So What Faith

Greg Smith

Prayers of the People – A Different Approach (#0547)

By

At Naples United Church of Christ the pastoral prayer follows the same basic pattern each week:

  1. Pastor provides a prayer focus and invites people to pray
  2. Time of silent prayer
  3. Pastor offers the prayers of the people
  4. Musical response
Yesterday, we chose to do things differently. The Rev. Catherine O’Connell, Associate Pastor, and I co-wrote then co-led the prayers of the people, which included a congregational response.  The pattern we used was:
  1. Pastor provides a prayer focus and invites people to pray
  2. Time of silent prayer
  3. Pastor, liturgist and congregation participate together in the prayers of the people
  4. Musical response
The text of part three follows (L = liturgist/me, P=pastor/O’Connell, C=congregation):

L:  Bread of Life, give us eyes to see that the number of people with whom we share this planet is growing each day, surpassing 7 billion not long ago.  May the work of the United Church of Christ, especially through Mission 1, inspire us and others to continue toward the goal of providing each of your children with adequate food.
P: God of many names,
C: hear our prayers.

P: God of all nations, You do not play favorites; and yet our nation has enjoyed blessings beyond measure throughout its history. The plates are shifting underneath our feet. We seek stable ground, but familiar paths no longer lead us where we need to go. Calm our growing fear. Remind us that our nation, working as one on behalf of the many, will always surpass the sum of our individual efforts.
L: God of many names,
C: hear our prayers.

L: God of Possibility, we pray for opportunity for all who seek wisdom, whether their quest takes them to a house of worship, a school classroom, a beach, a doctor’s office, a friend’s living room, or on a journey within.  May we fully embrace our roles as learners and educators.
P: God of many names,
C: hear our prayers.

P: God, our true Ground of Being, You have created us with all we need to make a difference in this world, yet we are staggered, even paralyzed, by the needs of billions of our brothers and sisters. Be a source of hope and direction for us so that we may be a source of hope, compassion, and guidance for those You call us to care about wherever they may live.
L: God of many names,
C: hear our prayers.

L – Loving God, we pray for those within our community who are unemployed or underemployed and for all who struggle to make ends meet in the current economy. May our tireless efforts as your ambassadors of love bring about a better tomorrow.
P: God of many names,
C: hear our prayers.

P: Holy One, we come into this house of worship, your house, with doubts and dreams. Let us hear that word, perhaps that whisper, or feel that stirring which assures us and those we love that in You, all will be well. No matter what may come to pass, all will indeed be well.
L: God of many names,
C: hear our prayers.

L: Eternal Now, we pray for the future of your creation.  May those of us who live our days within the time we call present be ever attentive to listen for the voice of our Still Speaking God.
P: God of many names,
C: hear our prayers
L: Amen.

 

So What?

How are the prayers of the people offered most Sundays in your congregation? What alternative methods have been especially meaningful to you? How so?