us,
thank you for the privilege of education.
No matter our circumstances, even if we aren’t going back to school, September often feels like a fresh beginning.
Here at Nexus, it’s a new season, in a new location.
And there are endless possibilities of what this new year might bring —
of what we might learn, who we might meet, and who we might become.
God, our Friend who is always with us, be with us through it all.
Be with us as we ride the bus. Be with us as we walk.
Be with us as we buckle seat belts, zip-up jackets, and tie shoes.
Be with us as we meet new people and do new activities.
However we get there, and whatever we wear,
bless this journey into something new.
We celebrate the beginning of this school year and hold in our hearts the children, the educators, and the families who support them.
We celebrate all the new beginnings of our community and of the individuals within it. Thank you that you are with us.
For the grown-ups going back to school, With-Us God, be with them too.
Thank you for our teachers, helpers, caregivers, and leaders,
and for all they do to help us learn and grow.
God, our Full-of-Wonder Friend,
who came as a child to show us how to be children of God,
You call us to listen to the Spirit speaking through children -
their words, actions, play, and feelings.
You have given our children minds that grow and develop in unique ways,
at unique speeds, and we are astounded by that miracle.
Teach us to value the child in us and in others,
and to be open to the newness around us.
Loving God, help us know the bedrock miracle of your presence with us
in every single ordinary, sacred moment.
Lead us this year into life-giving rhythms of grace and light,
where our regular routines become the framework for worship and blessing.
Help us learn to see the God Glitter in the mirror.
Help us learn to see it in our classmates, in our teachers,
in our neighbours and co-workers and family members…
in all your children around the world.
Amen.