We are a people who come and go, who appear and disappear, and never do we have exactly the same group of people on any two Sundays. But God is always here among us, and it is to Him that we turn when we gather to worship and to praise His name. We come far more at His unseen and unfelt bidding than through our own volition, but He receives us whether or not we ever think about that, let alone affirm it. Therefore let us, with the confidence He graciously provides to all of us, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
We pause before Thee, O gracious God, to thank Thee for the unique and incomparable fellowship we have as members of this small but faithful congregation. We thank Thee for the talents and skills represented by each person here, for the varieties of faith and the depth of the life experience which have been given to each of us. Because it is Thou who ultimately hast joined us together, we praise Thee for the strength and support we find in each other’s company, for the nature of the friendships we have encountered here, and for the refreshing and often startling openness of those who consider themselves a part of this particular conglomerate of cogitating Christians. Bless us as a people, O God, and keep us in Thy constant care.
We thank Thee for all those who have been a part of us at any time over the years of our existence, but particularly for those who have moved from the Church Temporal to the Church Eternal. We remember them with great fondness for those attributes in their personalities which remain forever in our minds, and for the ways in which they contributed uniquely to our own unique community. Hear us as individually and silently we express thanks for any particular individuals who have been associated with The Chapel Without Walls at any point in the past…..
We ask, O loving Father, that Thou wouldst deepen our commitment to Thee as well as to one another. Make us more responsive and responsible to one another. Help us more effectively to bear one another’s burdens, and thus to fulfill the law and the love of Jesus Christ. We pray for our President, the Members of our Congress, and all other officials who seek to provide sound and productive leadership internally as well as internationally. Bless those who daily defend us with their lives, and those whose vocation it is to serve the public in any capacity. Forgive us when we fail Thee, and restore us so that we may more effectively prove to be Thy servants in Thy world. We ask it all in the name of Jesus Christ, whom we call Lord. Now we pray as he taught us, saying, Our Father….