CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Our wondrous and ever loving God, thank you for being with us always. Thank you for your attentiveness to our prayer. We confess that we don’t pray as often as we should, afraid we will embarrass ourselves in the speaking and tending to start our conversations with you in moments of frustration and fear, when we are confused or in dire straits. When we give you spontaneous thanks, it is often in the context of feeling a sense of relief that you have been with us and somehow the things we were worried about managed to turn out alright. Teach us not to be afraid to pray. Teach us to speak freely, openly with you and to say out loud what is on our minds. We know in our heart of hearts that you already know what we are going to say before we say it, perhaps even before we think it. It is good for us to listen to what we say, to hear our out loud prayer. Help us to trust in the presence of your Holy Spirit moving in and through us giving us the words of blessing, thanks, and praise. In the name of the Christ we pray.
OFFERTORY THOUGHT
Helen Hottenstein used to pray for a parking space that was close to where she wanted to shop. I don’t know if she put a time limit on the request or how many times she had to circle the block before God made a space available, but she always found one. I learned something significant this week as I prayed Tongsung Kido with Rev. Eun Pa Hong from Bupyeong Church, Korea: pray always and always pray for what you need for the furtherance of God’s kingdom. God I pray that everyone will support the current and future work of this, your welcoming church in Palm Springs.
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