Prayers for Today: August 12, 2018

Almighty God, keeper of promises and giver of life, we bring to you this day our hopes, our fears, our deepest desires and greatest anxieties, as well as the ordinary moments of our days in which you are also found.

 

Lord, you have promised that your heart is open to those who are distant from you, and that your loving arms are around each of your children.  We ask in this prayer that your presence become known to those who are distant from you who need your love and friendship and that you would give us courage to speak your love to those who need it most.  

Lord, you have promised that in you is help and healing and wholeness.  We ask in this prayer for your restoration upon all those who are hurting in body, mind, and spirit.  Grant them your peace as they await your healing. 

Lord, you have promised us that the restoration brought about by Jesus Christ will be over all creation.  We ask in this prayer that we could see this, God.  We ask for an end to wildfires and other environmental devastation.  Give us to the courage to see how we have failed to be stewards of your world, and help us to repent and learn to live in balance with creation.   

Lord you have given us public servants who stand in harm’s way in order to protect us.  We ask in this prayer that you would hear our gratitude for firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency aid workers, and federal agents.  For what we see and what we do not see that happens to assist and to prevent harm to us and our families, we give you thanks.  We ask for your protection over all these individuals as they seek to live lives of integrity and service.

Lord, you have asked us to honor you with the renewal of our minds.  We ask in this prayer that you would bless and protect all those who re-enter the world of education these weeks.  We ask that you would give students minds that are open and excited to learn, teachers patience and passion, administrators wisdom and justice, support staff dedication and a sense of humor.  And Almighty God we are bold to ask your divine protection over all the schools in our community.  Keep them from harm, Lord.  Thwart those who would disrupt our schools with threats or outright violence.  Keep our places of learning places of your peace.  

 Lord you know our hearts, our thoughts, and our lives:  our unspoken burdens are laid out before you.  We ask that you hear us when we feel unheard, that you comfort us in our griefs both large and small, and your presence will be clear to us when we feel alone.

We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

Prayers for today... July 15, 2018

God of All Creation, 

Your Son calls us friends, you call us family.  In this time of prayer we bring to you our earthly family, our friends, our neighbors across the church and across the world, and ourselves who need your care. 

Lord, we pray for those who are distant from you, and those who do not know you, who need your saving help and friendship. 

We pray for those who are in need of your healing in body, mind, spirit, and relationship.

God we come to you in gratitude for your peace and mercy in the world.  We give thanks for the end to the state of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia.  We thank you for the many people committed to understanding and reconciliation between peoples in our country and across the world.

God we ask especially today for your blessing on this community of faith, that we too may be representatives of your justice and mercy in the world.  God we ask that we may see you in the hungry and give them food, that we may see you in the sick and give them help and restoration, that we may see you in the abandoned and give them solidarity and accompaniment, that we may see you in the thirsty and give them water, that we may see you in the desperate and give them hope.

Our Heavenly Creator, you have blessed us with your presence; you have not left us trapped within ourselves, cut off from one another and from you. 

May this love of Christ compel us to turn out of ourselves and become part of the new creation which you have invited us into.  May we be part of your re-creating work where the world is stale and dark; to the needs right in front of us, in our church and our streets, to friends and family, to the voiceless victims, to the creation all around us.  Make us ready for the dawn that awaits the groaning world, when we will see you face to face. 

We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen. 

Reconciliation Ministry

 Closest to my heart... 
Reconciliation Ministry at Christ Lutheran

This next week begins the second trip through a four week Reconciliation/ Discussion Group for LGBTQ+ community, allies, and members of Christ Lutheran Church.  


This ministry is so close to my heart, and the "beta test" during Lent was an incredible experience -- for me, for hosts from CLC, and, I hope and think, for participants as well -- individuals invited to name their hurt and begin to reshape their stories into healing and forgiveness -- understanding their deep worth to God their Creator and the grace of Jesus Christ as well as we can show it.  




Reconciliation Ministry Goals:

First, to inform members of the LGBTQ+ community in our area that Christ Lutheran is a safe place where they have a free and open space to explore their spiritual identity and their relationship with Jesus Christ and what that means for them.

Second, to begin a healing and restorative dialogue which begins to restore the reputation of the church within the LGBTQ+ community and begins to address and atone for the pain, rejection, and psychological damage that has been done to members of the LGBTQ+ community in the name of Christ. 

 Reconciliation Ministry Vision:

Acknowledging that the Christian church has a lot to answer for, by perpetration or by silence, to bring members of the LGBTQ+ community , allies, and members of CLC together in a healing, controlled atmosphere where they can share food and LGBTQ+ community members can safely tell stories.  Using food, storytelling, art, “survivor mantras,” corrective theology Q & A time, and other activities in a four-week group, to bring broken and damaged people into an awareness of their acceptance by Jesus Christ and this community of faith, and, when desired,, to enfold them into the larger loving community of the congregation.

Please message me if you have any questions... or would like to participate in an upcoming group!

cforgey001@luthersem.edu