News:Prayer Quarter
Download "An Order for Daily Prayer following Easter for the Great Fifty Days" file in PDF format. (Click here for MS Word format)
“Into your hands I commend my spirit…” (Luke 23:46) These are among the words spoken by Jesus on the cross as written in Luke’s Gospel. They are the words that we use during the season in which we focus on prayer (February 6th-May 11th).
On Sunday, May 11th, we will complete the Stewardship Quarter focused on Prayer. As the quarter ends we will each make a commitment about our life of prayer. Since February we have been reminded of the varieties of prayer, the styles of prayer, the mysteries of prayer, and invitations to explore what we believe about the God to whom or with whom we pray. On May 11th we will have the opportunity to decide what we will do about prayer for the next 12 months. If that seems like a long time to you, consider changes that you will make in your prayer life for the next three months! Will you set aside a time for prayer each day? When? Where? Will you use the Bible as a resource? Will you use a modern text on prayer as a guide or aid? Will you structure your prayer time to include prayers for others and prayers for your own self? Do you intend to have any time for silence, to listen for the Word of God to be whispered in your soul? Imagine creating a template for your life of prayer. Imagine keeping a record of your daily prayer time. Might you ask a friend to hold you accountable for your commitments? Might you ask a friend to pray for you or with you on a regular basis? Our lives might be changed. We might be transformed as we make our commitments and live them out day by day over the next year. This congregation would surely be changed and transformed by God if we stayed faithful to our intentions made on May 11th!
On Sunday, May 18th, we begin the Stewardship Quarter of Service. There will be many occasions to read and explore the many opportunities provided for service in the name of God on behalf of God’s children. We watch and wait with a longing for God’s Kingdom to be made known more fully among us.
*An Order for Daily Prayer is available on our website with prayers for each week and each metaphor and theme. Let the images live in your soul from week to week and see where the mystery of the resurrection leads you during these fifty days.
