Reading for the 3rd Sunday of Lent

Exodus 20:1-17                                              Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 1:18-25                                     John 2:13-22

Ecumenical Prayer Calendar

The peoples of United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales; and Ireland

Prayer for the week

Creator God, you have given us guidelines of how we can be in community together., Help us to follow your loving laws, praise you more faithfully and live more justly, so we might be more faithful disciples living in a deeper relationship with you.  Amen.

Some change is so gradual that we will never see the full effects in our lifetime.  A star exploded thousands of years ago, and we still see its legacy of light.  The universe is amazing and scary like that.  God speaks to Abram and Sarai about their legacy.  What might be our legacy to the planet we call home?  How quickly might our apathy destroy the planet that has been around for billions of years and has given so much of itself to us?  Some might have difficulty imagining Earth as home; it might feel like an unfairly cruel temporary lodging place.  Sometimes, because of the hurting and brokenness, it’s hard to remember that God’s creation is good.  What would it take for us to wake up and act out as a collective to heal our sacred home?  How can we help each other experience the good and recognize the sacred in God’s glorious creation?  How can we live faithfully, not just with each other, but will all creation?

Reading for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16                                        Psalms 22:23-31

Romans 4:13-25                                                       Mark 8:31-38

Ecumenical Prayer Calendar

The peoples of Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands

Prayer for the week

We praise you, O God of all generations, all time, and all space.  When we wonder if you will respond to our prayers, remind us that you answer.  Strengthen our faith so we might trust in your promises.  Continue to journey with us as we seek to be your faithful disciples throughout all generations.

I know how rainbows are created. I understand the theory and science behind music.  Even with this knowledge, somehow a rainbow bursting through clouds and the perfect song to underscore an emotion disorients me in the most wonderful of ways. Even at my lowest, such moments can provide respite.  I become lost in the grandeur and beauty of it all and my soul, for a divine moment, feels at home in God’s mysterious ways.  As we go deeper into this week’s texts and the possible meanings, let I not take away from the grandeur of a rainbow and our need to find home and respite during this wilderness time.

Noah’s ark, water and a rainbow are symbols that are ubiquitous in both church and popular culture.  The pervasiveness of the story – from movies life Evan Almighty – to nursery school decorations, has domesticated a formative (and violent) narrative of our faith.  After most of all living things are annihilated, God introduces a covenant with the remnants, promising creation will not be destroyed again through water.  The theme this service focuses on, and that reappears throughout Lent, is the notion that God’s covenant is not just with people, but with all creations.  We are promised that no matter how fierce and destructive the storm, it will eventually end and not all will be lost.  How might people who have lost everything in a storm feel about this text and this promise?  What is a pastoral response to the people who were not able to make in onto the ark?

The main concern of the passage seems to be more about covenant and less about the people and parts of creation who have been left behind.  What role do we have in up keeping this covenant? And how will we do so in partnership and mutuality with the rest of creation?

Reading for the 1st Sunday in Lent
Genesis 9:8-17                                               Psalms 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22                                               Mark 1:9-15

Ecumenical Prayer Calendar
The peoples of France, Germany & Monaco

Prayer for the week
God, who has created all things, draw us into a closer relationship with you.  When life’s waters threaten to overwhelm us, help us to trust that you are with us at all times. Re-orient us away from our poor choices and help us to choose life with you. Amen.

Interdependence is the concept that all the species within a specific ecosystem are connected.  A carnivore is dependent on the plants in the area –not because it eats the plants, rather, because it eats that which eats the plants.  The plants, in turn, are dependent on the predatory carnivore because it keeps the population of herbivores in check.  This concept came to bear in significant ways when a certain species of wolf was reintroduced to its natural habitat.  In less than a decade, the local deer population was under control again.  As a result, the wetlands near the river that ran through the area regained health and even changed course.  Biologists credit the wolf for the way the river was able to correct its course.  The land was healed and transformed.  As we go about daily life, we may not think of our interdependence but, just like the wolf, the church as we know it is increasingly aware that it is nearing extinction in many places.

This week, we reflect on the relationship between Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of Moses and Elijah.  Is the vitality of your ministry or community aware of its interdependence? Could you be more aware of dependence on plants, animals, and sensitive ecosystems as well?  How might your presence change the course of the rivers of life that flow through your context?

Reading for the Transfiguration Sunday

2 Kings 2:1-12                                                Psalms 50:1-6

2Corinthians 4:3-6                                         Mark 9:2-9

Ecumenical Prayer Calendar

The peoples of Austria, Liechtenstein & Switzerland

Prayer for the week

We hear of your divine voice, transforming God, and hope for new and deeper understandings of the ministries to which you call us.  As we inherit the mantle of ministry from those who have preceded us, may we experience a broader understanding of what it means to be disciples of the Christ.  Amen.

Sustaining balanced ministry requires respect for all God’s creation.  How do we bring the suffering of Creation into the sanctuary of our worship to honor and heal it?  Around the world people are trading plastic items such as drinking straws, toothbrushes, cups, bags, and utensils.  In some countries, plastics have become a complex problem because local governments don’t have funding for infrastructure such as landfills, garbage collection, or recycling services.  Some small communities in Sao Paulo Brazil have turned recycling into employment opportunities for unskilled laborers who organize and staff sorting facilities, apply for microloans and training to develop business models, and share in the humble but honest income generated by resale of clean recyclable materials.

It is easy to become complacent if we never experience the sacrifice of simple conveniences.  Take some time this week, individually and as a church, to grow or improve the ecological efforts in your community.

Readings for the 5h Sunday of Ordinary Time

Isaiah 40: 21-31                                              Psalm 147:1-11, 20

1 Corinthians 9:16-23                                    Mark 1:29-39

Ecumenical Prayer Calendar

The peoples of Andorra, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino & Spain

Prayer for the week

Holy One, who makes all things possible, lift us when we are weary.  Be our strength and fill us with hope as we seek to serve you and our neighbor this day.  Amen.

People of varying ages know a great deal about the dynamics of authority and power in their families, schools, communities, and workplaces.  They know what it means to have authority, to delegate authority, to answer to one who has authority, and, sometimes to claim authority.

Authority is a common thread in the scriptures for the week.  Moses has authority based in the revelations given to him from God about which he may speak.  In the gospel of Mark, “Jesus has the authority to help someone move from a state of uncleanness to a state of holiness” (Rabbi Adam Morris).  Paul describes an authority based on concern for the spiritual lives of others.  What is the basis of your authority?  How does that authority impact how we live as individuals and the church?