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2003 ELMC Prayer of the Month Archives |
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December 2003 Please find below the Education and Leadership Ministries Commission prayer for the month of December. Our gratitude goes out to ELMC Vice Chair, the Rev. Jane Lawrence, Vice President of the Division of Homeland Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), for this beautiful prayer. ---- Loving and gracious God, We live in a world that knows much about waiting ...waiting for peace in the Middle East, waiting for an end to hostilities in Iraq, waiting for quality education to be available to all children, waiting for an end to violence against women and children, waiting for the world to care about the AIDS epidemic, waiting and wondering when an end will come to unemployment and underemployment. Waiting….. We lift in prayer this Advent season those partners in faith who wait and those who journey: The Ecumenical Youth Ministry Staff as they plan ministries to nurture the spiritual life of young people, the Committee on Public Education and Literacy as they encourage and support an education system that is just for all children. O God, you know there are many of the ELMC community who are struggling as they face situations of downsizing, increasing work loads and too few dollars to accomplish what is expected; waiting in a world disordered and living lives under stress. And yet, oh God, we wait in hope. As always, we trust in your faithfulness to your people. In the fullness of time, the Promised One did come. As a result, our world, our institutions and the lives of millions of people have been changed forever. Encourage us this Advent season to wait with hope for the advent of Christ and to share that hope with those who are in despair. Help us to be signs of your advent in the world and even as we light our Advent candles, may you send your love into our hearts that we may be your light to those who wait. We ask this because you are faithful and we love you. AMEN November 2003 Please find below the ELMC Prayer for the month of November. Our gratitude goes out to ELMC Chairperson, The Reverend Raymon E. Hunt, Secretary and Treasurer of Christian Education for the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, for this beautiful prayer. _________________________________ The month of November offers many in the religious community an opportunity to meditate on how God has blessed us. As a part of the National Council of Churches USA, ELMC has a proud history, traced to the formation of the American Sunday School Association in 1824. Since that time, those same differences have inextricably bound us together as one in the body of Christ. During this time of Thanksgiving, we continue to pray, dear God, that You will bless our covenant to work together with all of our differences. We pray, O God, that You will bless us with new and exciting gifts from individuals who will be confirmed at the November General Assembly in Jackson, Miss. We pray that the report generated through the community of ELMC will be appreciated for the labor given from the various member committees. We pray for the possible increase of our table, by the addition of BTU and the formation of the Justice and Advocacy Commission and its leadership. We pray for your anointing on the preparations of the Administrative Board of ELMC, as they have prepared program and agendas for our January meeting. We pray for understanding and strength for our Brothers and Sisters in Communions that have gone through restructure, where many have been or will be displaced. We rejoice for the leadership of all the Committees of ELMC and ask your blessing on each as they meet during this month. We, also ask your blessing upon the leadership of the General Secretary of the Council, and pray your continued blessing upon him. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Thank you Lord for all You have done. We praise your mighty works in all we do and say. May our hands do your biding. May our speech convey your will. May our love for each other express your love for us. AMEN October 2003 Our gratitude goes out to ELMC Administrative Board Member, Dr. Arthur Kelly, Coordinator of Christian Education for the Church of God (Anderson, IN), for this beautiful prayer. --------- "Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1 NRSV) Lord of the feast We gather this month around your oh so large Help us to remember, Lord, that it is your table and that Help us to remember that we are at your table when Help us to remember those that gather at your table in
other places: Lord of the feast, September 2003 The reflection that follows comes from Margaret S. Larom, a member of the ELMC board who is completing a 4-year term as chair of the NCC Program Committee on Education for Mission. She is the World Mission Interpretation and Networks Officer for the Episcopal Church. ____________________________ September always feels like the beginning of the year, to me. This is conditioning, no doubt, from the back-to-school days of our childhood. The notion persists that September is a time of starting up again, picking up the reins of work and commitments that we may have dropped for a brief time over the summer. It’s ironic that the autumn season also carries the notion of things coming to an end - fading flowers, falling leaves. Yet this "ending" time is essential for new growth. As we contemplate our calendars, summoning the energy to dive into the frenetic round of fall meetings, we can’t help but be aware that while the NCC’s current quadrennium is coming to an end, seeds are being sown for the next. Many communions, like my own, had major gatherings and assemblies this summer and, like us, will use this month to begin coming to grips with the results of actions taken, budgets passed, commitments made. Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, leading the Episcopal Church into a landmark General Convention this summer, used a prayer of Philaret, bishop of Moscow from 1821-1867, elevated to Metropolitan in 1826, as a sort of mantra throughout the proceedings. Citing his own reliance on its wisdom, he shared it beforehand with staff, clergy and lay deputies as well as bishops throughout our church; he asked for it to be recited daily in sessions of our House of Bishops, and he has recommended it again in an open letter to our church. May the staff and constituency members participating in the meetings listed below - and indeed, all who read this prayer, find it heartening, strengthening, and healing as you move through the days ahead. Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in
peace. August 2003 All your children shall be taught by the LORD,and great shall be the prosperity of your children. --- Isaiah 54:13 NRSV Gracious God, thank you for creating and calling us into the joys of summer, among them--the laughter of the children and the young-at-heart, as they marvel at your creation in Christian camp settings and learn of your will and way in Vacation Bible Schools across your land. We are grateful for those much-needed moments of Sabbath when we can pause to rest, reflect, and regroup for the tasks ahead. Although faced with reduced budgets, increased work portfolios, and the overwhelming needs of your people and your world, we still rejoice and are humbled and encouraged when we consider our calls to the diverse education and leadership ministries of your church. We pray for the NCC Nominations Committee as it diligently seeks Council leadership for the 2004-07 quadrennium. Oh, God who loves justice and grants mercy, be with the NCC/CWS/ AEE 210 Union negotiations team as it continues to work. Keep all involved in this process aware that the outcome impacts workers, working conditions, and relationships. Because we know you to be the God who heals and brings wholeness, we lift to you colleagues and family members who are dealing with various illnesses and related medical procedures and treatments. Gracious One, guide the Deaf Ministry Committee in its search process for a new contract staff person. Because you are our comfort during times of grief and loss, we ask that you be with colleagues who have experienced the recent loss of loved ones. We give thanks to you for the presence and work of Stefanie Sippel, our intern research assistant from Germany, who will be part of our staff until October 10. Gracious Provider, we offer to you the concerns and longings of friends, coworkers and churches who continue to suffer from reduction in funding, particularly those who are in transition because their positions have been eliminated. Likewise, we pray that you will lead these and other colleagues in new paths of service. We pray that your Spirit might dwell in the gathering of your people of the Episcopal Church during its General Convention in Minneapolis, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. during its Annual Session and Christian Education Congress in Charlotte, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America during its Church-wide Assembly and supporting meetings. Please, let your will be done. Thank you for hearing our prayer and granting us your peace. In the name of the Great Teacher, Jesus Christ, we offer to you these concerns and our gratitude. AMEN July 2003 The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, That I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning God wakens - wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. -Isaiah 50:4 NRSVAll wise, all knowing, Creator God, The Master Teacher, we praise You for who you are and for what you do in our lives. We thank You for waking us each morning and for calling us to serve in the ministry of teaching. Help us Dear God to listen for Your voice each morning. Guide us and direct us as we do Your will during the month of July. We know that there are many who will have the opportunity to receive rest and vacation from the many chores that call them throughout the year. Keep them safe as they travel to and from their many destinations. Let the peace that only You can give go with them. There are others, Dear Lord, who are in the midst of denominational meetings or preparation for meetings that keep them in the continued struggle of juggling chores each day in order to meet the needs of Your people. Bless them, O Lord, and keep them in Your care. Give us a word of encouragement that we might encourage others who grow weary. Bless the work of the Committee on Justice for Children and Their Families as they meet this month in Clinton, Tennessee. May the peaceful surroundings of the Alex Haley Farm bring renewal, rest and rejuvenation to their spirits. Guide the work of the Nominations Committee as they gather in Atlanta, Georgia. Bless the initiatives set forth by the Committee on Black Congregational Ministries. Direct the paths of the members of all of the committees under the umbrella of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA Education and Leadership Ministries Commission. There are those who are retiring this month from the ministries that You have called them to. Keep them in Your care as they explore new avenues of service. There are those who are called to new positions, new portfolios, new responsibilities, guide them and strengthen them for the journey. We thank You now for listening ears and the ability to hear Your call. We thank You for the opportunity and privilege to serve. God, we love You for who You are in our lives and in the life of ELMC. Amen. --- Our special thanks goes out to ELMC Administrative Board Member, Ms. Brenda D. Tribett, Executive Director of Christian Education for the Progressive National Baptist Covention, Inc., for this beautiful prayer. June 2003 "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" What a wonderful word to remember! As the mother of teenage boys, there are often times when I may feel unwanted, ignored, and the source of deep embarrassment. There are those around us at work or at home who may through their words or actions make us say to ourselves, "You are worthless or unnecessary or redundant." In our congregations we may be so caught up in doing the same things over and over again that it's hard to remember what gifts we ever brought to those jobs we do. And yet, this scripture calls us back. God created us. God sees us as gifted people. God blesses us. God calls us to bless others. In these days of summer when tensions are high throughout the world, where finances worry us, and where we as well as those around us are operating in constant states of stress, I would invite you to slow down. Breathe deeply. Open yourself to God and ask God to restore to your sight how God sees you and what God sees for you. May this prayer be yours today: "Gracious God, you are our strength - our source of life and light. But it's hard to remember that when around us there is fighting, ugly words said one to another and group to group, and reminders everywhere of the lack of respect for human beings, for the environment, and for our world. Bring us back. Bring us back to your vision of creation. Remind us both in quiet moments and in busy times of your vision of ourselves and of the world around us. Give us the energy and strength to hold tight to this vision. And remind us again of your loving care. We pray in particular this day for the Committee on Curriculum Research and Theory as they complete their meeting in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina (June 10-13) and the Committee on Public Education and Literacy as they meet June 17-18 in Indianapolis. And we lift in prayer the National Council Nomination Committee as it meets to carry out its important task leading up to the General Assembly and the new Quadrennium. We also lift in prayer the Administration of the NCCC as they do budget building for the future. And we pray for all of our communions as they make decisions on funding, on policy, and on future ministry. Amen" May 2003 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.-Proverbs 14:34 Dear Friends, as we begin the month of May with the National Day of Prayer, our ecumenical community joins with others in the power of collective voices united in the Spirit. Although we are mindful of our differences, it is at the name of Jesus and where every knee is bent that we see a glimpse of God's preferred kingdom. This month the following groups are meeting. May God's presence call them beyond a place of comfort and familiarity to a bold new courage and witness as their work together gives living testimony to our God of unity, justice, peace and faithfulness. The NCCCUSA Executive Board
Retreat--The National Conference Center, Lansdowne, VA National Workshop on Christian
Unity--Savannah, GA Executive Committee of the
Committee on Family Ministries and Human Sexuality--New York, NY God of Hope of the world, |
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