prayer Archives - Danville Congregational Church

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Oração Pelos Jovens (Prayer for Young People)

May 16, 2020

The Pastoral Prayer for Sunday, May 17, included the Prayer for Young People by Luiz Carlos Ramos, translated by Paulo Gustavo França.

God, we thank you
for the young people we have now and for the young people we once were;
for the youth we see now and for youth we once had;
for the young [people] in our midst and for the young [person] that still lives within each of us.

We thank you
for the ongoing transformation of the world the youth foster
and for the constant transformation you cause in the life of each youth.

God who makes all things new,
keep these young people from conforming to this present age;
that they may not be formed by the media, by today’s trends or bad habits;
but that they may be transformed by the renewing of the mind
and by the gift of their bodies as a living offering, holy and pleasing to you.

That these young men and women may not be merely happy, but joyful;
that they may not be only healthy, but mindful;
that they may not be just strong, but open-minded;
that they may not be only intelligent, but that they may become wise;
that they may not be youthful in their look, but in their essence;
in a word, that they may not be the child of this present culture,
but [children] of the Living God,
so they may embody the Love,
work for Peace,
and may practice Justice.

We pray
in the name of Jesus Christ,
the young person who not only revolutionized the world with his ideas, but also saved humankind with his love.

Amen

Photo by Nooralbdeen Ahmad

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Categories : Church Family, Youth Ministries

Tags : graduates, prayer, young people

A Prayer for Mother‘s Day (2020)

May 10, 2020

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This prayer was offered by Pastor Todd during our Zoom Worship on May 10, 2020.

This morning we come to you oh God, who is our center, with many joys and troubles on our heart. We turn to you in prayer because we know–we claim and believe–that you hear our prayers and that we are never alone.

This morning we lean especially into the maternal nature of you, oh God, our creator who gave birth to this world and all life upon it. You, oh God, have created each of us, fearfully and wonderfully in our mother’s womb and we are thankful.

This morning we pray with gratitude for mothers—those who gave us life, those who have been like a mother to us—some of whom are still with us and some who have gone on from this life.

In the spirit of prayer, I invite you to say aloud or in the silence of your heart, the name of a mother you wish to lift up in prayer, joy, or memory…

We pray your blessing, mother God, on these who have been named. May they feel in this moment a special warmth in their hearts. May they feel honored and may they be blessed.

We pray also for

…for grandmothers, and sisters, and aunts, and sister-friends who provide for us a mother’s love

…for those who hope to someday become a mother…

…for those who have encountered difficulty becoming a mother…

….for those who have experienced loss as a mother…

…for those mothers who are in detention prisons or who have been separated from their children…

…for mothers of Black and brown boys who constantly fear for the safety of their sons and for mothers like Wanda Cooper, the mother of Ahmed Arbery, who continue to have their children taken from them as a result of the sin of racism

…for those with difficult relationships and experiences with mothers, bring about healing and reconciliation, Oh God

…and for those who are feeling the ache of the loss of their mothers, comfort them with happy memories and the hope of seeing them again one day.

All of these we lift up to you this morning, oh God.

Comfort us, care for us, nurture us as a hen who gathers her children under her wing.

Amen and Ashe

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Categories : Worship

Tags : hear our prayers, mother's day, prayer

A Prayer for Peace

January 5, 2020

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This morning God we wake up and find there is still conflict, still war around the world:

nation against nation,
brother against brother,
neighbor against neighbor.

Specifically, God, we come to you because there looms yet another threat of war! In this moment of prayer, we petition you in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, to:

Quell the aspirations of war mongers who choose violence over peace, who risk the lives of mothers’ and fathers’ sons and daughters…
Defeat their worst impulses to inflict instruments of war upon people and the earth…
Convict the hearts of people of reason to do everything to find a peaceful solution and stop further acts of war and violence…
Shield the young men and women who are at this moment being deployed and comfort their families.

God who sent Jesus to live among us as the Prince of Peace, protect all who face in their lives the threat of war — whether actual or metaphorical.

And make us, above all things, the peace-makers Jesus asked us to be.

We end this prayer with these words from Dr. Howard Thurman:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.”

Oh God, in the name of Jesus,

let there be peace … right … now!

Amen