The American Episcopal bishop and hymn writer Arthur Cleveland Coxe said in 1842, “We are living, we are dwelling in a grand and awful time.” The slavery issue was drawing to a head, and the Mexican War was clearly looming up in the very near future. In times of uncertainty and warfare, people often imagine that the world is in a precarious position. That is the theme we are addressing today. Therefore let us with confidence worship the God who is with us in the beginning, in the end, and beyond the end.
Pastoral Prayer
Gracious and loving God, we turn our minds and hearts to Thee in gratitude for all Thou hast given us in our individual lives and in this marvelous world. We praise Thee for the abundance of what we have, and we ask Thee to help us more wisely to share that abundance with those who have almost nothing. We thank Thee for our nation and our community, and for all the factors in each that make life interesting and challenging. When we reflect on how difficult our lives might be, and how blessed they actually are, we are reminded once again of the persistent nature of Thy love and grace.
We pray on this day for all the people of Ukraine, and for the soldiers on both sides who have been sent to do battle with one another. We pray Thy spirit to move among those who have the authority and power to bring peace to a battered nation. Help us to see Thy providential hand in human events, and thus may we be drawn more closely to Thee. Thou art the Lord of life, and through all things we ask that Thou shalt continue to lead us.
We pray for people who have given up on life and wish that it would end, but who lack the courage actively to take matters into their own hands. We pray for those who struggle daily to continue to live because they love life, but for whom illness or debility are constant enemies. Be with those who attempt always to do the right and yet who often give in to the wrong. Uphold those whose vocation it is to work daily with difficult people, and who are losing patience and perseverance for the vital tasks they perform. We are weak, but Thou art strong. Therefore hold us in Thy powerful hand, and lead us in the ways we should go. These things we ask in the name of our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, Thy Son. Now we pray as he taught us, saying, Our Father….