Dear people of Bethlehem, sometimes a hymn is also a way of life.
Lord, listen to your children praying.
For what will the people of God pray? Let us pray for Kyle, Harlow, Sloan and Delaney Ross, in their loss. Let us pray for the children at Ocean Knoll, whose parents have been separated from them. Children who now live in fear that there will be no one to care for them. Let us pray for every personal loss that hollows our hearts and softens our souls to the possibility of grace.
Our hope today is neither fragile, nor frail. Hope is not found in the places where the sun is shining, and all is right with the world. Hope is not powerful, when all the plans you made are working out perfectly. No, hope is found when loss is real, and we carry within us, the scars that make us who we are. Hope is powerful today. God’s amazing grace is powerful today. The healing hand of God is powerful today. May God hold you in every grace. May you know the Spirit’s comfort in your tears, and may you be held in the light of God.
Lord, send you Spirit in this place.
May the power of the Spirit fill us and fill the walls of our congregation. May crescendoing hymns, silent prayers and courageous preaching invite us to attend to the Spirit’s work in our midst. Let us be fired for good! May we not be a flickering flame, but a bright light — and when needed let us be a bonfire! In June, there were 250 people in our Fellowship Hall, young and old, neighbors and friends. There was food stacked high on every table. We made 100’s of boxes for families that night. Each box went to a child who would be without school lunches for the summer. The warmth of the room was of the Spirit’s fire. In September, Laure Reynolds spoke with tears in her eyes, about the lost boys of Sudan and the quilts that saved their lives. In the video, a woman from Ukraine clutched a quilt likely made by the women of Bethlehem, and we were all in tears at how small our world is. As Laure said, “What we do really does make a difference.”
Lord, listen to your children praying.
For what will the people of God pray? We pray in gratitude for all that gifts our lives, in this season of Thanksgiving. On this All Saint’s Sunday, we are grateful for every saint who has shown us the way to grace. Every person who has shaped us for good and showed us how to live out this gospel of love, compassion and mercy. Every saint has a star that lights their way, and our paths are illumined by their light. Saint Ralph taught me about the necessity of warmth and joy. He was a child in war torn Germany and, in those years, spent time in an internment camp. Yet his life reflected his gratitude and open heart, and his genuine affection for everyone he met. I will never forget the sparkle in his eyes, or the way he made you feel of such deep value and worth. Ralph had many jobs as a chef, but his favorite was running a school kitchen with Down’s syndrome students. He loved them. Let us never forget that joy is the greatest gift we give each other.
Send us love, send us power, send us grace.
God send us love that we can feel — and love that we can give away to our neighbors until they feel it. God give us strength for our own fearful hearts. And send us power to bring light to the darkened places. God hold us in grace. And send us to share the gift we have been given.
In gratitude and in prayer, Pastor Laura