 Feb. 26, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ, is sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer God of our ancestors, Your days are without number and your love everlasting. But we who walk this earth are mortal, and our current moment is filled with anxiety. COVID-19 has brought suffering and death, hunger and isolation. Systemic racism and white supremacy oppress and kill and threaten our very democracy. We are tired and find hope elusive. Help us to step into kairos, your eternal heavenly now. Let us stand beside your prophets and remember the challenges they overcame, the promises that you have always kept, and will keep still. Let the light of your glory drive away our fears and the Spirit of Christ accompany us down the mountain as we tackle the challenges of our own times, knowing that you will never abandon us. We pray this in the name of the Beloved. Amen. By Rev. Sharon Sheridan Hausman, Alumna ‘18
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 Feb. 25, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ, is sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer "For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith." Romans 4:13 Holy God, Do you really promise that we will inherit the world? What do you mean by entailing such a gift, such a weight, upon us? I was the executor of Aunt Joyce's estate, and I know that inheritances can be both blessings and burdens. I didn't treasure every nook and cranny of things in her house, but I did treasure the little box of buttons her mother had saved from her childhood dresses. What can it mean that from you we inherit a world, the world, this world, God? And what are we inheriting? Blessings and burdens. You entail this gift, this weight to us not through laws and contracts and wills, but through faith. We try to have faith in you, God. Do you have faith in us? Faith that in the nooks and crannies of the world, we can find the little boxes of treasure? Faith that in the messes we inherit (and create, and inherit, and create), we can find and make and nurture beauty and hope and future? We try to have faith in you, God. Do you have faith in us? Holy God, You promise that we will inherit the world. By faith. Remembering our genealogies and histories, re-membering our descendants, our futures, we accept what you give. By faith. Amen. By Rev. Beth Quick (she/her/hers), PhD Student, Religion & Society  Feb. 24, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ, is sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer God of grace and God of glory, We come to you in praise and awe, grateful for the ways you have shown your face to us, a glimpse of hope in shadowy times, a vision of mercy and desperate moments, the offer of joy in days of sorrow. You have listened when we cry out, and have brought us out of the dust of death to the soil of new life. In this season of Lent, as we return and repent, you are ready to receive us, just as we are, to hear our prayers of lament and our prayers of thanksgiving. Remind us that, in our faithfulness, comes our redemption. In our commitment, comes our fulfillment. In our remembering, comes our renewal. For you are above all things, and you will prosper your people as we remain before you, ever looking into the face of grace. Amen. By Rev. Dr. Tanya Linn Bennett, Associate Dean, Associate Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Vocation Based on Psalm 22:23-31  Feb. 23, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ, is sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer Holy God — Father, Mother, Parent of righteous rebuke, Christ of prophetic name-calling, Spirit of discerning conviction, have mercy on us. We set our minds on human things, even as you call us to divine things. We center ourselves, even as you call us to deny ourselves. We crucify others, even as you call us to take up our own crosses. Have mercy on us. Forgive us. Rid us of our self-adulation and vain attempts to box you in. Free us for joyful obedience, so that by losing our lives for Your sake, we might find them; through Jesus Christ, our Lord and friend. Amen. By Rev. Dr. Nelson Cowan, adjunct instructor of United Methodist Worship, lead pastor First United Methodist Church, High Springs, FL  Feb. 22, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ, is sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer In this time of isolation, we pray for the deepest companionship. In this time of uncertainty, we pray for the glow of a better future. In this time of extinctions, we pray for life's renewal. In this time of injustice, we pray for great rectification. In this time of greed, we pray for the joy of the common good. In this time of futility, we pray for the courage to act. In this time of fake faith, we pray for a riskier honesty. In this time of lost faith, we pray for your unexpected guidance. In this time of lost ways, we pray to join each other on the Way. Which is You. After all. Before all. In all. Beyond all. Amen. By Dr. Catherine Keller, George T. Cobb Professor of Constructive Theology  Feb. 21, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, members of the New England Conference Board of Ordained Ministry are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer God Speaks … You are my child No matter what trouble you are into, Never will I leave you. You are my son No matter how far you walk away, I will provide a place for you to lay. You are my daughter, Baptized in water but continues to wander, Looking for you, I will not surrender. You have a Friend in Jesus whatever the tide When you are hurt or broken, you remain strong Alone, talking to Him, you find Shalom If silenced, you find ways to voice the wrong When lost, you find your way back home In life’s wilderness, may Jesus be always by your side. Amen. By Rev. Nizzi Santos Digan, Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, Malden, MA  Feb. 20, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, members of the New England Conference Board of Ordained Ministry are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer God of the new creation, Amidst our flooding fear, anxiety, and worry, You shelter us in a caring embrace, You shine us with “luminous darkness and light,” You show us rainbow hopes that sprout. God of living water, In this season of Lent, Help us remember the holy water of your womb. Nurture us in your ever-flowing grace. Renew us through the rhythm of the baptismal covenant, Pouring and making waves in our inner ocean. God of healing wells, We are mindful of your presence at this moment. We follow your leading as one, interculturally woven body of Christ. Help us continue “to resist evil, injustice, and oppression In whatever forms they present themselves.” Let justice roll on like a river. Loosen, empty, push. We are immersed, dead, and reborn. We become new creations in your self-giving love. Amen, Amen, Amen! By Rev. Dr. Hyuk Seonwoo, UMC of Martha’s Vineyard Based on Gen 9:8-17, 1 Pet 3:18-22, Mk 1:9-15  Feb. 19, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, members of the New England Conference Board of Ordained Ministry are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer Gracious God of love who exceeds all understanding – hear the prayers of our pain, our fears and the anxious callings we share across all faiths and perspectives. We need your strength and your understanding shared among all peoples across the small dominion amidst your vast universe – a place we call, Mother Earth. The pandemic storm has affected all people and all places. Help us to recognize that behind every storm is the calm of the day when the winds die down, the waters recede, and the heavens open up as the darkened clouds part to your glorious presence as we bask in the warmth of the world you created. Let us hear the joys unfolding from our knowledge of the life we understand challenged by a life form not fully understood but which is slowly coming into focus as we begin to solve the mysteries of the pandemic that surrounds us. As the travails of the past year become history, let us savor the shift from darkness to light – a light that illuminates the realities that surround us. Give all of us individually and collectively the understanding that we are stronger together even when we are apart. Guide us toward a shared path, an illuminating light of understanding and a common course of direction that extends our healing as a nation and as a global community across all lands, all peoples and all perspectives through the strength of your guiding spirit. Help us to open our arms to not only embrace those in need but also to feel their pain. Open our ears so that we may hear them. Open our eyes so that we can see them. Shine brightly on those in need, the injured, the maimed, the disabled, those without resources and, those with pain or suffering we don’t even see. And, finally, Gracious God, keep us calm and in the moment as we sit in silence with our thoughts for you. Let us feel your presence in the beat of our hearts as we add our personal prayers at this moment [Add your silent prayers]. Help us – Oh Loving God – to feel that not only are we part of you but, you are part of us. Infuse in us adaptability and acceptance, coupled with expertise and experience, applied with intelligence and integrity through a labor of love for all of humanity because of your warm embrace. We offer our prayers with intention and integrity to our common challenges derived from our common weakness so that we may reach common strength through a common understanding of our future together with your guidance and strength. We offer these prayers in common accord for all humanity. Amen. Kevin Fickenscher, MD, member of First UMC, Portsmouth, NH  Feb. 18, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, members of the New England Conference Board of Ordained Ministry are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer“And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him” (Mark 1:12-13 NRSV). God, we meet your Son not in the palace, but in the wilderness. He was vulnerable like us - as he stayed in the wilderness for forty days. He was there in embracing all the challenges or struggles of human life such as hunger, thirsty, fear, insecurity, and anxiety. For your Son, each one of these challenges was another name of the beasts in the wilderness, which he was asked to encounter. He was driven to cope with those forces that stormed his mind and heart. God, we too, encounter our own beasts in the wilderness of our lives. Fear drives us to get panicked, hunger weakens us to feel helpless, thirst drags us to be impatient, insecurity dwindles our trust and belief, and anxiety shakes us to lose the balance on the steps of our life. Help us, O Lord, to see the angels of light, of courage, and of empowerment. Guide us to weather all the storms in the course of passing the turbulence of pandemic, uncertainty, and helplessness. God of abiding and caring love, you sent the angels into the wilderness when your Son went against many spiritual battles. You reminded him that he was not alone in the desert journey. As your Son encountered your abiding love and care, help us to find your angels who show up when we are tired, hungry, thirsty, and surrounded by the wild beasts of despair and distress. With your help, we can move beyond our time of struggles and frustrations. Help and guide us to take on the courage of preaching the gospel of the “vulnerable Jesus” who emptied himself for the abundance of God’s infinite love. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen. By Rev. Jinyong Choi, North Boston Korean UMC, Andover, MA Based on Mark 1:9-15  Feb. 17, 2021
A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis During these difficult days, members of the New England Conference Board of Ordained Ministry are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today’s prayer And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. Mark 1:10-12 Hey, God -- Remember when I was seventeen and contemplating bailing out on my parents’ church and maybe bailing out on You in all my teenage sophistication? And how my parents bought me my own brand-spanking-new NIV Ryrie Study Bible (with the genuine bonded leather burgundy cover and my name embossed in gold?) Do You remember how I decided one day to read the opening chapter of Mark’s breathless gospel, really reading the words for myself for the first time? And for the first time I found myselfWondering why Mark insisted that the heavens were “torn apart,” and not just “opened,” and Yearning to hear Your tender words to Jesus for myself: “"You are my Son, whom I love” and Smiling wryly at the thought of a long-haired, sandaled Nazarene being “driven” into the wilderness (my mind’s eye picturing a laughing Spirit gripping the wheel of a speeding Jeep CJ-5 with the radio turned up and the top stowed down and the still-wet-from baptism Jesus hanging on for dear life as they bolt out into the desert for a mutual adventure.) Do You remember? I remember. Much later now, I remember. And I’m so grateful for my own 40 days, 40 weeks, 40 years in so many wildernesses since then, and the syncopated rhythm of temptations and rest, silence and resilience, friends and solitude and the terrifying assurance of Your wild, unleashed presence undergirding all of it. Prayer by Rev. Mitchell Hay, Essex UMC, Essex, VT Painting by Carol Aust, who has granted permission to churches to use the image with credit |
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February 2021
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