PASTOR'S PAGE
NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Christians, I don’t believe, give much thought to prayer. It’s just something they do, usually to begin or end a meeting, at times of crisis and need, or during Prayer of the Church in the Liturgy limited to joining with the Pastor by an “Amen”. The point is that Christian prayer is often a haphazard, ex corde (out of the heart) affair.
Recently Pastor Taylor was invited to address Council and began by asking if we prayed as a congregation about Grace’s special concerns and desire to continue in her service of God’s kingdom. It is an easy thing to overlook but we are reminded that, by our Baptism, we are the en-Spirited people of God, a priesthood, so that all church enterprise must begin, continue, and end in prayer.
Jesus, as he was about to go to the cross, taught his disciples, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” I need not remind that this is not a promise to glorify us in this world but to glorify the Father in the advance of the Kingdom bestowed on his Son. And so too should be our prayer orientation, more outward looking than inward, that “seek[s] first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
To this end Council decided to extend the opportunity to gather beyond the Divine Service in exercise of our priestly prayer prerogative in matters of local concern. Thus it is appropriate for us to more closely consider the nature and practice of godly prayer.
Prayer is not exclusive to the Holy Ministry’s office of preaching, teaching, and administering the sacraments (i.e., gospel delivery). It is instead the principle vocation and privilege of every baptized child of God. Obviously for the sake of good order and not behaving as unruly Charismatics we defer to the Pastor’s leading of prayer during the Liturgy; but beyond that there is no reason that congregations may not be more active and participatory in the
congregation’s prayer life.
This said, leadership in prayer suggests a greater competency than most Lutherans have been used to employing outside their personal experience. Greater competency comes only with meditation, study, and in the doing; leaving the Holy Spirit to straighten out inadequacies and to advance us in communication with our heavenly Father. In the meantime, I offer a few observations for the leadership and participation in congregational prayer outside the Liturgy.
First, all prayer should be grounded in Scripture, practicing the principle that all communication with God essentially involves our speaking back to God that which his Word has declared. Thus congregational prayer requires thought, study, and preparation.
Second, all Christian prayer is Trinitarian and cruciform (shaped by the cross). Baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection, we pray to the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, through the flesh of Christ.
Third, as suggested above, leadership in prayer is not an occasion to be “pastor for a day” and therefore is not about conveying personal devotions, spiritual teachings, or homiletic insights to your brothers and sisters (this is a worthy aspiration requiring a man to leave his current calling and to seek ordination).
Fourth, God is a God of order and not confusion. This bespeaks leadership, and employing a familiar format, such as the Suffrages found in our hymnal at page 282 ff. Following the responsive litany (“Let us pray,”) is the occasion for the leader to collect the congregation’s concerns (from the previous gathering) and put them into petitions or suffrages.
Fifth, for what should we pray? As suggested above the church’s work is the seeking and advance of the kingdom of God in Christ, which immediately eliminates much by way of a “theology of glory”, such as “Church Growth” for the sake of personal or group esteem, or enhanced emotional experiences. The following suggestions are not exhaustive, but given our stated desire to be intentional about extending the gospel in our community, are appropriate: a) for members in their circumstances, b) for Pastor, c) for the mission of Christ at Grace and outreach opportunities, d) for God to use Grace as a vehicle to draw others to himself, e) for God to make us a people receptive of the blessings he bestows, and f) thankfulness for God's presence and working at Grace, in the past, now, and in the future. We should start slow and not pray for all things at one sitting. Prayer time should not be protracted (10 or 15 minutes at most); remember we just concluded the Divine Service so that the remainder of our time together should be social, enjoying one another’s company.
Finally, how often the congregation gathers for post-Service prayer remains to be determined but sufficient time should be allowed for the designated leader to select appropriate items of congregational concern and with study (and Pastor’s assistance as needed) prayerfully prepare.
+Pastor Mills
p.s. for those with internet access see my blog (web-log) at www.peteremills.blogspot.com/
Sunday Services:
-Adult Bible Study and Children's Sunday School, September - May
9:40a.m. - 10:20am
-Divine Service with Holy Communion: 10:30a.m.
Council Meeting: The Council meeting will be Monday, November 3rd at 7:30p.m.
Newsletter Deadline: The December Newsletter deadline is Sunday, November 16th.
Altar Circle: Altar Circle members will meet Thursday, November 6 at 1:00p.m. Dorothy Techau will host. Several members will be doing altar care this month.
The annual Christmas luncheon will be December 4th at 12:20p.m. at Papa Joes in the valley. A sign-up sheet will be in the narthex for reservations.
We will order from the menu.
Lutheran Women's Missionary League: Please try and attend the LWML Fall Zone Rally this Wednesday, October 29th at Grace Lutheran Church in Oberlin, Oh., 310 W. Lorain Street. It starts at 9:30a.m. with registration ($4.00) and fellowship.
Monthly Prayer Meeting: It seems like we are starting to get used to having special prayer meetings once a month.
Our next one has been scheduled for the 9th of November. Please let Pastor or any of the Elders know of any prayer
requests.
Preschool: Happy Autumn! Amy and I are having a lot of fun with the children this month.
We are working on letters, numbers, colors and shapes. The Pre-K children are working hard to memorize
The Lord’s Prayer. When they can recite it to the class, they get to put their angel on the door. We will be spending a lot of time this month talking about Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful. On November 26 we will have our annual Thanksgiving Feast complete with turkey and mashed potatoes.
Last month for our service project we collected laundry detergent for the Ronald McDonald House in Akron. We
collected 10 large bottles to be used by the families who stay there. In November we are collecting baby food and baby cereal for the Akron Pregnancy Center. If you would like to contribute please put donations
on the table by the kitchen or leave them in the church office and Glenda will get it to us. Please have all donations in
by November 23.
We did not hold our annual rummage sale in October; we are going to hold it in the spring. Items will be
collected through out the year.
Believe it or not it is time to mark your calendar for the annual preschool Christmas Program. The date this year will be December 11.
Again this year we are collecting Acme Receipts. Please bring in your Acme receipts and place them in the
can located on the table in the narthex.
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Today's News/Announcements
Worship Schedule
Sundays:
Sunday School and Adult Bible Study: September - May
9:40a.m.- 10:20a.m.
Divine Service with Holy Communion: 10:30a.m.
Thanksgiving Eve Service: Wednesday, November 26th at 7:00p.m., Vespers
Council Meeting: Monday, December 1st at 7:30p.m.
Midweek Advent: Wednesday, December 3rd. Dinner at 6:00p.m. Vespers Service at 7:00p.m.
Altar Circle Christmas Luncheon December 4th at 12:30p.m.
Children's Christmas Program: Thursday, December 11th at 7:00p.m.
Christmas Eve Service: Wednesday, December 24th at 10:30p.m. - Communion
Christmas Day Service: Thursday, December 25th at 10:30a.m. - Communion
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989 North Portage Path
Akron, OH 44313
TEL: 330.864.4244 FAX: 330.864.4448
www.grace-lcms.org
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