daily prayers may 2021 - wcrichmond.org

Daily Prayers

May 2021

The Westminster Canterbury Richmond Pastoral Care Office offers you this prayer

booklet of daily worship. We hope that this rhythm of daily prayer will be

a comfort and support as we all walk this path together.

If you wish to be in prayer at the same time as others,

please consider saying these prayers at 9:00 a.m. or at 4:00 p.m.

Pray for the world. Pray for others. Pray for yourself.

Stacking Stones

Stacking stones claims ordinary moments of life for God, and invites those who

pass by to notice the holy ground on which they already stand.

Find three stones of decent size, somewhat flat. They don’t have to be huge.

Ordinary rocks from the yard will do. Stack them someplace, maybe on your desk.

Maybe in your house. As you stack them, assign each a meaning — a stone for

something specific that God has done, a way that God has provided, something for

which you are grateful or hopeful or struggling. Each time you notice the stack,

remember what each stone stands for and offer a prayer of thanks.

And when someone comes along and asks you,

“What do these stones mean?” tell them the story of what God has done.

-Excerpt from The Spiritual Practice of Stacking Stones, by Jayne Hugo Davis,

Baptist New Global

Sunday Prayers

Theme: Hope

Take a moment to still your heart and your mind. Breathe deeply. Begin to relax.

When you are settled into this moment, please begin to pray.

Centering Thought

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. Desmond Tutu

Opening Prayer

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death

and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that we, who have been raised with

him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of the eternal glory; through

Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and

praise for ever and ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer, page 223.

Psalm 67:1-2

May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance and

come to us. Let your ways be known upon the earth, your saving health among all

nations.

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has

given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading,

kept in heaven for you.

Today’s Prayer:

Glorious Lord of Life, we praise you, that by the mighty resurrection of your Son,

you have delivered us from sin and death and made your whole creation new; grant

that we who celebrate with joy Christ’s rising from the dead, may be raised from

the death of sin to the life of righteousness; for he lives and reigns with you and the

Holy Spirit, one God for ever. Amen.

New Zealand Book of Common Prayer, page 593.

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding Words

This little world of ours wherein we live holds now the richest joys which life can

give. Edgar A. Guest

Monday Prayers

Theme: Gratitude – Pray for staff and WCR leadership



Centering Thought

If we fasten our attention on what we have, rather than on what we lack, a very little

wealth is sufficient. Sydney Smith

Opening Prayer

For this new morning with its light, Father, we thank Thee. For rest and shelter of

the night, Father, we thank Thee. For health and food, for love and friends, For

everything Thy goodness sends, Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

Except from “We Thank Thee” by Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Psalm 138:1-2

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;

I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your

steadfast love and your faithfulness.

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12:3-4

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that

day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the

nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.

Today’s Prayer

Our God you have created a wondrous place in which to live. With childlike eyes

we see the beauty and grandeur of mountain and forest, river and seashore. We

give thanks for the variety of cultures that weave the tapestry of humanity. We give

thanks for the variety of ways in which people serve us, and we give thanks for all

we have received, and that we are also given the opportunity to serve others. Amen.

Excerpt from Prayers for Thanksgiving, Presbyterian Church of New Zealand

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding Words

“This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” Maya Angelo

Tuesday Prayers

Theme: Concern for the most at risk – pray for the vulnerable



Centering Thought

When we can see the image of God where we don’t want to see the image of God,

then we see with eyes not our own. Richard Rohr

Opening Prayer

Holy God, keep us mindful of those who lack basic resources in these times. We

follow a Christ who looked out for the most vulnerable, the least, the last, and the

lost. Help us too, in these anxious times, to serve first the ones who need the most.

Amen. Excerpt from A Prayer for the Most Vulnerable Among Us, National

Council of Churches

Psalm 31:19

O how abundant is your goodness that you have laid up for those who fear you,

and accomplished for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of everyone!

Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:1-4

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any

sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of

the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do

nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better

than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests

of others.

Today’s Prayer

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human

heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide

us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being

healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer, 823.

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding Words

Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t

always comfortable, but they are never weakness. Brené Brown

Wednesday Prayers

Theme: Love – pray for all medical staff



Centering Thought

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. Saint Augustine

Opening Prayer

We thank you, O God for your love for us. Love that reaches out to accept us,

wherever we are, whoever we are. Love that demands a lot, but somehow, enables us

to meet those demands. Love that reassures, affirms, prompts, challenges, and

overwhelms us with the completeness of its response. Help us held within the

security of your love, to risk showing that same love to others. Amen.

From Prayers of Thanksgiving, Presbyterian Church of New Zealand

Psalm 103:8

The Lord is merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Scripture Reading: Exodus 33:19

And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim

before you the name, ‘The Lord,’ and I will be gracious to whom I am gracious,

and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

Today’s Prayer

O blessed Lord, you have commanded us to love one another. Just as we have

received your undeserved blessings, may we love everyone in you and for you.

We ask your kindness for all, but especially for the friends whom your love has

given to us. Love them, O fountain of love, and move them to love you with all

their heart, that they may will, and speak, and do only those things which are

pleasing to you. Amen. St. Anselm

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding Words

Go out into the world in peace. Have courage! Hold fast to what is good. Return no

one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, help the suffering.

Honor all people. Love and serve the Lord your God rejoicing in the power of the

Holy Spirit! Romans 12:9

Thursday Prayers

Theme: Reign of God – pray for national, state and local leadership



Centering Thought

For in fact, the kingdom of God is among you. Luke 17:21b

Opening Prayer

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only

beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only

a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is

complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No

statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. This is

what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We lay foundations

that will need further development. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of

liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for

the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that

is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not

master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen. Oscar Romero

Psalm 145:13

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all

generations.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:33

But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things

will be given to you as well.

Today’s Prayer

We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world; that

there may be justice and peace on the earth. Book of Common Prayer, 387.

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding Words

Go in peace to love and serve God and your neighbor.

Friday Prayers

Theme: Family and friends – pray for family and friends and pray for those

without family and friends.



Centering Thought

Always remember you matter, you are important, and you are loved, and you bring

to this world things no one else can. Charlie Mackesy, author

Opening Prayer

May love connect us. Amen. May faith direct us. Amen. May God protect us.

Amen.

Psalm 133:1

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not

neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,

and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Today’s Prayer

O God, you are life, wisdom, truth, bounty, and blessedness, the eternal,

the only true good, our God and our Lord, hope and our heart’s delight,

we acknowledge with thanksgiving that you have made us in your image, and

that we may direct our thoughts to you. Lord, make us to know you aright, that

we may love, enjoy, and possess you more and more; through Jesus Christ our

Lord. Amen. St. Anselm of Canterbury

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding Words

You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but citizens together with the saints

and members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19

Saturday Prayers

Theme: Rest – pray for rest for all those who are working long

and intense hours to serve others



Centering Thought

At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky and flinging the clouds and towers by, is a

place of central calm; so here in the roar of mortal things, I have a place where my

spirit sings, in the hollow of God’s Palm. Edwin Markham

Opening Prayer

Holy Wisdom, in your loving kindness you created and restored us when we were

lost: inspire us with your truth, that we may love you with our whole minds and

run to you with open hearts, through Christ our Savior. Amen.

Enriching our Worship 1

Psalm 62:1

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is

my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.

Scripture Reading: John 14:1

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

Today’s Prayer

Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; for

these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world

to see: a Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.

Song of Simeon

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding Words

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.

Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.

Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger.

Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.

Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart,

and a fruit upon the tree of humility. Baha’i Prayer for Peace

Individual Prayer Walk

Before you begin, take a moment to center yourself and invite the spirit of God

to accompany you, your thoughts, and your words.

Opening Prayer

Lead me, guide me along the way, for if you lead me I cannot stray.

Lord let me walk each day with thee. Lead me, oh Lord, lead me. Doris Atkers

1 Timothy 4:4-6

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is

received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.

Please “walk” this campus either in body or spirit,

using the prayers and images that follow. Add your own prayers as well!

At any Building Entrance/Exit

Let no sadness come through this gate. Let no trouble come to this dwelling. Let no

fear come through this door. Let no conflict be in this place. Let this home be filled

with blessing and peace. (Birkat HaBayit – Blessing for the Home)

Cochrane Pond

We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water. Over it the Holy Spirit moved

in the beginning of creation. Through it you led the children of Israel out of their

bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your son Jesus received

the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ,

to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin

into everlasting life. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 306)

Staff Parking Lot

(Please pray from the sidewalk for safety.)

Gracious God, you are full of compassion and mercy. We thank you for the staff

and leadership of Westminster Canterbury Richmond. Watch over them and keep

them safe. Give them strength for the hard days, joy for the good days, and peace

at all times. Walk with them, as they do your will. Amen.

Residents’ Gardens

Almighty God, we thank you for making the earth fruitful, so that it might produce

what is needed for life: Bless those who work in the fields; give us seasonable

weather; and grant that we may all share the fruits of the earth, rejoicing in your

goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, page 824)

Ellipse

Loving Father and Creator of all we come to you today deeply grateful for your

creation. As we look around us we are amazed at the greatness and majesty of all

that you have made. Nature around us speaks of your greatness - the vast expanse

of the sky, the mountains, trees, lakes and streams speak of your great design. You

have given us such beauty in the colors of the rainbow, the beauty of flowers and

fields. Words cannot adequately express the magnificence of all you have created.

We join in praise with the writer of the psalms when he says, "O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth." May we show our love and reverence

to you, our Lord, by caring for all that you have created. We humbly give you

praise and thanks. Amen. ( A Prayer about Nature and God’s Creation

Gatehouse

Loving God, thank you for the safety of this place. Watch over all who enter and

leave this place. May we be a beacon of hope for other facilities like ours and may

your mercy and love be with us all. Amen.

Tower Green

Loving God, you made all things and you called your creation good. Give us

grateful hearts for your creation and for the gift of recreation. May this place be for

us and for those after us a place to gather, to relax, to play, and to rest. May all who

enjoy this place feel your abiding presence. Amen.

Parsons Health Center

(Please pray outside of Health Care to keep everyone safe.)

Mighty and merciful God, you sent Jesus Christ to heal broken lives. We praise

you that today you send healing in doctors and nurses, and bless us

with technology in medicine. We claim your promises of wholeness as we pray for

those who are ill in body or mind, who long for your healing touch. Make the weak

strong, the sick healthy, the broken whole, and confirm those who serve them as

agents of your love. Then all shall be renewed in vigor to point to the risen Christ,

who conquered death that we might live eternally. Amen.

(Book of Common Worship, page 488)

Spiritual Center

God of many names, we thank you for your presence in this place. Be with us as

we worship, pray, sing, and learn; as we lift our hopes, fears, celebrations, and

grief to you. May we welcome neighbors and strangers who visit us here. Help us

to extend your love and compassion to each person who enters this space, and may

we be reminded that while you inhabit this beautiful place, that you also live and

move beyond these walls. May this place of worship be a place for all to find

solace and peace. Amen.

Sending Forth and Blessing

May the strength of God pilot us,

May the wisdom of God instruct us,

May the hand of God protect us,

May the word of God direct us.

Be always ours this day and for evermore. (Attributed to St. Patrick)

A Prayer for Mother’s Day

On this Mother’s Day, we give thanks to God for the divine gift of motherhood in

all its diverse forms.

Let us pray for all the mothers among us today; for our own mothers, those living

and those who have passed away; for the mothers who loved us and for those who

fell short of loving us fully; for all who hope to be mothers some day and for those

whose hope to have children has been frustrated; for all mothers who have lost

children; for all women and men who have mothered others in any way—those

who have been our substitute mothers and we who have done so for those in need;

for the earth that bore us and provides our sustenance. We pray this all in the name

of God, our great and loving Mother. Amen.

– from Women’s Common Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated

(Morehouse Publishing, 2000)

Memorial Day 2021

A Collect for thanksgiving for heroic service:

O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and

women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties

we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share in

the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the

name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Wherever you may be, we invite you to join in this litany of prayers for the Nation.

Almighty God, giver of all good things: we thank you for the natural majesty and

beauty of this land. They restore us, though we often destroy them. Heal us.

We thank you for the great resources of this nation. They make us rich, though we

often exploit them. Forgive us.

We thank you for the men and women who have made this country strong. They

are models for us, though we often fall short of them. Inspire us.

We thank you for the torch of liberty, which has been lit in this land. It has drawn

people from every nation, though we have often hidden from its light. Enlighten

us.

We thank you for the faith we have inherited in all its rich variety. It sustains our

life, though we have been faithless again and again. Renew us.

Help us, O Lord, to finish the good work here begun. Strengthen our efforts to blot

out ignorance and prejudice, and to abolish poverty and crime. And hasten the day

when all our people, with many voices in one united chorus will glorify your holy

Name. Amen.

(Adopted from the National Service Commemorating Memorial Day, Washington

National Cathedral, May 2017)

daily prayers may 2021 - wcrichmond.org

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