Sunday, October 28, 2007
Offered by Adam H. Fronczek, Associate Pastor

Lord on Reformation Sunday, we are reminded of the gifts of our own faith tradition, and we pray for that which keeps us divided from our brothers and sisters. Forgive us for the divisions that exist among us, and help us to heal them.

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist, for Pentecostals and nondenominational Christians, and we pray for those who worship God in other faith traditions, for Jews and Muslims and many more who long for justice and peace in this world.

We pray for our own Presbyterian church. Help us to keep finding new ways to work for healing and reconciliation over the issues that divide us. Help us to find constructive ways to talk about abortion, the authority of the Bible, and the meaning of human sexuality. Help us to be compassionate along the way when we meet those with whom we disagree.

We pray that you would grant each one of us an extra measure of kindness and compassion in our personal relationships and also in our public conflicts, where reconciliation is desperately needed. Help us to forgive spouses, brothers and sisters, family and friends and lovers who have wronged us, and help them to forgive us. Help us to model forgiveness and justice throughout the world.

Lord, we thank you for the reassurance that in the places where we fall short, we are not responsible for saving ourselves, but we are upheld and supported by the gift of your grace. You are the one who forgives us and gives us strength.
Help us in our smallness of faith when we do not put all of our trust in you.
Continue to call upon us to spread your word and do your will in hopes that we might one day hear you, and follow.

Help us to work for healing and to pray for your grace and peace in all kinds of desperate situations.

We pray for victims of war in the Middle East and victims of fires in the American West and victims of flooding in the Gulf Coast. We ask your particular mercies on people who have lost loved ones and who are without homes. We ask your mercies on our brothers and sisters at Malibu Presbyterian Church, who have lost their church building.

Lord, make us mindful of the wisdom of our fathers and mothers in the church and their reminder that we are saved not by our own abilities but by your mercy and grace, and for that, Lord, make us a thankful people. May we remember your creative grace in the newness of each day; help us to see the reconciling love of your Son Jesus Christ in the eyes of the one seated next to us; and, Lord, help us to feel the presence of your Spirit in the blowing of the wind.

As we rise to face the challenges of our world, help us to know that we are never alone. Grant us today a renewed sense of all that you have already done for us. Our Father . . .

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church