Pastoral Prayer for April 23, 2023

Today’s Pastoral Prayer is in honor of Earth Day 2023. It comes to us from

Claire Smith who lives in Guyana.

Generous Creator, Sustainer

Loving, Caring, Sharing God

We give you praise

For your Providence and mercy

For your redeeming grace

We give you praise

You are God

Beyond our comprehension

Simply Awesome in all you do and are

We give you praise

We confess the times when we fail to recognize you

The times when we seek to limit you

The times when we do not acknowledge you

Lord, forgive us

We confess that we take you for granted

We do not see you in the harvest

We do not see you in our work

We do not see you in our productivity

Lord, forgive us

Because we do not see you

Because we limit you

We fail you

Lord, forgive us

We fail you in our relationships with each other,

with creation, with yourself

In our stewardship of time, money, creation, the Gospel

In our response to all that you are and all that you do

Lord, forgive us

We ask for a new vision of yourself

A new heart for you

A new heart for each other

A new heart for your created order

Lord, empower us

Teach us anew who you are

That we may respond to you in generosity

In caring for each other

In caring for your world

In caring for you

Lord, empower us

May harvest be a sign for us

Not only that you covenant with us

But that we covenant with you

To be good, generous, and faithful stewards

of all that you entrust to us

Lord, empower us

Loving God, we acknowledge you

as the one who created everything,

who upholds everything,

who provides for us.

Give us the grace and strength

to give ourselves and all that we have to you.

Amen.