People's Prayers

Monday, October 20, 2025

Prayers of the People: The Human Family ~ 3rd Sunday in the Season of Creation '25

For Sunday, October 26, 2025, Season of Creation 3*, Readings: Genesis 1:20-31, Psalm 146,

Chief Seattle**, Luke 10:25-37

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them…God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit…for food... And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. [Genesis 1:26-27,29-31]

Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help whose hope is in the Lord their God; Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; who keeps his promise for ever; Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, And food to those who hunger. [Psalm 146:5-7]

The Great - and I presume good - White Chief sends us word that he wished to buy our lands but is willing to allow us enough to live comfortably...How can one buy or sell the air, the warmth of the land? That is difficult for us to imagine. If we don’t own the sweet air and the bubbling water, how can you buy it from us…?The wind that gave my grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. And the wind also breathes life into our children. All things are bound together. All things connect. Whatever happens to the Earth happens to the children of the Earth. Man has not woven the web of life. He is but one thread in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. [Chief Seattle**]

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher, he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live." But wanting to justify himself he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?” [Luke 10:25-29]

This Creation Story in Genesis 1 is my favorite. It wasn’t until I began a program known as Education for Ministry [EfM], a small-group distance learning program from the School of Theology of the University of the South [by which I was later employed], that I learned about TWO Creation stories! Raised Roman Catholic, in eight years of Catholic school and 4 more years of weekly religion classes in high school, we knew liturgical prayers and practice, and doctrinal catechism, pre-Vatican II. We were taught “the” story of Creation, but it wasn’t until many, many years later that I discovered there was another and it came before the one we were taught, and enlighteningly [new word?], in that one I wasn’t merely a helper/rib. It was through that 4 year program, actually half-way through, that I proceeded into graduate work in theology ~ ironically as an Episcopalian in an Arch-Diocesan, Pontifical Status, Roman Catholic Seminary ~ the Dean thought it was hilarious and we had regular conversations. I realized later, that surprisingly, I found “me” there, not as RC, but as fully human. Sadly, not much of what I was taught and learned there ever made it to the pew in my prior RC time.

The Psalmist speaks to us all about our God in whom there is hope, justice, love, and care for ourselves and for those oppressed, sometimes even by us.

This piece by Chief Seattle is breathtaking ~ the full text is below ~ and especially in my own day in my own home-town and my entire small state. I saw word today that more family farms have been sold for yet more home construction. The rural country I once knew is mostly gone. Sigh... The President of which he spoke was Franklin Pierce, a northern democrat of a wholly different political understanding of Democrat and Republican. Among other things, Pierce believed that the abolitionist movement was a threat to national unity and signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. There is no wondering about why Chief Seattle wrote so eloquently about the Earth… our ways are different from yours…the air is valuable to us…[it] gave my grandfather his first breath [and] also received his last sigh… Painfully beautiful and sadly all too true now as then.

Luke’s Gospel reminds of us the words we think we know so well and utter easily and without deep examination of how we apply them in our everyday moments, especially in the most difficult circumstances. Too often, especially in these fraught times, we look at "others" as different from ourselves by skin color, nationality, religion, political views, sexual orientation, life circumstance, or, merely, because someone lives in a different part of the world, the country, or a community. How easily we dismiss, and worse, completely reject those whom we designate as not one of us or as unworthy. Suddenly "they" become one of them, not to be trusted or valued as the full human person God created in God's own image. How very sad and tragic it is that we set ourselves, within our self-limited chosen circles, as above another individual or group as if our opinions, or neighborhood, or economic circumstance, or political views are the only ones that matter. Sure, we need to be careful with our interactions with strangers, but there are still ways to understand, and care, and help in ways that may not be up close and personal without being dismissive, negative, or self-righteous. Even more sad is that too many of us may actually love God and our neighbors in the way we really do love ourselves: badly. Judgment, criticism, anger, mockery, even hatred, may be more of a mirror than we recognize or are willing to admit.

The ways in which we care for each other ~ all others ~ and ourselves, with the love for God and our Human Family that Jesus has exhorted us to give, is a measure of the depth (or shallowness) of our own love for God. To prosper only ourselves and our us-group, may carry us in this short temporal existence but it is not the way of Jesus nor does it turn us toward the ultimate reward of eternal life.

The humility that Jesus exemplified is difficult to achieve and uncomfortable in an environment of excessive greed, selfishness, and disdain for the life of others and this planet. We are/I am called to seek to become united with God from within ourselves. We begin through a simple “help me” prayer, the germinating power for our words and actions to be works of true charity for others and oneself. It is time to relinquish marking personal achievements so as to live more simply, putting one foot in front of the other, making each and every breath a prayer and every step in love and with love and toward justice for our whole Human Family. WE are created in God’s own image and so are all the others around us.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Most Gracious Creator of our Entire Human Family, keep us ever mindful that we are each sometimes the other, creating and receiving suspicion and fear when we step away from our familiar cultures and communities. May our eyes continually radiate Your Light, and may our everyday thoughts, actions, and prayers reflect the overflow of our love for You from within ourselves and outwardly to all we meet.

O God of The Human Family
RESPONSE: As your image we are to love our neighbors and ourselves

~ Most Gracious Creator, grant us each and all, in our many shapes, sizes, colors, races, ages, economic status, and genders, the ability to be Your true voice in action. Let us challenge all in governments across this planet, to work together to achieve the peace, for all we kindred, to live together in unity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of The Human Family
                               As your image we are to love our neighbors and ourselves

~ Most Gracious Creator, comfort all who are burdened with serious illness, addiction, and/or emotional distress, and fill those who give them care with energy and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

    O God of The Human Family
                               As your image we are to love our neighbors and ourselves

~ Most Gracious Creator, in the midst of sorrow for our earthly loss, we give joyful thanksgiving for the glorious welcome of our loved ones into Your eternal kingdom.  We pray especially for… add your own petitions

    O God of The Human Family
                               As your image we are to love our neighbors and ourselves

~ Most Gracious Creator, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

    O God of The Human Family
                               As your image we are to love our neighbors and ourselves

~ Most Gracious Creator, we give You thanks for all who are chosen to show us by Word and example, in prayer and preaching, how to live in this life with our whole Human Family, and who walk with us on the path leading to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of The Human Family

As your image we are to love our neighbors and ourselves

The Celebrant adds: O God of the Hungry and the Privileged, O Lord of those Raised High and those Laid Low, grant us the joyful yet solemn awareness that we each physically, and spiritually, bear within us the very substance of Your Incarnate Son. Let us be the seeds that germinate the power of Your love, bear the fruit of unity among us, and intentionally seek to be fully Yours in every day, so to love You and each other as we are to love ourselves. We ask through the Compassion of Jesus our Christ; and the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit; who live and reign with You as One God, every day, every way, always, and forever. Amen.

* The Season of Creation originated in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was formalized in 2008. It is designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. Click here for more information about: Season of Creation ~ In The Beginning

**A READING FROM CHIEF SEATTLE: The Great - and I presume good - White Chief sends us word that he wished to buy our lands but is willing to allow us enough to live comfortably. We shall consider your offer to buy our land. “What is it that the White Man wants to buy?”, my people will ask. It is difficult for us to understand. How can one buy or sell the air, the warmth of the land? That is difficult for us to imagine. If we don’t own the sweet air and the bubbling water, how can you buy it from us? Each pine tree shining in the sun, each sandy beach, the mist hanging in the dark woods, every space, each humming bee is holy in the thoughts and memory of our people. The sap rising in the tree bears the memory of the Red Man. We are part of the earth and the earth is a part of us. The fragrant flowers are our sisters; the reindeer, the horse, the great eagle are our brothers. The foamy crest of the waves in the river, the sap of the meadow flowers, the pony’s sweat and the man’s sweat is all one and the same race, our race. So when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wants to buy our land, he asks a great deal of us We know that the White Man does not understand our way of life. To him, one piece of land is much like the other. He is a stranger coming in the night taking from the land what he needs. The earth is not his brother but his enemy, and when he has conquered it he moves on. He cares nothing for the land; he forgets his father’s grave and his children’s heritage. He treats his mother the Earth and his brother the Sky like merchandise. His hunger will eat the earth bare and leave only a desert. I do not understand - our ways are different from yours. If we should sell our land then you must know that the air is valuable to us, that the air passes its breath over all life that it maintains. The wind that gave my grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. And the wind also breathes life into our children. All things are bound together. All things connect. Whatever happens to the Earth happens to the children of the Earth. Man has not woven the web of life. He is but one thread in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

~ Attributed to Chief Seattle, Duwamish Tribe, 1855

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Prayers of the People: The Continuous Race ~ 20th Sunday after Pentecost RCL Yr C '25

For Sunday, October 26, 2025, Readings: Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22; Psalm 84:1-6,

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us...We set our hope on you... [Jeremiah 14:9b, 22b]

How lovely is your dwelling place...Happy are those whose strength is in you...they will climb from height to height. [Ps 84:1, 5-6a]

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. [2 Timothy 4:7]

I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted. [Luke 18:14]

Jeremiah tries to ease the gloom and doom of our knowing our failures by reminding us that God is in our midst and calls us by name. I want to stay with that image and the resonance of that voice all along the route of my life, as I climb from height to height. Then, when I am finally at the Finish Line of racing-while-human, I will be gifted with the full revelation of God’s glory. The lovely dwelling place of God is our ultimate destination and the Psalmist reminds us that we who find our strength in God are happy.

The Letter to Timothy continues the assurance that the Lord stands by us even though others desert us, and in graciousness, the writer also asks that those who didn't come to his aid not have their rejection counted against them. Oh, to be so humble!

In Luke, Jesus tells the disciples about those who put themselves above others in the pride of their spiritual accomplishments with contempt for those they deemed beneath them. The self-exalted ones will not be justified as are those who are humbled by awareness of their own sin. The Pharisee revels in his status of being above those he judges of lesser importance including the tax collector, and reports his fasting and tithing, while the tax collector is humble in his prayer for mercy, speaking to God as a sinner. Two different prayers, one of pretension and the other of penance.

True humility is difficult to achieve. If you think have it, you've lost it in that instant! As I continue the sprint through this life, I must relinquish marking milestones and simply keep putting one foot in front of the other, making each breath a prayer. When I listen for the still, small voice that calls my name, I can rest in the knowing that the Lord is with me always, even when I fall. I must be constant in keeping faith, knowing that my hope and strength rests in God. I must, paradoxically, pray two prayers, one for humility and the second to not know if I have achieved it. In attending God in Christ, I’m far more able to resist the arrogance or self-righteousness that arrives with a sense of superiority around others deemed to be less worthy. Jesus doesn't want us to be proud of our humility in this continuous race of a lifetime.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord in our midst, You call us by name to awaken our souls to Your presence. Keep us from wandering, forget our iniquities, and bring us to You in the time of healing and good.

O God of gods

RESPONSE: For Your Mercy, we pray

~ O Lord in our midst, as our hope and our strength are set on You, grant us the fortitude to challenge all leaders in governments across this Planet, to work together to achieve the health of our Earth and the peace of living together in unity. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of gods

For Your Mercy, we pray

~ O Lord in our midst, calm all who are in fear and heal all who are suffering in any part of life, as You grant comfort and care for those who serve others. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need… add your own petitions

O God of gods

For Your Mercy, we pray

~ O Lord in our midst, free the hearts bowed down in grief, as our loved ones now dwell in the loveliness of Your heavenly house forever. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O God of gods

For Your Mercy, we pray

~ O Lord in our midst, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions

O God of gods

For Your Mercy, we pray

~ O Lord in our midst, we give You thanks for all who are chosen to show us by Word and example how to finish the race of this life, keep the faith, and walk together to our home in You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God of gods

For Your Mercy, we pray

The Celebrant adds: Living, Loving Lord, sustain us in our struggle to live humbly in Your sight, to free ourselves from the sin of self-promotion, and to set our hearts on the pilgrim’s way. We ask through Christ Jesus, our Savior; and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate; who together with You are One God in Glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, October 13, 2025

Prayers of the People: Our Primordial Mother*, 2nd Sunday in the Season of Creation ’25 Yr C

For Sunday, October 19, 2025; Readings: Micah 4:1-4, Psalm 8**, Revelation 22:1-2, Matthew 6:25-34

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. [the God of Jacob] shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more… [Micah 4:2c-3]

Lord, our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name. Your glory reaches beyond the stars…I see your handiwork in the heavens: The moon and stars you set in place…O Lord our God, the whole world tells of the greatness of your name. [Psalm 8:1, 3, 4]**

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

[Revelation to John: 22:1-2]

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. [Matthew 6:26, 27, 28b-29]

It is easy enough to discover the bad news about the condition of our planet, from devastating weather to disastrous environmental events, to war and disease, and it all needs our awareness, action, and God-ordered stewardship. Today we are to re-awaken our consciousness to our earthly surroundings, close by and well beyond our mere location. Today, again, it’s time to learn and more deeply know and celebrate this great gift of our Creator, also known in Greek Mythology as Gaia*, our primordial Mother.

We are to re-examine its lushness, its highest peaks and deepest depths, the fragrances and the freshness; to re-discover our companion creatures, wild and tame, and the extraordinary interconnections of life among the plants and organisms that support us. Let us take more than a moment to marvel at the vastness of the oceans, the rhythm of the tides, the flow of rivers, the artful shaping of clouds. We must look and see what has gone before, where we are now, and discover again our world's potential. Most importantly, we are to discover ways to maintain and expand protections against industrial waste, general pollution, and the island of plastic and garbage now twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean***, the loss of precious water resources, and especially the vast impact of our own everyday selfish actions individually, collectively, and globally. This Earth and her resources feed our bodies and provide oxygen for our breath, and breath-taking beauty in which we experience the wonder of our God-given surroundings.

We are called to be a servant to humanity as given in Christ’s teaching and example, and from the word of the Lord of Jerusalem to beat our modern-day swords and spears of violence into plowshares and pruning hooks for peace. Let us continuously plow the soil of Creation, to feed, protect, and prosper the gift we have been given. To not learn war any more against nations, or racism or sexism or any -ism of discrimination against our human siblings, and to see that no one anywhere should be afraid. May we turn toward those humans from whom we have the most to learn even if we have previously considered them harshly for their political, religious, lifestyle, or other perspectives different from our own; or, merely and unkindly looked past them as lesser beings unworthy of our care or attention. And while we agree or disagree with the chosen pathways of others, let us always grant due respect to our fellow humans who, like ourselves, are created in the image of God, who is fully our Mother, Father, Sister, and Brother, and who filled our souls with the shining dust of stars, and the cosmic lilt of heavenly choirs.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord our God of all that is, rid us of our self-important arrogance, and grant us the humility to understand our true place in, and responsibilities for Your full Creation. Turn us toward those from whom we have the most to learn, fill us with respect and care for every living creature and life form, and remind us to be a voice and champion for the protection and preservation of this, our sacred and holy Gaia, Mother Earth.

O God, Mother and Father of Creation
RESPONSE: We bless You by our faith in action

~ O Lord our God of all that is, instill within all who lead the Governments of our Planet, our Nation, and our Community, the urgency to beat our modern-day swords and spears of violence into plowshares and pruning hooks for peace. Guide those who hold and support political office toward positive management and policies for the eco-systems and environments that sustain the life, health, and existence of your people and creatures everywhere. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God, Mother and Father of Creation

We bless You by our faith in action

~ O Lord our God of all that is, surround the hearts of all who live with chronic illness, or critical need, with Your peace and healing; and endurance for those who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

O God, Mother and Father of Creation
We bless You by our faith in action

~ O Lord our God of all that is, keep us in the knowledge that love never dies and that those we have sent ahead, have new life in the holy grandeur of Your Eternal Kingdom. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

O God, Mother and Father of Creation
We bless You by our faith in action

~ O Lord our God of all that is, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials…

O God, Mother and Father of Creation

We bless You by our faith in action

~ O Lord our God of all that is, set alight the spirits of those called by You to lead us in Your Church, who guide us to make our destination to You clear, and who join us to love, honor, and serve as Christ has taught and shown us by His example. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O God, Mother and Father of Creation
We bless You by our faith in action

The Celebrant adds: Lord God, Feeder of birds, Clothier of the lilies and grass of the fields, awaken us each day to strive first for your Kingdom and your righteousness. Calm our worry and grant us renewed desire to restore and cherish Your precious gift of this living, breathing planet, the literal ground of every earthly being. Kindle our fervor to actively engage in and assure its health, as it continues to sustain all forms of your creation here and beyond, now and always. We ask through Jesus, our Teacher and Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Divine and Limitless Energy of our souls; who together with You are One God, forever and ever. Amen.

~Click here for more information about:

Season of Creation ~ In The Beginning

*Gaia: ancestral mother of earth, personification of earth, a primordial earth goddess in Greek mythology, literally, "earth;" primordial: first in the sequence of time, original [Merriam Webster]

~A Story of Gaia: https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Gaia.html

** Psalm 8:

Lord, our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name. Your glory reaches beyond the stars.

Even the babble of infants declares your strength, your power to halt the enemy and avenger.

I see your handiwork in the heavens: The moon and the stars you set in place.

What is humankind that you remember them, the human race that you care for them?

You treat them like gods, dressing them in glory and splendor.

You give them charge of the earth, laying all at their feet: cattle and sheep, wild beasts, birds of the sky, fish of the sea, every swimming creature.

Lord our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name.

[From The Psalter: A faithful and inclusive rendering, Liturgy Training Publications

(International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.), 1994]

***Twice the Size of Texas Ocean Garbage/Plastics Island: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240115-visualising-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch

Prayers of the People: A Persistent Bother! ~ 19th Sunday after Pentecost '25 RCL Yr C

For Sunday, October 19, 2025; Readings: Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 121,

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Luke 18:1-8

“The Burren” Country Clare, Ireland

Persistent Flowers amid the Rocks

Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until daybreak…Jacob called the place Peniel, saying “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” [Genesis 32:24, 30]

I lift my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. [Psalm 121:1-2]

I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable...For the time is coming when people...will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. [2 Timothy 4:1b-2a, 3a, 4]

" ...yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming." And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? ...I tell you he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" [Luke 18:5-7, 8]

We are God's people and persistence is the order of the day. Jacob, in wrestling with the man until daybreak, is the representation of all of us wrestling with our innermost selves, the unjust judge within us, fearing our self-perceived failings and lacking. But as Jacob prevails despite a life-long wound to remind him, so do we. For Jacob, as for us, it was less about the struggle and more about his capacity to withstand, to overcome obstacles and personal history, and to be preserved by God.

The Psalmist’s words bring us to the dawn of inner comfort as our help comes from the Lord and is always within us if we but remember to call out and to call on that inner strength.

The writer of 2nd Timothy calls us to be persistent, whether the time is convenient or not, to proclaim the message, and to be steadfast in the ministry to which Christ calls us, because people – including us – will wander away from the truth and believe whatever they like.

The parable that Jesus tells is a way to keep the disciples, and always us, from losing heart and abandoning prayer. The widow keeps up the good fight to the annoyance of the judge who believes he is an entity unto himself. We also stubbornly yield to the sense of singularity of our own stature or desires, with no apparent care or interest in the needs of others beyond our own, at times. Yet this widow – a woman with no husband was the least of the least in those days – kept coming before the judge, a bothersome, constant, squeaky wheel whose noise the judge could no longer ignore or endure. He grants her the justice she seeks but only in order to be rid of her. So, too will God hear us who cry – or rather, pray – day and night, though never to be rid of us. God’s Presence is always within, always available even in our struggles with doubt and the frustrations and injustices of daily life.

Jesus leaves us with that final disconcerting question: And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? How do we answer? By returning again, and again, and again to Scripture, to prayer, to patience, to giving and receiving support in a community of faith and discipleship, to carry out our ministries fully. Let us feel bothered if we wander away. Let us be bothered enough to listen, remember, and turn back to the Gospel Truth, each time we turn only to ourselves as judge. Let us be a bother in patience, persistence, and inspiration, to all we meet. Let our faith bloom amidst the rocks and obstacles of this human sojourn in spite of our own doubts and attempts to stop it. Oh, yes, do bother, persistently!

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Watchful, Loving God, as we wrestle with the unjust judge inside ourselves, awaken us to Your strength within us, to carry and proclaim Your truth in our every thought, word, and action.

O Lord, our Help

RESPONSE: Preserve us in faith and truth

~ Watchful, Loving God, arouse our inner courage, in this time of unending urgencies, to be the persistent and bothersome conscience of all who serve in the halls of government across this Planet, this Nation, and this Community, on behalf of all Your people and the very Earth itself. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

O Lord, our Help