The old year speeds swiftly to its close, and the prospects and hopes of a new year await us in a few days. As the psalmist and Mr. Browning declared in their poems, our times are in God’s hands. We gather in worship of the God who ultimately created all of us, sustains all of us, and promises to go with all us into the future, as He has been with us through every moment in the past. Therefore let us, with a new year’s confidence, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
O loving Father, as we come to the end of one year, and look forward to the beginning of another year, we are reminded of how much we must rely on Thee for daily needs of every kind. There are so many things over which we have no control at all, and without Thy grace sustaining us in such circumstances, we would be utterly lost. Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. We live in a vexing and confusing time, and without Thy presence with us, we are completely lost. Thanks be to Thee for upholding us in all the times of our lives.
In the transition from one year to another, we hope that we shall be able honorably to conduct ourselves with constant civility in the upcoming election year, especially toward those with whom we have the strongest political disagreements. We pray that the rancor and animosity which has characterized too much of the campaigning thus far may begin to dissipate. Grant to us increasing maturity in our differences with one another. We therefore implore Thy divine wisdom also to infuse the human wisdom of those who most visibly express conflicting political opinions.
We pray for those who are mainly Christians or Jews fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. We pray also for Islamist fanatics who feel compelled to drive out all those whom they facilely label infidels, while seeing no infidelity in their own behavior to the principles of the religion they imagine they are defending by their fanaticism. Most of all, we pray for every family everywhere who has lost anyone to these interminable conflicts, whether on the actual field of battle or in the countless terrorist attacks against innocents, the great majority of whom are Muslims themselves. Give to us peace in our time, O Lord. We ask it is the name of the one whom we call the Prince of Peace. Now we pray together as Jesus instructed us, saying, Our Father….