pastor prayers

My blog stats tell me that, surprise of all surprises, a lot of people find this blog when seeking a prayer for their pastor. In this week when at least we Unitarian Universalists (and at least those of us in New England) are gearing up for a return to the “regular church year” with a big homecoming/ingathering Sunday, I thought I might offer a prayer for us all, and for the congregations we serve and perhaps for those seeking for this blog to live up to its name.

All-embracing one, heartbeat at the center of all being, gracious and ever surprising god, be with your servants this week. Be with us as we fret over the words we will speak in public, doing the work of sloughing off what comes from ego and praying that what comes out will be from you, channeled through the beautiful and unique gifts you have given each of us. Be with us as we re-member our congregations, calling them together and greeting their precious bodies and spirits again, celebrating the glory and the quirks that walk through the front doors. Help us be ready to forgive old errors, continue to the work of healing wounds, and look toward a future in which we all can be redeemed. Be with us as we recall our failings, and vow to do better. Bolster our confidence in ourselves and in our people, that we might live into our greatest aspirations. Give us courage to speak to the needs of our times, to see the pain that rests in each person’s heart and its connection with the wounds of the world. Help us to continue to call ourselves and our communities to the work of justice in your name. Remind us that our work is as serious as the grave, and therefore demands laughter, and joy, and even some dancing. Let us feel the magic of a calling that regularly calls us to spend time with newborn babies and nonagenarians, that has us cleaning toilets and calculating employee benefits and a million other things our expensive seminaries never prepared us for. Remind us that we’d feel impoverished indeed if we had to live for too long without the commandment of the preacher’s life: to look at the world with god-seeking eyes. May we train those eyes on your holy will, and continually learn to be agents of a love that knows no bounds, and a justice that knows no end.

Amen.