our prayer

We thank you, Our Father
For life and love, and the mystery of existence
We thank you, Our Father
For all the simple joys of life, and for the world of beauty that surrounds us
We thank you, Our Father
For good friends who think well of us despite our sins, and for the glimpses of innocence and goodness in a sinful world
We thank you, Our Father
For all common and uncommon responsibilities which enlarge our souls, and for the pains and sorrows which chasten us so that we be not exalted over much
We thank you, Our Father
Above all, we thank you for every ministry by which your judgment and mercy is brought home to us
We thank you, Our Father
We thank you that in Your presence all our brothers are the more surely present with us; for knowing them to be included in the breadth of Your love, we may feel their claims and needs upon our conscience. We give thanks that you have tied us together in this bundle of life and have ordained that none of us should live to himself alone.
O Lord, look with favor upon this congregation of your people, gathered together from many parts of the world, called into service and seeking to know your will more perfectly. Instruct us in your work, inspire us by the cloud of witnesses which compass about, the seers and prophets, the saints and martyrs, of every age, and above all, by Your Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ. Give us grace to learn of each other in the spirit of humility, to pursue our several tasks with diligence, to bear with each other in patience, so that our love may grow in all knowledge and discernment.
To the praise and glory of our Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit- now and forever. Amen.