Month: April 2023

–As the song writer pens,

We are pilgrims on a journey

We are travellers on the road

We are here to help each

Walk the mile and bear the load.

We praise you Holy One for revealing the power of your love

that breaks through our limited expectations, our narrow understandings,

your love that removes every stone

that entombs us with fear, despair, pain.

Thank you, Lord Jesus that you come alongside us on the road of faith

and for the power and presence of the Holy Spirit

as we share life together.

When we engage in conversations of faith, study of scripture,

bread and cup, caring and forgiving,

reveal yourself anew as the God whom even death could not hold.  

Forgive us when we put others in boxes.

Free us from our own confining life-denying boxes.

Open our eyes to your presence.

Open our hearts to your mystery.

From gentle flicker to blazing flame,

may our hearts burn within as we encounter your risen presence.

In response to yesterday’s Earth Day, we pray:

Creator God, majestic maker

we sit in awe and wonder.

We listen to the breath of earth and the song of heaven.

Let the skies sing for joy,

and the earth join its chorus.
Let us listen to the oceans thunder

and watch the fields join in praise

Let the weeds in pavement cracks sing out,

every tree, forgotten sprout..

May we be faithful stewards of your good earth,

Forgive us when we fail and stumble.

                      (please take a few minutes to check out this video from Rockway Collegiate’s Single-Use Plastics

Video:  https://youtu.be/qKCTGjqq2N0   

Listening God, we offer our prayers for one another:

Our households of faith this week: the Miller family, the Nafziger families.

We pray for those who grieve………

the sick, the weary,

those facing physical limitations due to aging bodies,  

those recovering from surgery, awaiting surgery,

those awaiting test results, or treatments…………

We pray for those journeying the shadow of death,

And all who stand in need of your healing touch and wholeness……

May your resurrection give life,

May your resurrection give hope to the hopeless,

May your resurrection give joy to those who yearn for new life,
May your resurrection bring new possibilities.

We pray in the name of the one whose footsteps we seek to follow and who taught us to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,

Gracious, loving God, we come to you this morning with praise and rejoicing on our lips as we have walked through this post-resurrection week. “Jesus is Risen. He is Risen indeed.” Thank you God for the gift of salvation, the gift of forgiveness through your Son Jesus. We praise you that we have a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Death has been defeated and life eternal granted. For this we lift our praise.

However, we also confess that there are times when hope dims, we take our eyes off you Jesus and we stumble and fall. God, in those moments help us to cling to the promise of your Word that if we confess our sins, you God are faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. We give you praise.

We would also echo the prayer of David as he cried out “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51

Oh God, as we see the renewal of creation all around us during this Spring season, our prayer is that you would also renew our hearts so that we may truly live in Hope and walk in obedience to you as Jesus did. May your re-creation power be at work in us.

Hear our prayer of confession:

For failing to love others as you have loved us,

    God of grace, forgive us.

For wasting your gifts and hoarding our goods,

    God of grace, forgive us.

For plundering the earth and abusing the planet

    God of grace, forgive us.

For fearing those who are strange to us and ignoring those in need,

    God of grace, forgive us.

For losing heart at times, and abandoning Hope,

    God of grace, forgive us.

For all the ways we turn from you,

    God of grace, forgive us.

We offer our prayers in the name

   of the One who saves us, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Good morning WMC Family

How about this for another sunshine “summer” day? Enjoy

Sue Compton is a good friend of ours at The Gathering Church and has a beautiful skill in writing. She has written and published one novel and is in the process of having a second one published, Several weeks ago she shared the following poem with Gloria and I, and I would like to share it with you. God is at work in creation and within us as well.

And yes, I realize it may feel like the days of “Slush” are behind us; however, we are still very much in the season of Spring. May you be encouraged by this poem.

Blessings on your day.

Clare

Slush

In seasons of ice and slush
I spend too much time looking
at my feet. Cautious, worried steps
in futile attempt to avoid
wet feet and headlong plummet.

But the once-frozen stream now
babbles me awake; look up, notice
sunshine, hints of green under dead
grass and branches not yet budding
but no longer stiff frozen, hopeful
sap hidden to my eye.

If the Maker of rebirth, of
tiny bud and hard-shelled seed
cracked open, of hibernation
end and unexpected warm sunrays,
has never forgotten during
deep winter freeze,

what has been planted,
cracked open, waiting to
burst
within my heart?

On days like this if I stand
still and alone in the wood
can I hear the sap running
to awaken fresh green life?
Or is that my own life force
rushing in my ears?

On days like this I hear
You whisper
patience.

By A. S. Compton

On this bright Easter morning,

we welcome you Christ Jesus, into our lives.
We welcome your resurrection for it is
life changing, life giving , and life sustaining.
We welcome the hope it brings to our world.
We welcome the joy it brings to our darkness.
We welcome you Risen Jesus,

active and present in the world and in our lives.

Help us to grasp resurrection,
to understand its power,
to see its force at work in our world,
overturning oppressive powers,
transforming greed and selfishness within us,
moving the world slowly, persistently,
toward love and justice.

On this day of great gladness
empower us to be your Easter witnesses
proclaiming good news.
Good news in our kitchens and living rooms,
good news in our workplaces and workshops
good news in our classrooms and committees
Help us to be that good news,
walking softly on this good earth
caring gently for all people,
living with bright hope and with praise on our lips and in our hearts.

Amidst our joyous alleluia’s, we know many are struggling.

We hold in prayer all who are grieving………

the sick, the weary, the worn……..

those recovering from surgery,

those awaiting test results, or treatment…………

We pray for those journeying the shadow of death,

each one standing in need of your healing touch and wholeness……

each place in the world that is torn by war and violence…………

Risen Lord, may your resurrection give life,

May your resurrection be bright hope to the hopeless,

May your resurrection be joy to those who yearn for new life,
May your resurrection bring new possibilities.

Living God, Risen Christ, God of Easter resurrection
make us your living Church,
Your risen Church,
Your Easter Church,
we pray in the powerful name of Jesus the Christ. Amen

Holy One, you invite us to come before you, faithfully presenting our prayers and requests with thanksgiving. And we have so many reasons to lift up our voices in praise.

Thank you, God for your triumphal entry into our world each and every day.
The slow motion explosion of bulbs emerging from the cold earth, proclaim “Hosanna!”
Melting snow, the robin’s song, spring breezes, proclaim “Hosanna!”
The fragrance of spring in the morning air proclaims, “Hosanna!”

We join this chorus, giving you thanks and praise for who you are, for who you reveal yourself to be.

Holy One, you sent Jesus, who showed us your love for all creation and your love for us. He opened our eyes to see your kingdom come here on earth.

Forgive us when we go about our own business,
concerned with many things, oblivious to the needs of those around us,
oblivious to the call of your love in our heart.

Hosanna, we cry out today with hope.

Hope that is revealed in the face of a newborn and his parents.

Hope that is revealed through generosity of resources and time,

and willingness to serve. We ask your blessing today upon Delores as she begins a new term as Elder… and we pray for each one who has responded to the invitation grow into their gifts and serve in the coming year.

Hosanna, we cry out today, “save us,” because the world is in great need…..

Bombs dropping, innocent lives terrorized.

Environmental destruction, division between peoples and nations

Poverty, oppression, hunger…

We are tempted to despair.
Open our eyes to your entry into our world as the Prince of peace,
changing hearts, transforming our hearts, one by one,
shaping peacemakers who say no to violence, injustice, marginalization

God of great deeds, open our hearts to be your hearts,
our hands to be your hands,
our arms, to be your loving arms
for all who need your presence.

You know the people in our congregation and community standing in a place of need: those with new diagnoses, those waiting for tests or next steps, those living with chronic pain or facing ongoing treatments, or uncertain future. We pray for those recovering from surgery, those whose injuries are complex and many.We grieve with all who are grieving, and we ask you for comfort and healing.

Lord Jesus, you entered Jerusalem,

On your way to suffering and death

For the sake of our salvation.

This is the mystery and wonder of Holy Week which we now enter.

As we draw near to you,

may we not turn our eyes away

but rather bravely walk in your footsteps….

Sustain us as we move through these difficult days together.

In the power of your Spirit,

and in your name. Amen.