University United Methodist Church

Prayers of the people

Here are some recent Prayers of the People given in our service by members of the congregation:

Pastoral prayer

18 jan 2004, Jesse Miller

Lord, we thank you for the presence of fellow worshipers, for friends and family, health, and for our daily food and shelter during this bitter winter. Be with those lacking these blessings.

In spite of our material and social blessings we are troubled.

Lord, even the devil quotes scripture. Terrorists invoke your cause as they slaughter innocents, and nations go to war in your name. The hand of god has become the fist of god to a fearful world.

May your empowering spirit give us the hope and energy to be peacemakers. Warm our hearts with your presence. Help us to reach out to each other and our neighbors. Enable us to achieve true community in our city, our nation, and our world.

Lord, we need the comfort and hope that come only with your presence. Be with your people in these times, which try our souls. Guide our leaders and those of other nations. May the spiritual shepherds of the world’s religious faithful call their flocks to the cause of peace.

Prayer for University Church

from Jan Garman, January 11, 2004

Oh, God, the Mother and Father of all people on earth --- We come before you this morning with hearts full of gratitude for all you have bestowed upon us---

A world of wintertime beauty—

Snow covered trees and bushes sparkle against a bright blue sky

Dark tree branches make a lacy pattern against leaden skies

We watch the glorious sun as it emerges in the eastern sky at dawn and stand in awe as it bathes the western sky in crimson and lilac in the evening---

We are grateful for a world of loving families and caring friends, of laughter and wonder and joy and the cleansing power of tears and the reflective power of sadness.

We thank you for the opportunity to gather together in this sacred place – our spiritual home –to be among our sisters and brothers who support us and aid us in our quest to know you better.

But we come before you with hearts full of pain---knowing that your sons and daughters have messed up pretty badly---

Our rivers and streams—indeed the very lake upon whose shores our city sits---are polluted.  So too is our air.  The rain that falls is acid rain.  We have destroyed precious forests and wetlands and  birds and animals to meet needs which too often were not real.

We were created to live together with all peoples of the earth in peace and harmony---but there are wars all over your world---and there is needless pain and suffering and destruction.  In our own lives, we know that too often we have built barriers. We have not taken the time to listen to another’s need.  Or we have reacted defensively or dismissively. It’s so much easier to find fault with others than to work together to solve problems.

In the Gospel of Luke, John, the Baptist, told us to share our two coats, but we live in a society that tells us that we need 8 or 10 coats.

Our brothers and sisters in far-off lands labor for pennies so we can have those coats, while in our own land of abundance, a child is born into poverty every 41 seconds.

But you continue to reach out to us in love---to show us that there is a better way---that we can help others---that we can make a difference---that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!.

All around us we see people who sacrifice for others, who go the second mile.  We see kindness and compassion. We see people who fight injustice and people who build bridges of understanding.

Forgive us when we stumble. Help us to use the unique gifts that you have entrusted to each of us to help those who suffer, to bring wholeness to people who feel alienated. Make us instruments of your compassion and of your peace.