Prayers from the Vigil for Newtown

It was good to gather on Sunday night at 5:00 for the Vigil to remember and to pray. Below is what we used to guide us in prayer; perhaps you would like to continue to use some of these prayer resources. 

PRAYER VIGIL Dec. 16, 2012

Wesley United Methodist Church

A word of welcome: you are welcome here. All are welcome here. Tonight we gather in the ancient practice of holding vigil. We watch and wait in hope, even as we grieve. We light candles to protest the darkness that pervades, especially the darkness that has befallen Newtown, CT. You may stand, or be seated. Be a part of this gathering as you feel comfortable. It is not necessary to close your eyes and bow your head for each prayer. You may prefer to look at the flickering candlelight, or at the stars, or at the leader. Do what feels comforting and right for you in the presence of God, as together we join our hearts in lament and prayer.

GATHERING

Everliving God, in Christ’s resurrection you turned the disciples despair into triumph, their sorrow into joy. Give us faith to believe that every good which seems to be overcome by evil, and every love that seems to be buried in death, shall rise again in life eternal; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you for ever more. Amen. (UMBOW164)

Matthew 2: 13-18

We remember this night the slaughter of the innocents that took place in Bethlehem after Jesus’ birth.

Now after the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

   “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation,

          Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled,

               because they are no more.”

PRAYER

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents in Bethlehem by King Herod. We remember the slaughter of innocents in Newtown, Oak Creek, Aurora, Oakland, Toulouse, Chardon, Rio deJaneiro, Omaha, Baku, Winnendon, Oxnard, Tuusula, Blacksburg, Columbine, and too many more. We pray into the arms of your mercy, all the innocent victims. By your great might, frustrate the designs of evil people and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Christmas Sourcebook, p.81, Collect for the Holy Innocents, adapt.)

REMEMBRANCE

Let us remember the names of those who have died. As each name is read, and the bell is rung, let us pray for all who grieve their passing, even as we give thanks for the hope of eternal life.

Adults:

  Rachel Davino

  Dawn Hochsprung

  Anne Marie Murphy

  Lauren Rousseau

  Mary Sherlach

  Victoria Soto

Children:

  Charlotte Bacon

  Daniel Barden

  Olivia Engel

  Josephine Gay

  Ana M. Marquez-Greene

  Dylan Hockley

  Madeleine F. Hsu

  Catherine V. Hubbard

  Chase Kowalski

  Jesse Lewis

  James Mattioli

  Grace McDonnell

  Emilie Parker

  Jack Pinto

  Noah Pozner

  Caroline Previdi

  Jessica Rekos

  Avielle Richman

  Benjamin Wheeler

  Allison N. Wyatt

PRAYER

Almighty God, in your keeping there is shelter from the storm, and in your mercy there is comfort for the sorrows of life. Hear now our prayer for those who mourn and are heavy laden. Give to them strength to do your will. Lighten their darkness with your love. Enable them to see beyond the things of this mortal world the promise of the eternal. Help them to know that your care enfolds all your people, that you are our refuge and strength, and that underneath are your everlasting arms. Amen.

(UMBOW164)

FOR OUR CHILDREN, EDUCATORS, and ADMINISTRATORS

Gracious, loving God, you are ever more ready to hear than we are to pray. You know our needs before we ask, and our ignorance in asking. Give to us now your grace, that as we shrink before the mystery of death, we may see the light of eternity. We lift before you our schools and all of the people who learn, teach, and serve within them. We pray to you for one another in our need, and for all anywhere who mourn with us this day. To those who doubt, give light; to those who are weak, strength; to all who have sinned, mercy; to all who sorrow, your peace. May our schools be filled with learning, laughter, and joy and may they be freed from sorrow, grief, and pain. Surround them with a hedge of your protection. Bless our children that every day they may grow more and more into the persons you have created them to be. Bless our educators, administrators, and support staff that they may know be filled with your grace and comfort, for we pray in the precious and holy name of Jesus. Amen.

(UMBOW adapt.)

Psalm 28: 1-2, 6-9. NRSV

Leader: To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest if you are silent to me, I become like those who do down to the pit.

People: Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your most holy sanctuary

Leader: Blessed by the Lord, who has heard the voice of my supplications!

People: The Lord is my strength and shield in whom my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to the Lord

Leader: The Lord is the strength of the people, the saving refuge of the anointed.

People: O save your people, bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.

FOR OUR NATION

Lord of all nations, keep our country under your protection. Wipe out sin from this land. Lift us up from the depth of sorrow, O Lord our shining light. Bless us in the midst of our grief. Grant us your wisdom, so that we may learn your ways of peace. Free us from the vain belief that violence is a solution. Strengthen our leaders with courage and discernment as they consider policy changes. O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expected of the nations, and our Savior:

Come and save us, O Lord, our God.

(UMBOW and UMH, adapt.)

CLOSING PRAYER

The season of Advent is one in which we seek to open our hearts afresh to the transforming love of God. As we grieve the sin and evil that has wrought such heartache, let us pray for the mind of Christ to be in us, knowing that is through the power of the Spirit that sin is defeated.

We believe in a bright and amazing God,

  who has been to the depths of despair on our behalf;

 who has risen in splendor and majesty;

  who decorates the universe

with sparkling clear water, clear white light,

  twinkling stars and sharp colors,

   over and over again.

We believe that Jesus is the light of the world;

  that God believes in us, and trust us,

  even though we make the same mistakes over and over again.

We commit ourselves to Jesus,

   to one another as brothers and sisters,

   and to the Creator’s business in the world

We thank you for the gift of salvation,

    for we cannot save ourselves.

May the mind be in us which was in Christ Jesus.

  Amen

50 Great Prayers from the Iona Community, Helen Lambie (adapt.)

Silent Retreat

I had a wonderful experience at the Jesuit Retreat Center on a 7 day silent retreat. For years I had wanted to participate in a silent retreat; it was as much a blessing as I hoped it would be. That said, I went into the retreat with low expectations. I was tired. I don't mean tired in the sense of needing a good night's rest. I mean my spirit was tired, and I didn't expect that a week could do enough for me.

I arrived on Tuesday evening. After dinner, we had worship and entered into silence. The first two days, I spent trying to recover from being physically tired. I slept, I read, I knitted, I got a massage and a pedicure (the least expensive I have ever found, sixty dollars for everything). But my spirit was still tired.

By Friday, I was ready to begin praying with Scripture. St. Ignatius was the founder of the Jesuit order; my spiritual director and the retreat center are in the Jesuit tradition. He is the saint who focused upon praying with Scripture by using all five senses to imagine entering the story. Over the rest of the week, I spent time doing yoga and spiritual direction and worship each morning, walking each afternoon, and praying with a story or two each day. I prayed with one story in the afternoon and one in the evening. I would imagine the story, and see where I felt led to imagine myself participating, and listen for what I was to hear from the story. Afterwards, I would journal my experiences.

I spent time with the story of the woman with the issuance of blood reaching out for Jesus' healing by touching the hem of his garment. At first, I wanted to imagine Jesus getting off the boat wearing Jeans, but then I didn't have a hem to reach out and touch. So I had to change my mental image to the more traditional flowing robe look. It was powerful to place myself in the role of the woman seeking healing and listen to Jesus say "daughter, your faith has made you well."

The story in John 5 where Jesus sees the man lying in the portico was also a great story for me. I was led to it because I had been hearing "do you want to be made well?" for weeks prior to the retreat. I was amused and chastened to find that the man's response was to complain. He complained that he couldn't get to the water because whenever it was stirred up, others stepped in front of him. What I heard being spoken to my heart was to let go of my complaints and to focus upon the healing waters of Grace. I confess I was not immediately able to let go of my complaints. I imagined floating in the pool after my conversation with Jesus (and tried not to think about what gets stirred up in the pool). I was reminded of one of my favorite images of grace. It is picturing grace like a flowing river and seeing whether I am running next to the river, or allowing God's grace to carry me as I float along in the river.

I prayed with stories including Ezekiel and the valley of dray bones, the Samaritan woman, and the images of heaven in Revelation 21-22. Each time, I followed my heart in deciding where to imagine myself in the story, and as I imagined the story unfolding, I listened for what was being spoken to me through the story. Sometimes, I would also follow the Ignatian practice of the 3 fold colloquy. I would imagine meeting with Mary, then Jesus, then the Father. It's amazing how many different ways I can feel led to envision these meetings and conversations, and how much I feel spoken to by God as I listen in this way.

On the last day of the retreat, my spiritual director suggested I spend time with "resolutions," writing down what I have learned, heard, and feel I need to hold onto going forward.

To have time to be silent before God, spend time communing with God in so many ways, was truly a blessing and gift.

JJ the Fish

I am allergic to anything on four legs; this includes hamsters. I have passed this along to my poor children. They are therefore pet deprived. I have to admit that I am quite happy to be pet free, though, as it has seldom felt like I am missing anything other than more responsibility. (At least, this is what I tell myself.)

Of course,one of the few pets left open to us are fish. So it happened at Christmas: we became the proud owners of three goldfish and one algae eater. This was due the generosity of a sister in Christ who gave us everything from tank to contents.

My kids named each fish. I am not convinced they can tell the three goldfish apart, but they definitely remember their names (alas, I do not). The little black algae eater was named JJ. JJ could be found hugging the walls of the tank, and always required effort to locate. This fish quickly became my sons favorite.

Last night my saint of a husband finally got to the task of cleaning the tank with the kids. It was about a month overdue (ugh...responsibility). When they went hunting for JJ, you guessed it, he was nowhere to be found.

Ray said Jacob sobbed his little heart out. Ray promised him we would get a replacement fish. And I was tucking my daughter into bed last night, she too was telling the story. She shared how she did not cry, but she felt bad for her brother. Then she told me how she prayed with Jacob and for JJ.

I was absolutely touched....and so grateful that this was her response to her hurting brother.

Prayer

I didn't get to my morning devotions until 1p.m. So it seemed appropriate that one of the prayers included in my devotional guide is ....

For Spiritual Concentration

God, help my thoughts!

They stray from me,

setting off on the wildest of journeys.

When I am in church,

they run off like naughty children,

quarrelling and making trouble.

When I read the Bible,

they fly to a distant city,

filled with temptations.

My thoughts can cross an ocean with a single leap.

They can fly from earth to heaven and back again,

in a single second.

They come to me for a fleeting moment,

and then away they flee.

No chains, no locks can hold them back.

No threats of punishment can restrain them.

No hiss of a lash can frighten them.

They slip from my grasp like tails of eels.

They swoop hither and thither like swallows in flight.

Dear Holy Christ, who can see every heart

and read every mind:

Take hold of my thoughts.

Bring my thoughts back to me,

and clasp me to yourself. Amen.

The book I am using cites this as a Celtic prayer. Those Celts seem to have been wise, honest, fun folk.

(This appears in a book called This Day: A Wesleyan Way of Prayer by Laurence Hull Stookey.)

Prayer

I clearly remember being in my early 20s, beginning to worship in a church I came to love, and not believing much, if any of what the other folks believed. I have a vivid memory of lying in bed one night, deciding I would try prayer. This was immediately followed by 2 thoughts. First, "I'm not even sure I believe anyone is listening" and second, "how do I pray? I have no idea."

This has left me with something of a passion for being intentional about sharing methods of prayer. There are so many. I find it is common in the church for the subject of prayer to have a lot of assumptions surrounding it, the boldest assumption being that everyone already knows how to pray.

So I cannot remember how I came across this method, but I find it is mysteriously wonderful. For a long while, several years ago, I was in the habit taking time in silent prayer in which I would ask God "who do I need to pray for?" Very often, the most random of people would come to mind, and I would pray for them.

Here's one of the things I have discovered about prayer: I get bored with the same way of praying. So I change forms to avoid boredom; if I get bored, I will simply stop praying.

The really interesting thing is that this is one technique God has not let me stop using. By that I mean I have learned to trust that when people pop into my mind out of the blue, I pray for them.

And over the course of the past 2 months, on five different Sundays as I have been sitting in silence to prepare for worship, God has brought someone to mind. In each case, that person has been in worship that morning, very often someone who has been away for some reason.

Prayer is indeed a mysterious thing.

Mommy, can we....

"Mommy, can we have family Bible study after you put Jacob to bed?"

These are the words of my daughter. She is almost five years old. Times like these make me want to pinch myself and be sure I am really living this life, being her mother. I truly believe that God has given me a precious, amazing gift in Shannon. She seems hardwired to want to learn about God, and to be as loving and good as any child her age is capable of being.

Honestly, her words put me to shame that she has to request such things of me. We always pray at night before bed, and at meal time. We have several children's Bibles she regularly moves among for story time. But our family Bible study and prayer time is sporadic at best. I am resolving to do better.

Two children's class leaders at church have commented to me in the past two weeks that Shannon has been so talkative in class discussion time. I give most all of the credit to our Sunday School. She really soaks up the stories in there.

Today, when I came home, she was playing "funeral" asking what words she needs to say to begin the funeral service.

I am beginning to suspect that God is up to something here... as hard as I try not to imagine my children's future for them, believing that is up to God to reveal to them... it's hard not to imagine that God has something ministry related planned for this child.