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December 2009
ELMC Prayer
Many
Christians are now moving through the season of Advent.
We are thankful to The Rev. Dr. Daryl B. Ingram,
Executive Director of the Christian Education Department
of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and Chair of
ELMC, for this powerful prayer which speaks to our
longings during this blessed season.
November 2009
ELMC Prayer
We give thanks for
this month's beautiful prayer offering from Dorothy
Savage, retired Director of the National Council of
Churches, USA Ministries in Christian Education
(predecessor to ELMC). Her are among the many
shoulders of faithful Christian educators on which
we stand as we continue in this shared ministry.
Our Common Prayer
Let us join our minds and hearts in spite of our apparent diversity, yet one in God!
O Thou, O
Creator God, we take a little time out of our
busy lives ...
to join our hearts and minds during the
days of this month in love, in gratitude, and in
hope.
 You
have shown us that our sense of identity opens
like a lens ... from self, to like minded
believers, to believers of other traditions, and
even broader, to the unity we share with persons
of love and good will of other faiths and other
parts of the world.
Help us to know
ever more deeply, our oneness in You, and with
all who seek peace ... with all who pursue
justice where there is injustice, poverty,
suffering.
Bless us, O
Thou, God of all Creation, with courage and
wisdom and self-sacrificing love and service
for others.
Bless us as we
live through this month, which for many in our
country is a time of anxiety and even great
worry and pain and which we know is even more
painful for people in so many other countries
around the world.
Bless those in our ecumenical
fellowship who are in need, and especially,
Billye B. as she recovers from surgery
and Brenda H. as she recovers from serious
health challenges.
Bless those of our committees
which will be meeting this month. Public
Education, and Literacy; the Young Adult
participants in their gathering;
and those working together in PAACCE. Fill them
all with wisdom and common commitment, and
with those of the larger ecumenical
structures who will be meeting to discern Your
Will.
Help us to be
mindful of Your Presence in us, always…but this
month, we join in the common concern for the
people of Burundi; the Congo and Rwanda; of
Cameroon, and Equatorial Africa; in Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
All of this, O Thou, O
Creator God, O Infinite Love, we place before
Thee in trust, and in the name of the
Manifestation of Your Love, Jesus, our Lord.
AMEN
NCC/ELMC Related Meetings and Events:
Concerns/Observances:
We give thanks for this
month's prayer offering which comes from Rosemary
Graham, Disabilities Ministries Director for the South
Atlantic Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church
and Chair of the NCC Committee on Disabilities, in
observance of October as Disability Employment Awareness
Month.
Dear Lord,
Creator God, we bring
awareness to those may be enshrouded in darkness – in
mind or spirit. There are many people who are
struggling today – in their jobs, finances, health, and
homes. We are overworked, stressed, lonely, tired, and
confused – in mind and spirit. We pray that:
Where there is depression and
anxiety, you bestow hope
Where there is fear, bestow
courage
Where there is confusion,
bestow order
Where there is sadness,
bestow joy
Where there is weakness,
bestow strength
Where there is chaos, bestow
peace.
Where there is lack, bestow
abundance
Where there are tears, bestow
laughter
Tear down the walls of
oppression, bind up the fences of indifference, and
squash the spirit of hopelessness. Redeem, restore,
renew, and revive us.
You said in 2 Timothy 1:7
that you have not given us the spirit of fear, but of
power, love, and a sound mind. Thank you for filling us
with your spirit so that we can comfort those in
difficulties with the comfort you have given us.
We pray for President Obama
and other national leaders of the world, and our church
leaders. Give him/them guidance and directions in
making sound decisions that impact our lives. Gird up
the loins of our minds with your word, and keep us in
perfect peace until we see you face to face.
In your precious name,
Amen.
We are thankful to Jan
Resseger, Chair of the Committee on Public Education and
Literacy and member of the ELMC Administrative Board, for
this beautiful and timely prayer for educators. Jan
serves as the Minister for Public Education and Witness
for the United Church of Christ.
God of Love … Thank you for every teacher who notices a child’s special gift. Thank you for teachers who are listeners and gentle guides. Thank you for teachers who expect much and love enough to demand more. Thank you for the special teacher each one of us remembers.
God of Mercy… Sustain teachers who give everything they have and feel abandoned when society expects too much. Strengthen teachers who assume the blame for so many problems beyond their control. Help exhausted teachers rest.
God of Strength… Encourage teachers to care and inspire them to nourish. Motivate teachers to keep on learning for the fun of it and to make learning fun for children.
We wonder at teachers who know how to quiet a class of five-year-olds or help fourth grade girls be empathetic. We admire teachers who enjoy middle school writers or teach physics or math or civics. We feel the pressure on teachers who are expected to make sure every child achieves a passing test score. Bless the people who work hard to accomplish these miracles and who know how to comfort children when miracles don’t happen.
God of Justice… help our nation find a way to steward our vast wealth to support teachers in their special calling, whether they teach in cities or suburbs or small towns or rural schools and whatever the economic backgrounds and special needs of the children.
In this month, we also pray for
NCC/ELMC Related Meetings and Events:
Concerns/Observances:
AUGUST 2009 ELMC Prayer 1 Kings 8: (1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43 (NRSV) Gracious God,
You are the Great Creator.
We praise You that You call us and all Your creation “Good”. We as Your
creation, strive to be worthy of such a generous descriptor.
Solomon prayed, “Regard your servant's prayer and his plea, O LORD my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today;…” 8:28 We pray the same, that You hear our deepest pleas and sincerest words of thanks and adoration. In his wisdom, Solomon prayed, “Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.” 8:30 We too pray that as You listen intently and patiently to our prayers, You hear too the prayers of supplication of our brothers and sisters. We pray for: NCC/ELMC Related Meetings and Events: August 2-8 NCC Ecumenical Work Week in the Gulf Coast--Gulfport, MS and New Orleans, LA August 25 Program Committee on Education for Mission Meeting Concerns/Observances: • Arthur K., Church of God (Anderson), ELMC Administrative Board member and CUS member, as he retires.
• Paul L. Standard
Publishing, CUS member, as he retires and also recovers from surgery. Solomon prayed, “…when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel,…” 8:42-43 We pray for those brothers and sisters around the world whose names we may never know, understanding that they too are Your good creation and long to be heard by and to hear from You. In the name of the One who taught and still teaches us how to pray, Jesus the Christ, AMEN ELMC Prayer July 2009 We are thankful for this month's prayer offering which reminds us of the blessings of summer. It comes from our ELMC colleague, Kirsty DePree, Coordinator of Discipleship for the Reformed Church in America. Gracious and Loving God, You are the giver of life and all that it brings, a life in which every breath we take is a gift from you. During this summer season, we inhale the beautiful summer air, and we exhale our anxieties, worries, doubts and fears as we find refreshment and renewal in you.
You are the one with us in all times and places. We thank you for opportunities to travel and visit with friends, family, and brothers and sisters in other countries. It is our joy to learn from one another, to live together and to seek that which brings unity, reconciliation and justice. We thank you that in other lands and places we get a greater sense of who you are, and that through your people we experience your presence. You are the joy giver. We thank you for camps, vacation Bible schools, summer programs, and mission trips. We give thanks for laughter and learning, for new relationships and aha moments, for swimming and amusement parks, for vacations and opportunities to serve. You are the great physician. We pray for people who long for healing, who seek reconciliation, who search for answers. We pray for people who are suffering from poverty, desiring that they will seek your loving arms of protection, mercy and healing. You have poured out your Spirit upon us so that we may dream dreams and see visions. Help us in the quietness of summer days to imagine what could be, to hope for what may be on the horizon for autumn, to embrace times to ponder and think, and to be awed by your power to enliven us and stir creatively within us. You are our yesterday, today and tomorrow. Thank you for being present, real and at the center of our daily lives. Amen. Concerns/Observances:
Ecumenical Prayer Cycle:
ELMC Prayer June 2009
We are thankful for this
month's prayer contribution which reminds us of the prayers of
our spiritual forebears. Thanks go to our colleague, Elise
Antreassian, ELMC Administrative Board member and our staff
colleague in Christian Education, Department of Youth and Education,
Diocese of the Armenian Church in America (Eastern), for bringing
this prayer to us.
Restore these
broken branches and Prayer Concerns:
Ecumenical Prayer Cycle:
ELMC Prayer May 2009 We are grateful to our ELMC colleague, Michael Gibson, Religious Education Coordinator for Friends General Conference for this rich and timely prayer offering.
Lord, there are fear and anxiety in the air. Cases of swine flu increase. The economy is turbulent. People are losing their homes, their jobs, their retirement savings, and sometimes their self-esteem. Our ecclesial bodies are challenged to meet budgets. War continues to be an ongoing reality. You know our losses, our hurts, our disappointments. Remind us, God, that you are indeed God at all times, and that you are the God of Easter and Pentecost. Always. Remind us that even while you are with us in the tomb, you remain the God of the empty tomb. Give us the strength, not of a triumphalism that is immune to the pain and injustice of the world, but of a holy, humble confidence that bears burdens, binds wounds, and transforms unjust systems for the glory of your name. May the joy and hope of the Easter season, of Ascension, and of Pentecost remind us of who you are and of whom we are called and empowered to be. Endeavoring to be loving and faithful, and, remembering in whose image we were made, seeking to be more fully human, we lift up the following meetings, events and situations and ask your blessing: NCC/ELMC Meetings:
Concerns/Observances:
Ecumenical Prayer Cycle:
To you, Triune One, our Life who is with us in times of holy awe and of deepest absence, the One who is God of Easter, Ascension and Pentecost always and in every place, be all praise and honor both now and forever. Amen. ELMC Prayer April 2009 As we look toward Easter, we thank our colleague, Marvin W. Cropsey, managing editor, The New International Lesson Annual and member of the Committee on the Uniform Series, for the beautiful prayer rich with biblical imagery.
How could we live if the One-Who-Means-More to us than any other did not care for us? You mean more of comfort, protection, guidance, forgiveness, grace, salvation, and love to us. We long for you. We adore you. We worship you. 13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, "To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" Revelation 5:13 Lord, we are far into the season of Lent. We have been studying your Holy Word, both First and Second Testaments, looking for your personal word to us. We have been seeking within ourselves as we inspect our lives for flaws and failures and weaknesses. We have been living in the Gospels as we look to you for comfort and guidance and wisdom. We have been living with the world as we use all that you have given us to carry your message and your Kingdom into the world. One-Who-Means-More, help us to be your agents on earth as we work. In ELMC we are many different people, with many different concerns, striving toward many different goals--but all intended to reconcile your wayward creation to you and to glorify you. Whatever our ministry, whomever we assist, with whatever blessed difficulties, help us to serve the people you call your own. Endow us with compassion, passion, skill, intelligence, perseverance, determination, the mind of Christ, and the will of God to do our work. Let us uphold all those who have already given their lives for you. 14 . . ."These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. 16They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; 17for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7: 14-17 This is our prayer. AMEN Prayer Concerns: For colleagues of the Church of the Brethren, Presbyterian Church (USA) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as they deal with significant budget cuts and go through restructuring, as some transition out of their ministry positions and others remain to continue ministry (some with expanded portfolios). April 9 – Maundy Thursday April 10 – Good Friday April 12 – Easter/ Orthodox Palm Sunday April 17 – Orthodox Good Friday April 19 – Orthodox Easter April 22 – Earth Day ELMC Related Meetings:
March
31-April 3
April 1
April
30-May 1 NCC Related Meetings:
April
20-22, 2009, Communication Commission,
ELMC Prayer March 2009 Depending on where you are, it may not look like the March of memory or imagination where signs of Spring peek through, nevertheless, it is March and once again our colleague, Rev. MaryJane Pierce Norton, Associate General Secretary, Leadership Ministries, GBOD, The United Methodist Church, and ELMC Treasurer, beautifully speaks to God on our behalf. We are thankful.
March 2, 2009
Gracious God. As we enter into the season of Lent, give us a not-so-gentle reminder that you are there for us. Financial news is depressing. Winter lingers on. Everyday we are faced with news that shows the many ways we humans – your creation – can hurt one another and hurt our world. Stop us in our tracks. Remind us that we are a people of hope and grace. Lift our eyes from our feet to really look at those around us. Help us consider daily what Your word would be for each person we meet. And help us so practice the spiritual disciplines available to us that we find those words of peace and hope for our own lives as well. Make us both receivers and givers of life. Help us notice expectantly the increasing light of each day. But help us not rush too precipitously to the Easter sunshine. Help us value this slow progression of time and use it to remember again all aspects of the life of your Son, Jesus. Today, O God, we claim the power of prayer and lift to you the concerns, both individual and corporate, that trouble our hearts. We also join together in prayer for colleagues, for meetings, for special times that are part of our life as ELMC. With thanks for your many blessings, and with humility that we indeed are your children, we pray this day. AMEN Meetings:
Observance/ Prayer Concerns: March 1-7--Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS March 2--Beginning of Orthodox Great Lent March 6--World Day of Prayer--Focus on indigenous women and their children, especially in Papua New Guinea: (See http://www.ncccusa.org/news/090222worlddayofprayer.html) March 8--International Women's Day (UN) March 20--First Day of Spring March 21--International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN) March 22--World Water Day (UN) Janis P., Church of the Brethren, member of the Program Committee on Education for Mission--prayer during a time of transition, uncertainty, and discernment--due to restructure, her position was eliminated Ecumenical Prayer Cycle:
ELMC Prayer February 2009 We give thanks for the prayer offering this month which comes from James Horsch, Editor for Mennonite Publishing Network and Chair of the NCC Committee on the Uniform Series. God of love and mercy
In love you created the universe with special care for the people that inhabit its lands. You endowed each of us with your gift of love to care for ourselves, families, and all of our neighbors near and far. Your love invites us to extend the same to those with whom we cannot bridge the gap of loneliness, anger, and rejection. In mercy you rescued us from the barrenness of hatred, violence, self centeredness, racial and ethnic pride, and all manner of sin. We confess that these have kept us from receiving your grace. We rejoice that your forgiveness empowered us to freely extend the same to others. We are grateful that the African American community is growing in its contribution to the welfare of all peoples. We rejoice that one of their members, President Obama, was freely chosen by fellow citizens to lead us in these days of deep economic and political turmoil. We pray that God’s love and mercy will guide in his leadership and executive actions for the welfare of the nation and world. In compassion for our brothers and sisters we bring to you the challenges faced in our life together, for the Committee on the Uniform Series members Anita M. whose mother passed away and the Roderick L. family as they deal with serious health crisis as well as recovering from a destructive fire in their home. May your love and mercy bring them healing and contentment. We are thankful that the good news of the gospel is bearing fruit around the world especially in the several countries of Europe. May their witness bring hope and the assurance of God’s love and mercy as they live and serve in the name of Christ. When February draws to a close, we will begin the season of Lent, rejoicing that the witness of our Lord’s gracious and loving ways was sealed with divine approval. In our journey with Jesus we watch as he extends God’s love and mercy to all, even to those who treated him unfairly and with contempt. We see him abandoning violence as he lays down life itself in fulfillment of his divine calling. We rejoice that his obedient actions ensured that God’s salvation is available to the whole human family. God, may your love and mercy go with all of us from this day forward in all that we think, say, and do. AMEN Ecumenical Prayer Cycle:
ELMC Prayer January 2009
On this day when some celebrate the visit of the Magi,
others the baptism of our Lord, and others anticipate
Christmas, we offer the first ELMC prayer of the year. We
are grateful to our colleague, Rev. Kaye Edwards, Director
of Family and Children’s Ministries for the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and
Canada and Chair of the Committee on Families and
Children, for this beautiful prayer offering to begin the
year.
Dear God of All Creation,
Forgive us for the fear and greed that is contributing to the suffering of people and the destruction of the earth. There are too many hurting people, endangered animals, and warring nations for this one prayer. You know what is needed; use us to bring the healing. As individuals, as congregations, as the National Council of Churches, USA, show us the big and the small things we can do in our communities to help our neighbors who are struggling to meet the basic needs of life. Show us the most effective ways to influence those in power to bring peaceful resolutions to the many conflicts around the world. Let us not be discouraged but faithful in all efforts to restore the beauty of your creation and renew the resources of the earth.
We ask special blessings upon our new President, Barack Hussein Obama, as he is sworn into office later this month. May he and his family be surrounded by your protective love. We pray that he will be open to your guiding spirit, that he will find the needed vision and courage to lead us through the coming years. May he also find times of rest and renewal as he assumes the awesome responsibilities of this office.
We are grateful for this Season of Epiphany, reminding us that there is no limit to your love for us and for the whole world. As we reflect on the Magi and their visit to the infant Jesus, on the giving and receiving of gifts, we are reminded that miracles often occur in the most unlikely places and circumstances. Keep us mindful of your presence and ready to travel to wherever you call us to serve.
This month we offer a special prayer for the Professional Church Leadership meeting--January 6-9, the Committee on Outdoor Ministries Meeting--January 20-24, and the annual meeting of the Education and Leadership Ministries Commission, January 26 -28, 2009. May all who attend these meetings be granted safe travels and may the time together be filled with creativity and inspiration.
AMEN
Ecumenical Prayer Cycle:
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O
Holy God, the time has come again that we celebrate You
as the giver of every good and perfect gift. We honor
Your Holy presence. We praise Your Holy name. We extol
Your Holy power. Hear, O God, the humble petitions of
our hearts and the urgent pleas of our souls.
This
month we celebrate the gifts and talents of persons who
have disabilities in the field of employment. The world
sometimes labels and treats them as weak and useless,
yet we know, Lord, that all people, regardless of
circumstance or disease, are created in your image and
have gifts to share with the world.
Creator
God… Your children, all children, are a blessed gift to
us. This September, as the school year begins across the
many communities of our vast nation, we ask your special
blessing upon the teachers called to help your children
realize their promise.
We
seek to be all that You have made and called us to be. We come to You
during long, hazy days of summer, thankful for opportunities to gather
with friends, family, and loved ones and for moments of renewal and
refreshment. We are thankful for moments to pause and refocus. King
Solomon prayed for wisdom. We pray for wisdom and courage to act
faithfully and speak lovingly and truthfully at this present moment. 
You
are the air we breathe. We thank you, God, for the touch of the
wind and the delight of the breeze, for times to ponder and rest in
the midst of your creation, for times to peer into the sunset and
stand in awe, breathing deeper and deeper, and in doing so realizing
the power of your presence with us. We thank you for the long days
when we truly embrace the words of the psalmist who reminds us that
from the rising of the sun to its setting, your name shall be
praised
See
how the leaves of the cedar tree
God
of all our days, our help in ages past, our strength for today, our
ever present hope, we praise you. We bless you. We lift our hearts
up to you in thanksgiving. We thank you for your incomprehensible
generosity and for the magical moments of grace with which you seem to
enjoy surprising us. We depend on the brilliance of your light to
expose our failings and guide our steps. The warmth and gentleness of
your love sustain us. Your justice turns our thinking and our ways of
being upside down and makes so very many things wonderful and new. We
take refuge in you. We depend on you. We dare to say we love you,
even knowing that this love must express itself through our ways of
moving and being in the world. We thank you for your abiding presence
at all times and in all places, especially through the heavy, thorny,
difficult times—times when you may seem to us to be remote from every
human concern. Give us the assurance of your constant presence and
the courage to walk in your light. 
Greetings,
dear God. It is such joy to look and always find you waiting in
attention as though you have no one and nothing more important seeking
your presence. 
If
you read in church yesterday one or more of the scriptures for the
Revised Common Lectionary, you probably recognized the central
theme – water. Water for baptism. Water for cleansing. Water for
renewing. For me, this served as a reminder of why I like Lent. I
find myself, particularly by this time in the calendar year,
behind in work, behind in what I thought I would be doing at home,
and behind in any resolutions I made on January 1. The Holy Season
of Lent - like water - gives me that chance to bring my life back
in order, to cleanse, to renew, and to remember whose child I am.
With that in mind, I feel privileged to offer this prayer on
behalf of all of us.
As
we begin another year in your service, we offer our
heartfelt thanks that you are with us at all times and in
all places. The power of your unconditional love, your
wisdom, and your compassion are available to us, if only
we will open our lives to the leading of your spirit.
Throughout this New Year of 2009, make us mindful of every
opportunity to do your will through loving actions. Make
us aware of every possibility for promoting hope, healing
and peace.