Morning Prayer

Our Morning Prayer service is an opportunity for contemplation, stillness, and spiritual grounding. Through August 30, we will be praying through and reflecting on the text we’ve come to know as The Lord’s Prayer. Jesus tells his disciples, “Pray, then, this way…” During this series, we’ll reflect on what he was trying to teach them and us about what prayer is and how to do it.

We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.

Carolyn Sargent

Let us begin the day with this time of consideration, holy listening, supported silence, song, and prayer. We invite you to settle into your seat, let your shoulders drop, and take a deep breath. Remember: your whole self is welcome here.

Today we consider how we begin our prayer, and we ask:

• When you hear or say the words "Our Father," what emotional response or mental images surface? How do alternative addresses expand or challenge your understanding of who God is?
• Throughout the Lord's Prayer, the word "our" is used--our Creator, our daily bread. In a world deeply divided by nationality, politics, and economics, who do you find it hardest to include in that “’our"?
• In what practical ways do our daily actions and words honor or make holy God’s name in the world?

Grant Us Wisdom to Perceive You, Hymn 510
New Century Hymnal

Each Sunday during this series, we will use a different translation of The Lord’s Prayer to guide our Prayers of the People. The following is a version written by this congregation and said on Sunday mornings for over a decade.

One: Our Creator, who is in heaven, holy is your name.

All: God of many names, remind us that you do not belong to any one of us. You fill all creation with your presence, inhabit the space between us, and are closer to us than we are to ourselves. We come before you with humility, wonder, and trust. 

One: Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

All: We acknowledge that much is broken, and yet we believe in acting for renewal, justice, and peace in the world. Grant us hope that will strengthen our resolve to join in the work you are doing.

One: Give us this day our daily bread.
 
All: You know that we hunger for more than bread alone. Sustain us each day with food for our bodies, purpose in our work, delight in our play, rest for our souls, and communities of belonging. In a culture of scarcity, remind us that there is enough for us all.

One: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
 
All: Free us from the habit of judging, that we too may be freed from judgment. Pull up any root of bitterness within us and make us into a forgiven and forgiving community, where no debt is owed but the debt of love. Teach us to receive mercy and to extend it freely to one another.
 
One: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

All: Keep us from wandering toward what will harm us or what will tempt us to do harm. When we are wounded, help us transform our pain instead of transmitting it. Guide us in the way of love and give us courage to do the next right thing.

For you reign in the power that is love, now and always. Amen.

One: Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God's holy name,
bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.

All: Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God's holy name,
bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life.

[from the Taize community, J. Berthier]

Rev. Sheridan Irick

As you go out into the remainder of the day, may you carry the still, small voice of the Divine within you. May your hearts be filled with peace, your hands moved by compassion, and your steps guided by love. Go in peace. Amen.