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Prayers of the People for Easter Season
These prayers were first used
on April 27, 2008 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Port
Townsend, Washington. They take language and inspiration from
the Bible readings for the sixth Sunday of Easter Season (Year
A), which you will find on
The Lectionary Page.
More about
responsive prayer.
O
God, who made the world and everything in it,
(Leader's words in plain text.)
we
pray with one voice, proclaiming your presence to all the earth.
For skeptics and believers, for clergy high and low;
For those who seek God at home, at work, in the streets, and in
the pews,
For all who search for life, come and listen:
And we will tell you what our God has done for us. (People's responses in bold italic.)
We are alive in the spirit.
We are saved through water.
Because Christ lives, we also live.
For we too are God’s offspring.
For presidents and prime ministers, for bosses and wardens;
For those who set the course at home, at work, in the streets,
and in the pews,
For all who wield power, come and listen:
And we will tell you what our God has done for us.
We do not fear what others fear.
We proclaim the hope that is in us.
Because Christ lives, we also live.
For we too are God’s offspring.
For friends and lovers, for neighbors and strangers,
For those who eat bread at home, at work, in the streets, and in
the pews,
For all who live in the world, come and listen:
And we will tell you what our God has done for us.
In God, we live and move and have our being.
From God, we have life and breath and all things.
Because Christ lives, we also live.
For we too are God’s offspring.
For the sick and troubled, for the fearful and alone,
For those in pain at home, at work, in the streets, and in the
pews,
For all who suffer, come and listen:
And we will tell you what our God has done for us.
Our prayers are not rejected.
Our souls are held in life.
In truth, our God has heard us,
and love is not withheld.
Because Christ lives, we also live.
For we too are God’s offspring.
For those kept in memory, for those long forgotten,
For all who ever took the breath of life at home, at work, in
the streets, and in the pews,
For the dead and those who mourn them, come and listen:
And we will tell you what our God has done for us.
We are blessed by your presence.
We are filled with the Spirit.
Because Christ lives, we also live.
For we too are God’s offspring.
God of heaven and earth, Companion in life, Spirit of truth,
to you alone we turn our eyes and lift our hearts.
Amen.
Bible
references
Acts 17:22-31 The God who made the world and
everything in it … Lord of heaven and earth … he gives to all
mortals life and breath and all things … whole earth … search
for God … In him we live and move and have our being … For we
too are his offspring … God's offspring.
Psalm 66:7-18 Who holds our souls in life … Come
and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he
has done for me. … But in truth God has heard me … Blessed be
God, who has not rejected my prayer, nor withheld his love from
me.
1 Peter 3:13-22 You are blessed … Do not fear what
they fear … the hope that is in you … made alive in the spirit …
saved through water
John 14:15-21 Spirit of truth … because I live, you
also will live.
Prayers for Easter
Season
At the St. Stephen’s Women’s Retreat, held at the Ocean Park
Retreat Center and Camp
on March 28-30, 2008, we experienced stormy winds, rain, snow,
hail, sunshine,
laughter, tears, and the fire of God’s Spirit in life and love.
These prayers were written
during the retreat and prayed at our Sunday service. To read the
creed written
at the retreat, see Margaret’s Bench
for April '08.
Let us stand in grace together
And listen, old and young.
Fix our bounds of love
through stormy winds, fire and hail.
Help us light our lamp in hope and faith.
Opening prayer, March 30, 2008
Written by women of St. Stephen's,
Longview, Washington.
Holy Mother,
maker of earth, water, sky and sea:
You cradled this planet in your arms in the beginning,
And brought forth beauty and abundance.
You created us to know you and the power of love,
Giving us a measure of your own compassion, creativity,
And a capacity to perceive and appreciate
your creation in its fragile magnitude and potent
minuteness….
Your image within us bears witness to your abiding love
And calls us in the voices of prophets, poets, mystics,
martyrs, and mothers throughout history
to return to center in You….
May our lives be salt and light --
Sources of healing, hope, and transformation
In this world that you cherish.
from the Eucharistic Prayer, March 30, 2008
St. Stephen's Women’s Retreat
Written and compiled from various sources by Kathleen
Patton, Celebrant
An Image for Easter
Season
A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within
you;
and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you
a heart of flesh.
— Ezekiel 36:26
For Lent in 2007, I took long walks on the beach,
through the woods, and on neighborhood streets.
Here’s what I picked up and brought home
to share for the Easter season.
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