Prayers of the People

God be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray.

Our Way and Truth and Life, we thank you for the gift of the Church - for the sacred Scriptures which reveal your work in ages past, for the holy sacraments which bring you to us today, for this gathered community of prayer which makes real your love and fellowship.  You teach us, assembled together week by week, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Lead us into the fullness of your wisdom, Holy One, and out of the narrowness of our fears for the future of your Church - anxieties over attendance numbers and budgetary concerns, worry over a lack of religious affiliation in the young and of declining institutions.  Make us to trust, instead, in your mighty power and abiding presence in our midst.  Remind us that you will never leave us to face any of our fears alone.  We pray to you today, in a particular way, for your Church here in the Diocese of Chicago and the Evanston Deanery, especially for Bishop Paula Clark and the people of St. James the Less Church in Northfield and Megan their rector.  Inspire us to ever more and more put our trust in you, O God, and to face with courage and faithfulness, the challenges of our age.

God in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God of Moses, you met the fearful tyranny of Pharoah with the faithful devotion of the Hebrew midwives, preserving life and hope amidst death and oppression.  Send your Wise Spirit into the hearts and imaginations of the leaders of the nations today and into our own hearts and imaginations as we weigh the public good and our private opinions and activities.  Guide us from anxiety and scarcity, from scapegoating and rivalry, from grudges and defensiveness to a courage and a faithfulness rooted in your eternal being, your steady power, and your abundant grace.  Draw your fractious, fearful children to you and towards one another in compassion in all places of conflict - from the battlefields of Ukraine to the Strait of Hormuz to our divided nation of Republicans and Democrats.  Remind us, in the depths of our understanding, how perfect love casts out all fear.

God in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Your angels and prophets appeared amidst all the trials and tribulations of our world, and proclaimed again and again “Be not afraid!”  Ignite beacons of hope and courage in all darkness today through the loving actions of our lives and in the daily lives of those who suffer and struggle.  We pray to you for the people of Hawaii, Illinois and Indiana and all places around the world experiencing extreme weather, for those affected by the earthquake in Indonesia, and for Sally, Sherry, Isabelle, Norris, Andre, Adele & Rick, Donna, Leigh, Quinn, and Griffin & Cheryl.

Are there others? (Silence)

O God of the Living, many of us fear death and so we pray also to you today for all those who are dying and who have died, particularly those we now name silently or aloud…

(Silence)

You are Resurrection and You are Life.   Draw all who have died, all who suffer, all who fear into your risen life that knows not the terror of the grave or the despair, anxiety and pain of this world but only light, courage, strength and peace.

God in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  – Book of Common Prayer

Amen.