[We celebrated Pentecost Sunday, a day when God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the church, and a day that concludes the Great Fifty Days of the Easter season. Even though the Easter Season on our church calendar has ended, the good news of our faith is that we are an Easter people everyday of the year and every Sunday is like a "little Easter." The red paraments on the altar, pulpit, and lectern on this Sunday remind us of the fire of God's Spirit that empowers the church share the good news of the Risen Christ in all that we say and do. Happy Pentecost!]
God of Easter and the empty
tomb, thank you for the pouring out of your Holy Spirit upon your church and
upon each and every one of us.
Thank you for the fire of
your Spirit that opens our eyes to the fires of injustice that are all around
us.
We also thank you for the
fire of your Spirit that always reminds us of the good news of our faith
because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May the fire of
your spirit continue to fill our hearts with joy.
And we thank you for the fire
of your Spirit that prompts us to make a difference in our community and world,
like the students from St. Joseph’s University who traveled from Philadelphia
to stay at our church this past week to work with Habitat for Humanity. Thank you
for blessing our community through them.
We pray that the fire of your
Holy Spirit will be ablaze during our West Ohio Annual Conference this week.
Bless Bishop Gregory Palmer as he presides at these meetings and bless the
laity and clergy of the many churches of our conference as we gather to renew
our connection and be renewed by your Spirit. Perhaps it is no coincidence that
our conference this year begins on Pentecost Sunday!
On this Holy Communion
Sunday, may the receiving of the bread and the cup lead us to live out our
faith through the power of your Holy Spirit.
Remind us that it only takes a spark to get a fire going.
For those who are grieving
the loss of a loved one, may the fire of your Spirit warm their hearts. For
those who are facing medical tests or struggling with addictions, or are
feeling weak, may the fire of your Spirit warm their hearts. For those who are
in need of physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual healing in their
lives, may the fire of your Spirit warm their hearts. For those who are feeling
lonely or discouraged, may the fire of your Spirit warm their hearts. For a world grieving at yet another terrorist attack, may the fire of your Spirit warm our hearts
On this Pentecost Sunday,
warm all of our hearts O God, as we pray the prayer that Jesus taught his
disciples and now teaches us to pray together… “Our Father, who art in heaven…”
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