March, 2007 Calendar In This Issue: For David Staff - In Memoriam The Intercessory Prayer List Winter Camp Update Pentecost Fire: A Birthday Celebration Thank You from the Sudan Feasting and Fasting: the Lenten Observance Say your prayers…

At the Annual Parish Meeting on Jan. 28th, time was given for individuals to write prayers or thoughts for the diocesan, national and international churches of the Anglican Communion - indeed of all the Christian Churches - struggling with homosexuality and inclusion. Below are the prayers you wrote:

May Christians everywhere look to God's greatest commandment for guidance in walking in Jesus' path.

May we all learn to cherish the valuable communion we keep with the past and the future through our traditions and institutions, and learn to accept internal divisions and conversation rather than schism.

Hang in there.

Love one another

Listen

Let love guide our path

Help us to understand sympathetically what the other believers think before we speak

Dear Lord, your will be done. Give us, I pray, the courage to open our hearts to discern what that is.

Oh God, may true communities find newness of life in Christ Jesus - loving God, each other and finding peace among each other.

In the choir, many voices sing their part. The many parts come together with the guidance of the director to create a glorious anthem. Each voice has value and the differences create the beauty. Be our Director, dear Lord, and guide our song to beauty.

I pray that there not be a schism in the Church. We need to be able to disagree without being rude and thoughtless.

Our prayers are with you.

Keep foremost in my thoughts and actions the principle that we do not discriminate.

That people of good will come together and learn to disagree without destroying the community.

God's blessing for a healthy year for all of us.

Christ is our only hope. But he is more than the world - so we're in better shape than we know.

I hope for all people - those who identify as conservative and those who identify as liberal - to begin to see themselves as fallible and their convictions as open to debate.

I pray that this church continues to grow and that world peace come to all of us.

I pray that the leaders of the Episcopal Church will be held by Christ and not be caught in reaction to those with whom they disagree.

Kindness is the answer. May the long time sun shine upon all of us in kindness and peace.

Lord, may we learn how to love one another, to recognize our differences and not let them divide us, to be open to personal growth on these matters, so that we may indeed love you and others. Amen.

Prayer for a revival for the repentance of our sins and to trust God's love in our lives.

May we, as Christian, realize that no matter what decisions we or others make, we are called to be one, and share in Christ's love for each other. Whether or not we agree on biblical interpretations, let us remember to love our neighbor at the end of the day, as Christians, if nothing else.

Let this year bring the coming together of like-minded communities in Santa Monica for conversation and reflection.

That we may all learn to coexist peacefully and gently for our health and the health of the planet.

Dear God. Help us let you into our hearts so that we may be compassionate and have courage everywhere we go, in everything we do, to whomever we meet. Amen.

I pray that people honestly listen to what God is saying now.

Lord: open our hearts to listen to each other's fears and uncertainties and to discern what is really important.

Whatever happens will be the right thing.

A community of acceptance, without favor.

God - grant us clarity of thought and open our eyes, minds and ears to truth. Through this make your truth and reality known to us.

For family and community and for unity in the face of intolerance.

For all of us to love as Christ loved.

Let us love one another as God has loved us.

I believe that the fundamental, underlying principle of Jesus' teaching is "love thy neighbor." If we deny standing to lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgendered people, then we can never truly call ourselves followers of Christ.

May the change that is coming be constructive and inspired by divine wisdom - not by human prejudice and greed.

For wisdom for our leaders. May they have the courage to be humble and the wisdom and patience to lead rather than follow those guided by fear.

We shouldn't let our fears about the chaos and disorder, wars in the world make us try to control or fear superior to others by excluding them, from full participation in the Church. Let us truly trust in the Lord and then we'll want to let everyone have full and equal membership in the Church.

Help creation: reduce carbon emissions.

Pray for the guidance of our congress.

I pray for peace and an end to war in the world.

I often wonder if the faith I was born into, raised and committed to all my life is the true faith. So many of other faiths are so convinced they are right and that is my prayer, that I have chosen the right leader - Jesus Christ. Of course, I am eliminating the negative rulers of other faiths.

Good thoughts for moving forward. Remember where we came from. Look past what we see to be boundaries. Trust each other.

I pray that you do not exclude people of true faith, whose understanding of God's word differs from your own. I pray too, that we all may open our hearts to the voice of the Lord, and never mistake the empty echo of our own prejudices for the will of God.

Copyright © 2007 St. Augustine by-the-Sea