 Annual
Conference 2005 Prayers
At Annual Conference Session we spent a lot of time in prayer.
Every gathering began and ended with prayer, there were prayers over
the appointment of pastors, there was a prayer for the Bishop, and
there were prayers along the way for special needs. A serious part
of our gathering was prayer.
All of the prayers were beautiful and meaningful and I wish I had
them all recorded. I did, however, receive requests that two of the
prayers given be printed so they could be read and meditated on again.
The first of these is by John Tomlinson, a layman from Westminster,
CO. It was given first thing on Saturday morning.
Lord, over the past days you have shown us compassion, you
have given us hope, you have challenged us, you have surprised
us, and
you have nudged us forward, even when maybe we didn’t think
we were ready to be nudged forward. You have brought us challenging
preachers and inspiring Bishops. And you have once again shown us
the Christian leadership of our Bishop, Warner Brown.
Lord, stay with us today as we complete the important work of your
church, and as we recognize the leadership of our Conference. Be
with us as we celebrate the ordination and the commission of our
new elders and deacons and local pastors. We pray your special blessing
on these who have chosen to do your work through the United Methodist
Church. We ask you to comfort them, to guide them, and to provide
them with the leadership skills we need in our clergy.
Lord, we celebrate the diversity of your vast, rolling plains,
majestic mountains and teaming urban areas we know as Colorado, Wyoming,
and Utah. Just as we celebrate and gain nourishment from that geographic
diversity, give us strength to gain nourishment from our theological
diversity. Show us the way to celebrate that which makes us strong,
while we discard that which works to weaken our unity.
And finally, Lord, may we carry home with us the inspiration you
have instilled in us during this time together. In Your name we pray.
I was asked to repeat the prayer I gave at the beginning of the
Clergy Session. I humbly share it with you as well.
Divine Spirit, who created all life and love and truth, You
have created us, redeemed us, and sustained us through our years.
By your
grace we have been called, and by the affirmation of this body, confirmed
into the ministry of Your great Church. And we gather this day to
reaffirm your claims upon our lives, to remember those who have “climbed
on ahead,” and to welcome new members into our ranks.
We thank You for the amazing gifts You give to us through ministry;
for the opportunities and challenges of every day that stretch us
and mold us into that which we will yet become. And we give thanks
for those who are about to join us in our adventure of faith.
We ask forgiveness for the multitude of times we have missed the
mark of Your high calling:
- Too often we have acted like Lone Rangers, concerned only with
doing our own thing. We have forgotten that we are to be a covenant
community
within the church to mutually support, care for, and hold each other
accountable for the sake of the life and mission of the church.
- Too often we have been quick to think the worst of our colleagues
and rushed to gossip, failing to offer the care, support, and love
we would hope for ourselves.
- Too often we have not set our minds on what is honorable, just,
pure, lovely, gracious, excellent.
- Too often we have shirked from being the prophets our calling
entrails; failing to name war, poverty, discrimination,
illiteracy, AIDs,
a desire to turn political ideologies into religious truths,
as evils
of this world – which is what they are.
- Too often we have become lazy in our prayer life and our
studies, sloppy in our pastoral care, and inattentive to
the needs of
our own families.
We confess the sins of our lives before You, God, knowing
that forgiveness is a part of Your nature when we are
truly repentant.
So help us to latch on
to the image of what we can be and do in Your name when we truly
follow the Christ, who is the “pioneer and perfecter” of our faith, and who
calls us ‘to run with perseverance the race that is before us.’
We give thanks for our colleagues who are sisters and brothers
in faith, constantly holding us and those we love in prayer,
challenging our
pretensions, and helping
us laugh at ourselves and at life. The gift of their presence
is more than we can name.
We pray this day for those who are placed in positions of leadership
among us. We ask your blessings on our Superintendents: Brenda, Chuck,
Glenda, John, Nobuko, Steve, and now, Eric. We pray for our Bishop,
Warner. And we pray for our beloved United Methodist Church, that
it might continue to be a beacon calling the nation and the world
to Scriptural holiness.
As you are the center of our lives, so direct and guide this deliberation
that what we do may truly be Your work in the world. Through Christ
we pray.
Ron Hodges
Director of Mission and Ministry
Rocky Mountain Conference
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