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Prayer List
Friends, if you worshipped with us on Sunday, you recall, I hope, that I invited our community to join in a challenge to pray/meditate on the Lord's Prayer every day this coming month. Anyone from our larger Westminster community is also welcome to join us!
In the gospel of Luke, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus teaches them the prayer that we know as the Lord's Prayer. This gospel story intimates that prayer changes us - it grounds us in the knowledge of God's love for us; it gives us hope and a direction as we strive to engage in God's mission of loving and transforming the world into a place of abundance for all creation (cf. Luke 11:1-13).
As promised, I'll be checking in weekly to see how your prayer meditation is going and offering examples of prayers/meditations on the various petitions of the Lord's Prayer. Today's example is a meditation on the first statement "Our Father, who are in heaven, holy is your name..." by Rev. Adam Hamilton.
You are not just my Parent*, you are our Parent...
of those like me and those very different from me.
of those people I love and those I struggle to love.
Help me remember they are all your children.
You are our Divine Parent, the One who created us, who loves us, who protects us, walks with us, and longs for the best for us; the One from whom all blessings have ultimately come.
Our Divine Parent, you hold the entire universe in your hands. You are present with the saints who have gone before. Yet you are as near as the air that I breathe.
Holy is your name, not my name, but yours... may others see your majesty, beauty, and love... may they see this in my living, in my loving... help me to make your name holy.
*I changed "Father" to "Divine Parent" to be more inclusive.
As you pray, I invite you to use your own words... think about who God is for you, how you experience God... You may read Nadia Bolz-Weber's interpretation of this prayer, which I shared in my sermon on Sunday here.
Feel free to share your thoughts or questions with me. Look forward to seeing what may happen when we create space for God's Spirit in our lives.
Blessings on this journey!
This week we pray for:
Divine Gbagbo
We offer prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving for Divine, who is moving to California on Monday. We are grateful for the year we shared with him; for his gifts of music and worship leadership and friendship. Many blessings Divine as you begin this next chapter teaching at Loyola Marymount University!
Barbara Hays
Friends, Barbara decided to stay in her house for the time being, and not move into assisted living. Please continue to hold her in prayer.
Judy VanWie
Continued prayers of healing and comfort for Judy.
Barbara Mykkanen
Continued prayers for healing and comfort for Barb during her chemo treatment for uterine and ovarian cancers.
Debbie Hostettler
Continued prayers, love and support for Debbie throughout the remaining chemo treatments. She is experiencing a lot of fatigue.
We pray for
- those who grapple with illnesses, life transitions, and difficult decisions.
- people and places around the world caught up in warfare and violence and for refugees and immigrants seeking safety, and sustainable homes;
- those who are affected by drought in some parts of the country, and flooding in another; for all whose livelihoods are endangered or destroyed by climate crises.
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