 Nov. 29, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerAt this very moment Tune: Away in a Manger At this very moment, my joy overflows with praise to the One whose compassion unfolds in actions of love as God’s followers grow in lives ever widening to friends and to foes. As each moment passes, God watches us grow the heavens are beckoning to us below. the arms of love reaching to we of earth born receiving our praise at the dawn of the morn. The future now opens, inviting us in, God’s mercy outreaching where ours may grow thin. Our confidence building as Christ now draws near God’s grace and compassion abundantly clear. By Rev. Karen L. Munson, DMIM, Many Waters District Superintendent Based on Philippians 1:3-11
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Nov. 26, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerGracious and Holy One, as we reflect and give thanks this week, we praise and thank You for the great encouragement, strength, and the many lessons that we receive through your word. Guide us through Your word that we might grow in your grace and to live so we might reflect your love to each other and thus to you. Strengthen us that we will hold fast to your word and ways as we await the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. By Rich Hughen, Conference Lay Leader Inspired by 1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13  Nov. 24, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerA Litany of Thanksgiving By Howard Thurman Today, I make my Sacrament of Thanksgiving. I begin with the simple things of my days: Fresh air to breathe, Cool water to drink, The taste of food, The protection of houses and clothes, The comforts of home. For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day! I bring to mind all the warmth of humankind that I have known: My mother’s arms, The strength of my father, The playmates of my childhood, The wonderful stories brought to me from the lives of many who talked of days gone by when fairies and giants and all kinds of magic held sway; The tears I have shed, the tears I have seen; The excitement of laughter and the twinkle in the eye with its reminder that life is good. For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day. I finger one by one the messages of hope that awaited me at the crossroads: The smile of approval from those who held in their hands the reins of my security; The tightening of the grip in a single handshake when I feared the step before me in the darkness; The whisper in my heart when the temptation was fiercest and the claims of appetite were not to be denied; The crucial word said, the simple sentence from an open page when my decision hung in the balance. For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day. I pass before me the mainsprings of my heritage: The fruits of the labors of countless generations who lived before me, without whom my own life would have no meaning; The seers who saw visions and dreamed dreams; The prophets who sensed a truth greater than the mind could grasp and whose words could only find fulfillment in the years which they would never see; The workers whose sweat has watered the trees, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations; The pilgrims who set their sails for lands beyond all horizons, whose courage made paths into new worlds and far-off places; The saviors whose blood was shed with a recklessness that only a dream could inspire and God could command. For all this I make an act of Thanksgiving this day. I linger over the meaning of my own life and the commitment to which I give the loyalty of my heart and mind: The little purposes in which I have shared with my loves, my desires, my gifts; The restlessness which bottoms all I do with its stark insistence that I have never done my best, I have never reached for the highest; The big hope that never quite deserts me, that I and my kind will study war no more, that love and tenderness and all the inner graces of Almighty affection will cover the life of the children of God as the waters cover the sea. All these and more than mind can think and heart can feel, I make as my sacrament of Thanksgiving to Thee, Our Father, in humbleness of mind and simplicity of heart. Submitted by Rev. Ted Crass, president of the United Methodist Foundation of New England  Nov. 23, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerLuke 21:25-36 God of peace, We see the signs. We raise our heads in expectation during this joyful holy season. Let us also open our hearts to those who need love and offer our hands to those who need strength as we anticipate Jesus’ arrival. Amen By Beth DiCocco, Conference Director of Communications  Nov. 22, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerDear God What would be an adequate way to thank you for all the joy we experience from the way the churches of the New England Conference are living out your call? How can we express our gratefulness for their faithfulness and perseverance throughout these challenging days? We do what we can, even if what we do isn’t always enough. We pray, thinking about the next time we will be able to gather with each of them face-to-face. In the meantime, God, through the power of your Son Jesus Christ, clear the road. Remove whatever obstacles might hinder their being able to experience your love and grace. Pour out your love in such abundance that it covers every person head to toe, just as our love pours out on these churches. May each person connected to this Body be filled with strength, with hope, with purity of spirit such that it gives them the confidence to know that God walks beside them each step of the way. As we enter this Advent season, we lean into together, all of us, waiting for the time Jesus arrives again. Amen. By Rev. Rick McKinley, Director of Congregational Development, inspired by 1 Thessalonians 3: 9 – 13, The Message. Nov. 19, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerScriptural Passage: John 18: 33-37 O Holy and Gracious God, we live in a world in which pride, greed, and abuse do great harm especially to the poor and powerless. We know these betrayals all too well, and still, like Pilate, we ask, "What is truth?" We are complicit in the harmful deeds done to our sisters and brothers. We have hindered your reign by keeping silent lest we stir the waters and threaten our way of life. Grant us the courage of Jesus, so like Him, we may not cower at evil nor fear confronting the lies that do not serve the common good but rather seek to maintain the status quo. Forgive our desertion of you to worship gods of our own making; create in us clean hearts and clear minds that we may commit ourselves to the Gospel of truth and love, following in the footsteps of Jesus. Help us by your Spirit, that we may walk in the light, do what is true and right, and serve you all of our days. In the name of Jesus the Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. By Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar  Nov. 18, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerAs I have gotten older, I have come to realize that my sixth-grade teacher and Jesus had one particular trait in common: answering most of my questions with a counter question. At times it would frustrate me to no end. I used to get so frustrated with him. “Just answer the question,” I would think to myself. But eventually I found that those counter questions brought me to a place of greater learning, of greater understanding. Christ used questions to reveal truth, to expose the true character of someone, even those who society had already made up its mind up about. To me Christ is asking, “Forget about what others are saying. What do you think?” “Of what authority do you stand in Judgement?” So many times, Christ’s questions shake those he is asking to their very core. For those who listen, those who are open, a greater learning, a transformation can take place. Today, Lord, I am grateful for those who have asked me questions in the past and who will do so in the future. I pray that I continue to grow by those questions, and not be defensive in my answers but humble and respectful. By Norman Thombs, Director, Camp Mechuwana  Nov. 17, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerGod of all times and all places. We pray in the midst of our uncertainty. Our desire is to know your presence and the certainty of your love. We want to release our doubt so that we may become signs of your hope. The book of Revelation spoke a word of hope to the people in the midst of suffering and persecution. We have the opportunity to worship you freely and we turn away. Teach us again what it means to see you as the Alpha and the Omega. May we see you in all that is, was and is to come. May the grace of our baptismal waters flow freely again that we might worship and serve you in hope and forgiveness. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Submitted by Rev. Dr. Wesley Palmer Executive Director of the Preachers’ Aid Society. Inspired by Rev. 1: 4b-8  Nov. 16, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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 PrayerOne who rules over people justly, ruling in [awe] of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. Is not my house like this with God? 2 Samuel 23.3b-5a, NRSV alt. God of the first light, the first morning, these ancient, last words of David could have been written at dawn in my front yard -- “the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.” I love it when this happens -- this colliding of Word and wonder, this wrinkle in time that affords us a glimpse of You, the beginning and ending of all things, then, now, and not yet. Of course, the question that follows is the question that eclipses even our present suffering in its impact: “Is not my house like this with God?” Does the sun rise on a cloudless morning, and gleam from the rain on the grassy land as much as it once did? Will the sun rise on a cloudless morning, and gleam from the rain on the grassy land eight years from now, twenty, fifty? Will we recognize our house, our home, this good earth, no longer Eden and not yet New Jerusalem, and You -- the sound of You walking in the garden in the cool of the day? God of the first light, the first morning, For this he was born. For this he came into the world -- For the truth. We must listen now. We must listen for You. Amen. By Rev. Jill Colley Robinson, Green Mountain District Superintendent Inspired by Revelation 1.8, Genesis 3.8, John 18.37  Nov. 15, 2021A daily prayer from the New England ConferenceMembers of the New England Conference Extended Cabinet 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"I was born and came into this world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice." — John 18:37 Lord, what is the truth? It seems that the truth depends on which news outlet or political faction you belong to. The truths that we once took for granted and that we all agreed upon, are now suspect. In this age of doubt, suspicion and partisan politics, it gets harder and harder to arrive at the truth. Conspiracy theories, politicians that lie or slant the truth, outside agitators who prey on vulnerable citizens all destroy our ability to know what to believe. Even in your church, Lord, we find that we cannot all arrive at what the truth is. Thank you God, for telling us who to believe; You! You are the truth. Lord. We do not need to rely on the daily news or our leaders. We need only rely on you to know the truth. Lord, help me to hear your voice and yours alone. Help me rise above all the rhetoric that clogs my ears. I long only to hear your voice for it is in you alone that I will know the truth. Thank you Lord, Jesus; the truth. the life and the way. Amen. By Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Brannen, Katahdin District Superintendent |
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