Pastor’s Prayers

May the God who called our father Abraham to journey into the unknown

and guarded him and blessed him

protect us too and bless our journey.

May his confidence support us as we set out.

May his spirit be with us on the way.

May he lead us back home in peace.

Those we love, we commend to his care.

He is with them. We shall not fear.

As for us, may his presence be our companion so that blessings may come to us and everybody

we meet. Blessed are you God Almighty

whose presence travels with his people.

     —ancient Jewish prayer

God, who called our Father Abraham to journey

into the unknown,

Who led him, protected him, and loved him, be

      known to us on our journey through life.

May our eyes see you in all whom me meet.

May we learn to laugh at your presence:

To rejoice in you and your faithfulness to us

For as you blessed Abraham  we are blessed by you.

You are our Father, we are your children,

With you we are on our way to the Promised Land.

       —David Adam

“A new year has begun, O Lord, and again with the turning of the year we begin anew our pilgrimage toward Christmas. Our hearts as ever  rejoice in the glad tidings of Christ who is born in Bethlehem to be the Savior of all the word. Yet with all our joy, and the long centuries behind us of hearts made glad by His coming, we know there is much in us that deafens our ears to the sound of angel anthems, much that blinds us to the sight of guiding stars amid the darkness, much that crowds our hearts and minds, leaving little room for the humbler benedictions of this life. If repentance can purify our hope; if for this season we may become pure hearted; if now we can welcome you with all our soul, then grace us with your most wondrous blessing through Christ who was born to be the light of the world forever.”

“Anonymous” prayer in The Secret Christmas: An Anthology of the Hidden Joy of Christmas by Terence Handley MacMath (2013).

“Dear God, make calm the waves in this heart, make still that storm. Be calm, my soul, that God may rest in you. God’s peace wash over you. Dear God, grant us peace, peace that the whole world cannot wash away.”

Soren Kierkegaard, A Book of Uncommon Prayer (2007).

Gracious, loving and merciful God, on this Christmas Eve, as the light of your Word penetrates our hearts, as we are reminded of the gift of life and faith, as the glories of the heavenly hosts are echoed in our church, we open ourselves up to your Spirit and give you thanks.   We are grateful, Lord Jesus, that your story has become our story, and we celebrate your birth. 

      Continue, we pray, to instill in us a profound sense of your abiding presence, and help us to take to heart the wonder of your love, that we may walk in your ways and delight in your will.

      Help us, Lord God, to be the faithful, gracious, loving, giving and forgiving people you would have us be.

Rev Sean B. Murray

I am no longer my own but yours,
Put me to what you will
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal
And now glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And this covenant now made on earth, let it be satisfied in heaven.
Amen

Covenant Prayer, John Wesley

O Come let us worship and lift our hearts . . . 

Not because the world is good and last week was awesome, 

But because the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the God of the whole Earth.

O Come let us worship and raise our hands . . .

Not because our lives are all sweetness and light,

But because even those who walk in darkness can see a great light, the Bright and Morning Star

O Come let us worship and bow down . . .

Not because God gives us what we want,

But because God gives us what we need–the holy child Jesus, God’s Unspeakable Gift