Oremus (Latin: "Let us pray") by Pastor Jen

"Prayer does not change God, but it changes (the person) who prays." - Soren Kierkegaard
 
During times of crisis people pray. I have even heard from people who do not claim to have faith in God or any higher being admit to praying over the past couple of days. As people of faith, prayer is a part of who we are. We pray when we are filled with joy. We pray when we have concerns regarding health, jobs, family situations, and viruses that are having an unimaginable effect on our world. Sometimes we have the right words and they flow freely from our mouths and our hearts. Other times, the words feel lost so deep within that that we find ourselves sitting silent in a deeper prayer space than we have ever been.
 
​I have said in church that the Prayers of the Community is one of my favorite parts of the service. I look forward to praying together as a community of faith. Together we lift up our prayers and pray for one another. We pray for healing, guidance, and health. We pray for strength, humility, and patience. We pray for the ones we love and the ones we struggle to love. Though we are not gathering together in a physical space, and are practicing “social distancing”, it is essential that we  continue to pray together as a church family.
 
I invite you to use this Connections Space to pray… share your joys and concerns and let us continue to pray for one another. You’re invited to post your prayers to share with our faith community.  Who knows, your written prayer may help another find the words that their heart is searching for.
 
Below is a prayer that poet and theologian  Padraig O’ Tuama shared on Krista Tippet’s  program, “On Being”. During this time of questions and uncertainty, when life seems to be changing every minute, may this prayer and every prayer we pray help us make sense of that which seems so senseless.

“Prayer can be a rhythm that helps us make sense in times of senselessness, not offering solutions but speaking to and from the mystery of humanity. Prayer is comfort. Prayer is words and shape and art, around desperation and delight and disappointment and desire.”