Special -- Seminary Sunday
A Prayer
for the Seminaries of the United Church
of Christ
Seminary
Sunday
Fourth
Sunday in February
Based
on a reading of Psalm 27
Sheltered under
the wings of your protection, Eternal and all-wise God, we gather to pray for our
seminaries. Each is steeped in history and tradition; we know they will provide
solid education. So we gather to pray not just for the institutions but also
for the people who work and learn in them—administrators, faculty, staff, and
students. We pray for their minds, bodies and spirits.
O God, we pray
that they will know you and serve you in ways that empower all of us. Search
those who teach and those who prepare for ministries of peace, justice, and
compassion and let them be fitting vessels for your work. Find those deep
places where fear, anxiety, and insecurity reside and fill them with your
grace, mercy and love. Shine your light on their gifts, bless and multiply them
to your service.
May we find
ways to support their work and may we rejoice in the fruits of their labors. We
are grateful for the covenant and commitments we share. May we rest in the
assurance that you continue to hold and keep us all in your care and in your
heart. Equip us—lay, clergy, student—with your Spirit, shower us with your
grace and mercy, instill in us your power to be your hands and feet in our
spheres of influence, keep us humble that we might serve the least and the
lost.
We hold to the
promise that we will see your goodness in the land of the living; help us to wait
for you, to be strong, to be courageous, to be confident, to be bold.
O God, our God,
you are our light and our salvation. In partnership with our seminaries, we thank
you for all of our blessings and those to come in the fullness of time. And we
pray in the name of Jesus our Christ, amen.
For more information
about United Church of Christ seminaries, see http://www.ucc.org/higher
education/school/seminaries.html
A Prayer
for the Seminaries of the United Church of Christ was written by the
Rev. Barbara Essex, UCC Minister for
Higher and Theological Education. Rev.
Essex was formerly the Minister and Director of Pastoral Services at Pacific
School of Religion, Berkeley, CA; she is a
best-selling Pilgrim Press author—latest volume, More Bad Girls of the Bible.
Copyright 2010 Local Church Ministries,
Congregational Vitality and Discipleship Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland,
OH 44115-1100. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this
material for use in services of worship or church education. All publishing rights reserved.
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