Prayers of the People - Blooming Glen Mennonite Church - June 15, 2025 - Brenda Shelly

Lord, we give you thanks for every minute of this new day.

For each new opportunity to experience and to grow.

For every pitfall, teaching us to lean more intentionally on you.

For every relationship we navigate.

For this church we love.

We bow before you, acknowledging we are nothing without your generous heart giving us our every breath.

We are careless without your guiding light moving us to empathy.

We are helpless without your ever-patient Spirit, prompting us to be the kind of people who reflect your care to the world.

Guide us to the peace you patiently offer when we are quiet enough to receive.

Thank you for pursuing us and for the way you continue to love us despite our failings.

We pray for all the fathers… and all the men who are not Dads but who shepherd others, coming alongside with support and modeling in the spirit of fatherhood.

We pray for our pastors, elders and leadership board as they provide guidance for our church. Soak them thoroughly with your Holy Spirit, that they might experience undeniable clarity, unity and a clear direction for the future of Blooming Glen. A path forward which comes straight from your heart.

Be present with our church volunteers who masterfully run the kitchen, teach the children, devote time to technology, plan events, and keep our facilities in good repair. Grant strength and wisdom to the members of each of our foundation groups as they faithfully navigate the sometimes sticky and cumbersome realities of being the church together.

We ask for daily energy and inspiration for our dedicated church staff as they work tirelessly and sometimes thanklessly.

Lead us all in the ways of peace and reconciliation. Continue your refining work in each of our hearts as we look to you for guidance.

We pray for tolerance.

Help us to love.

Help us to forgive.

There are so many hurting places on this earth. Many days it feels as though all we can do is lament and pray. We are sometimes overwhelmed to the point of apathy.

Throughout history you have used the seemingly weak to cultivate justice, to fight poverty, and to walk bravely toward human thrones of power proclaiming another way.

Grant us hope in these times.

Lord, remind us that no one is above reproach and no one is beyond the reach of your love and redemption.

Help us to look right into the eyes of the people we find hard to appreciate… and see your image, instead.

Your boundless mercy puts to shame our petty judgments.

When we are rocked by injustice and powerlessness, point us to your beauty. Break our hearts with the things that break your heart.

Free us from our self-interested claims so that we can represent YOU on this shattered earth… instead of ourselves.

We pray for wisdom and discernment for our world leaders. And we pray especially for the people enduring fear and hardship in so many places in this broken world. Gaza…Myanmar…Sudan…Ukraine… Ethiopia…The Middle East, DRC, and in our own immigrant communities.

Lord…armed conflicts, insurgencies, civil wars, and terror wreak havoc in too many nations to name. Draw near to those who are injured, hopeless, grieving, displaced, and unwelcome in these conflict-torn places. Comfort the brokenhearted as they search for a place of safety and refuge for their families. As they search for peace.

We ask that you would provide opportunities for growth, protection, and unexpected joy for our Senior High youth and the adults who will serve alongside them in Puerto Rico. Prepare their hearts as well as the hearts of those who will receive our group’s sharing, love, and care.

We lift the unspoken and unnamed members our church family who are carrying heavy loads. Speak peace to their hearts. Bring comfort and healing.

Thank you for the offerings which have been received for your purposes today. May we honor you with all that we have. Our gifts and talents, our financial resources, our words, our songs, and our time.

Lord, if we are afraid of anything, let it be the fear of not committing ourselves fully to you.

Let us fear that the day will pass without our having lightened the burden of someone else.

Let us fear that persons will come looking for you and find only us.

You alone are our strength and hope.

Amen