Category Archives: church year

Idea from our Bishop

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As we have begun the Lenten season, our Bishop Mike Rhyne thought it would be a good idea to intentionally pray for our congregations and our Synod during the seasons of Lent and Easter.

The prayers can be as simple as asking God to remember our church and synod, or we may want to pray for specific challenges and/or opportunities that face us as we move forward as God’s people.

As we begin our 40 days of intentional prayer, fasting and almsgiving, please consider the discipline of prayer for others, starting with those within our Synod.

Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 2, 2013

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Summer is a time of creating memories as we take vacations or arrange our schedules to do new and different things. We may also pause longer during these weeks to hear the stories people share with us, drawing us into the web of community memory. The lectionary texts read in worship during these weeks create memory for some people and refresh the memory of others. The biblical story is the memory bank of the Christian church that gives us a history, a present, and a future. Today many people are researching their family histories and trying to discover where they come from and the people who are part of their genealogy. The biblical texts are our Christian family’s faith genealogy, the story that informs us whose we are and who we are, where we come from and where we are going. Join us for worship on Sunday with Holy Communion at St. Peter’s at 9:00am and at Messiah at 10:30am. Sunday School classes meet at Messiah at 9:30am, and at St. Peter’s at 10:15am. Prayer of the Day: Merciful Lord God, we do not presume to come before you trusting in our own righteousness, but in your great and abundant mercies. Revive our faith, we pray; heal our bodies, and mend our communities, that we may evermore dwell in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

BLESSING OF ROGATION ELEMENTS

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BLESSING OF ROGATION ELEMENTS

Prayer for Seeds
Creating God, you have given seed to the sower and bread to the people. Nourish, protect, and bless the seeds which your people have sown in hope. By your loving and bountiful giving, may they bring forth their fruit in due season, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayer for the Soil
Giver of life, we give you thanks that in the richness of the soil, nature awakens to your call of spring. We praise you for the smell of freshly tilled earth, the beauty of a cleanly cut furrow, and a well-plowed field. We ask that you help us to be good stewards of this land. In the name of the one who gives us new life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayer for Water and Rain
Sustaining God, we receive the fruits of the earth from you. We give you thanks for the smell of the earth after rain, for its welcome cooling, and its necessary hydration for the land. We ask that the rain come as often as it is needed so that the crops may flourish and the coming harvest be indeed bountiful. Amen

From Worship from the Ground Up: A Worship Resource for Town and Country Congregations. Dubuque, Iowa: Center for Theology and Land, University of Dubuque and Wartburg Theological Seminaries, 1995.

Spring is here!  For those who are about to plant seeds and care for their gardens, patios, lawns or farms we pray!  Lord have mercy!

2013 Lenten devotionals

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Download this year’s Lenten devotion, “Clothed in God’s Grace!” You’ll need a free version of Adobe Reader to complete the download. You can also download a large print version.

You are welcome to print as many copies as you need for your personal use or for distribution in your congregation. During the season of Lent, the devotions that appear in “Clothed in God’s Grace” will also arrive in your email inbox daily if you’re a subscriber to God Pause, Luther Seminary’s daily online devotional.