Gathering Song Abide With Me
Welcome
Bless you, and thank you, for your presence at this community prayer. My name is Father Jonathan, priest of St. James, and on behalf of the St. James family, our friends at Highland Oaks Church of Christ, St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, Lake Highlands Presbyterian, and others, thank you for being here to join in prayer tonight.
One of you asked me what our purpose for tonight would be. My first thought was that the purpose of this community prayer is to grieve. But that’s not quite true. If you’re like me, you are grieving already. The images and headlines recounting the flooding, unimaginable devastation, and loss of life in the Texas Hill Country have challenged and broken our hearts. We have lost loved ones and neighbors. We are grieving already.
No, today, we gather to do something different. We come together to bring our grief to God. To claim our broken hearts and the opportunity to say to God with all that we have that we wish it had been otherwise. So, we come together to pick up an ancient practice of the faithful, which is lament. For people of faith, lament allows our prayer to be honest, gives voice to our pain, and reminds us, through each other, that we are not alone. And lament gives us space to return to the deep promises of God. Lament is prayer that does not rush but leads to trust in the God who hears the cries of God’s People and sees them when they call.
In a moment, a bell will begin and end the silence, and our youth will then call us to prayer in a paraphrase of psalm number 5, which is a psalm of Lament. For even in our grief we are not left alone but joined in word and prayer and breath to every generation of God’s People, all those who have grieved, hoped, and trusted in the God who raised Jesus from the dead.
Psalm 5
O God, find me!
I am lost
In the valley of grief,
and I cannot see my way out.
My friends leave baskets of balm at my feet,
but I cannot bend to touch
the healing
to my heart.
They call me to leave
this valley,
but I cannot follow
the faint sound
of their voices.
They sing their songs
of love,
but the words fade
and vanish in the wind.
They knock,
but I cannot find the door.
They shout to me,
but I cannot find the voice
to answer.
O God, find me!
Come into this valley
and find me!
Bring me out of this land
of weeping.
O you to whom I belong,
find me!
I will wait here,
for you have never failed
to come to me.
I will wait here,
for you have always been faithful.
I will wait here,
for you are my God,
and you have promised
that you counted the hairs on my head.
This is Lament Psalm 5 from “Psalms of Lament,” Copyright 1995 Ann Weems. Used by permission of John Knox Press.
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Come Down, O Love Divine Hymnal #516
A reading from John’s Gospel.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
O Gracious Light Hymnal #25
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, your Holy Spirit moved over the waters in the beginning of creation, and your Son Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee: Be mightily present with all those impacted by catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country. Be close to the lost that they may be found; Guide and protect those who search; Strengthen those who await news of loved ones; Comfort those who mourn; Provide for those who have lost homes and livelihoods. And in the midst of things we cannot understand, empower us to entrust all to your never-failing love, and give us the will to persevere in our response to their needs. All this we ask through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
God of all compassion, you make nothing in vain and love all you have created. Comfort your servants whose hearts are weighed down by grief and sorrow. Lift them up, and grant that they may so love and serve you in this life, that together with your children, they may obtain the fulness of your promises in the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A candle is lit and placed in the sand.
O God, whose beloved Son took children into his arms and blessed them: Give us grace to entrust the more than 100 victims of the Hill Country flooding, including so many children, to your never-failing care and love, and bring us all to your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A candle is lit and placed in the sand.
Most merciful God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Deal graciously with the survivors of the departed and all of us in our grief. Surround them and us with your love, that we may not be overwhelmed by the loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A candle is lit and placed in the sand.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea; Though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Amen.
A candle is lit and placed in the sand.
O God, our times are in your hand. In the midst of uncertainty lead us by your never-failing grace as we seek to be agents of healing and hope. Walk with us through difficult times; watch over us in danger; and give to us a spirit of love and compassion for those who suffer and mourn. And finally remind us that you have promised never to leave us so that even in the valley of the shadow of death your love may be felt, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A candle is lit and placed in the sand.
Father of all, we pray to you for all those whom we love but see no longer. Grant to them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them. May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
A candle is lit and placed in the sand.
All, together
Grant us, Lord, the lamp of charity which never fails, that it may burn in us and shed its light on those around us, and that by its brightness we may have a vision of that holy City, where dwells the true and never-failing Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the space of the music that follows, you are invited to write your own prayers on a prayer card and place it in the basket on the altar, and also to light a candle of intention, as a symbol of your prayer.
Let us pray God’s care and keeping for the dead. Let us pray God’s mercy on the living.
Let us pray our thanks for first-responders and helpers.
Let us pray for solidarity, companionship, and generosity for the affected peoples’ recovery in the weeks and months ahead.
Let us pray for hearts big enough to break and to follow the Savior’s commandment to love.
Let us pray in the words our Savior Christ taught us,
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Jesus said, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Amazing Grace Hymnal #671
Closing Prayer
God of love,
God of peace,
Come and comfort all who are grieving.
Weep with those in sorrow.
Gather round the circles of remembrance.
Hear the choirs of gratitude,
and make Holy all that pours from broken hearts.
May your eternal embrace, your forever love,
your Divine Presence that is before death,
companions through death,
and rises after death,
be the resting place - the place of return -
where we can always find each other.
- Rev. M Jade Kaiser, enfleshed
May Christ the Good Shepherd
enfold you with love,
fill you with peace,
and lead you in hope,
this day and all your days. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Thank you for your prayers and presence. This concludes our service. You are welcome to go home, and equally welcome to remain in prayer. The doors will remain open for the next little while. The Lord bless and keep you.
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