Pastoral Prayer for January 28, 2024

Our pastoral prayer for today comes from Miriam Therese Winter

and Jane Grayshon.

Loving God,

Living water,

River of Mercy,

Source of Life,

in whom we live

and move

and have our being,

who quenches our thirst,

refreshes our weariness,

bathes

and washes

and cleanses

our wounds,

be for us always

a fountain of life,

and for all the world

a river of hope

springing up in the midst

of the deserts of despair.

May we long

not for the smoothness of sand

which looks good, and feels flat,

and is easy to walk on

but will not withstand a storm.

May we build our hopes​​ 

on you.

Though you may not prevent the storms,

you keep us firm

within them.

So even if we’re battered,

we cannot fall​​ 

except deeper into a crevice

in the rock;

deeper into you.

Amen.