SHARING CONCERNS AND PRAYER REQUESTS
With Hurricanes Harvey and Irene having ravaged our country, following the Prelude and before the Opening Hymn, I asked people in the congregation to share their concerns and prayer requests for those in harm’s way. About two-thirds of the people gathered mentioned names and places in need of prayer. After praying, we sang six verses to Amazing Grace that had been written in response to the hurricanes. I found these new verses on the United Church of Christ website (www.ucc.org). The verses are printed below:
With Hurricanes Harvey and Irene having ravaged our country, following the Prelude and before the Opening Hymn, I asked people in the congregation to share their concerns and prayer requests for those in harm’s way. About two-thirds of the people gathered mentioned names and places in need of prayer. After praying, we sang six verses to Amazing Grace that had been written in response to the hurricanes. I found these new verses on the United Church of Christ website (www.ucc.org). The verses are printed below:
O God, We’ve Prayed in Wind and Rain
(sung to the tune of Amazing Grace)
O God, we’ve prayed in wind and rain and now we pray once more
For those who felt the hurricane and heard the waters roar.
We pray for those who watched the storm destroy the life they knew,
Who wait in shelters, tired and worn, and wonder what to do.
We thank you, God, for acts of love not bound by race or creed,
For hands that reach across the flood to all who are in need.
We pray for others far away who’ve seen destruction, too;
We look beyond ourselves, for they are also loved by you.
We pray that leaders of our land will heed creation’s cry,
And bravely care and take a stand for earth and sea and sky.
For those who felt the hurricane and heard the waters roar.
We pray for those who watched the storm destroy the life they knew,
Who wait in shelters, tired and worn, and wonder what to do.
We thank you, God, for acts of love not bound by race or creed,
For hands that reach across the flood to all who are in need.
We pray for others far away who’ve seen destruction, too;
We look beyond ourselves, for they are also loved by you.
We pray that leaders of our land will heed creation’s cry,
And bravely care and take a stand for earth and sea and sky.
To read Pastor John's sermon click on title below.
Hymn for Haiti Relief
In Haiti, There is Anguish
ST. CHRISTOPHER 7.6.8.6.8.6.8.6 (“Beneath the Cross of Jesus”)
In Haiti, there is anguish that seems too much to bear;
A land so used to sorrow now knows even more despair.
From city streets, the cries of grief rise up to hills above;
In all the sorrow, pain and death, where are you, God of love?
A woman sifts through rubble, a man has lost his home,
A hungry, orphaned toddler sobs, for she is now alone.
Where are you, Lord, when thousands die—the rich, the poorest poor?
Were you the very first to cry for all that is no more?
O God, you love your children; you hear each lifted prayer!
May all who suffer in that land know you are present there.
In moments of compassion shown, in simple acts of grace,
May those in pain find healing balm, and know your love’s embrace.
Where are you in the anguish? Lord, may we hear anew
That anywhere your world cries out, you’re there-- and suffering, too.
And may we see, in others’ pain, the cross we’re called to bear;
Send out your church in Jesus’ name to pray, to serve, to share.
Tune: Frederick Charles Maker, 1881
Text: Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Permission is given for use by those who support Church World Service.
In Haiti, There is Anguish
ST. CHRISTOPHER 7.6.8.6.8.6.8.6 (“Beneath the Cross of Jesus”)
In Haiti, there is anguish that seems too much to bear;
A land so used to sorrow now knows even more despair.
From city streets, the cries of grief rise up to hills above;
In all the sorrow, pain and death, where are you, God of love?
A woman sifts through rubble, a man has lost his home,
A hungry, orphaned toddler sobs, for she is now alone.
Where are you, Lord, when thousands die—the rich, the poorest poor?
Were you the very first to cry for all that is no more?
O God, you love your children; you hear each lifted prayer!
May all who suffer in that land know you are present there.
In moments of compassion shown, in simple acts of grace,
May those in pain find healing balm, and know your love’s embrace.
Where are you in the anguish? Lord, may we hear anew
That anywhere your world cries out, you’re there-- and suffering, too.
And may we see, in others’ pain, the cross we’re called to bear;
Send out your church in Jesus’ name to pray, to serve, to share.
Tune: Frederick Charles Maker, 1881
Text: Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Permission is given for use by those who support Church World Service.