Saint Stephen’s Daily Prayers, Thursday, August 13, 2020
Staying Safe and Staying Connected
Good Morning Saint Stephen’s Church,
We continue our life of daily prayer. The Lord be with you!
Today’s Prayer
Though sin and death conspire
To rob thee of thy praise
Still towards thee I’ll aspire,
And thou dull hearts canst raise.
Open thy door;
And when grim death
Shall stop this breath
I’ll praise thee more.
– Richard Baxter, 1691
Richard Baxter is recognized with a feast day in the Episcopal Church on December 8. Baxter was a parish priest in England, ordained in 1638, who held a Puritan perspective. His Puritan views prevented him from taking a bishop appointment following the English Civil War, thereby ending his ordained ministry. He is known for his writing, including The Reformed Pastor, which describes his approach to parish ministry, and devotional writing that was exceedingly popular in his lifetime, such as The Saints’ Everlasting Rest.
From Our Prayers of the People
Today, let us pray:
For the just and proper use of your creation: for the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.
For comfort and healing for all who are affected by the Coronavirus: for physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the sick and the suffering, may God grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience, and may God keep them healthy and safe.
For all essential workers: for police, firefighters, EMTs, postal workers, sanitation workers, grocery personnel, delivery and transport workers, and all who must report to work because what they do is essential for our well-being, health, and safety.
For those on the Parish Prayer Chain: Luca, Brittney, Mary Alice, Mia, Wim, Corrie, Doris, Judy, Anne, Louise, Gertrude, Laurel (names are rotated daily from the “Prayer Chain List” – if you have people for whom you would like us to pray, please contact Suzanne Taylor- popage@aol.com or 518-393-9035; Louise – peakelouise@gmail or 374-0480).
For those who are homebound: Stephen, Pauline, Joan, Janet and Marilyn.
Our Government Leaders: Donald Trump, President of the United States; Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State; Gary McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady
Our Church Leaders: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop, William Love, and Daniel Herzog our bishops; James and Dennie our priests; Pat our deacon and Allison our Lay Reader
Those who are imprisoned: those particularly vulnerable at this time, especially the women in the Schenectady County Jail.
For those in need of healing: Sid, Vicki, Jean, Cindi, Mary Frances, Debbie, Joe
For Marilyn & Donald – today is their wedding anniversary!
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: Okene (Nigeria), Buhiga (Burundi), Bujumbura (Burundi).
For all who have died: especially Justin, Scott, William, Elmer, Marilyn.
For one another.
Something to share
I’ve spent many years learning
how to fix life, only to discover
at the end of the day
that life is not broken
There is a hidden seed of greater wholeness
in everyone and everything.
We serve life best
when we water it
and befriend it.
When we listen before we act.
in befriending life,
we do not make things happen
according to our own design.
We uncover something that is already happening
in us and around us and
create conditions that enable it.
Everything is moving toward its place of wholeness
always struggling against the odds.
Everything has a deep dream of itself and its fulfillment.
~Rachael Naomi Remin (composed as a poem by Meg Wheatley)
~Amen.
psalm
I am not lyric anymore
I will not play the harp
for your pleasure
I will not make a joyful
noise to you, neither
will I lament
for I know you drink
lamentation, too,
like wine
so I dully repeat
you hurt me
I hate you
I pull my eyes away from the hills
I will not kill for you
I will never love you again
unless you ask me
- Alicia Suskin Ostriker
News & Updates
One thing we’ve been talking about as Schenectady Clergy Against Hate is that Schenectady’s census count is well under 2010 in the midst of COVID. The census that takes place every ten years affects all of us when it comes to government programs, representation and justice. If you haven’t already filled out the census for your household, please do so today at https://my2020census.gov!
Reminders
If you have an update/news, a prayer or poem or something inspirational you would like us to share with the congregation, please send it to us. Please also send us any prayer requests. We will incorporate these into the Morning Prayers as best we can.
If you need a prayerbook, and are not in a position to purchase one, please contact me: james.ross.mcd@gmail.com. I will make sure you have your own Book of Common Prayer.
Prayerbook Morning Prayer in Zoom – each morning. Join Dennie and me for an inter-active service of Morning Prayer at 9 am. Time to bring your prayer concerns will be provided.
Our church campus is closed, except for our Eucharistic Ingathering on Sundays at 9:00 am. Please see our website for further information: https://st-stephens.church/. All other parish meetings and gatherings are canceled and postponed until further notice.
Remember – Dennie and I are here. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.
Our goal is for all of us to stay in touch and connected in this time of isolation.
Share this news, and spread some love, not the virus!
Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be at your back,
May the sun shine upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Be of good courage. We are in this together, and we will be together again soon. God bless you and may God be with us in the days ahead.
Peace, James+
James Ross McDonald
rector, St. Stephen’s Episcopal
Schenectady, NY