Summer is a time of scattering — for travel, outdoor hobbies, or new rhythms. For all the beauty this season has to offer, it can also mean we miss our regular connection to community. For that reason, and because there is so much that is very hard in our world right now, I’d like to try something that Jean Giebenhein offered in recent months — that we might, at a set time each week, Pause to Pray.
So, for the month of June, on Wednesdays at noon (or as close to that time as you can manage), you’re invited to pause and pray, knowing that your St. Timothy community is praying with you. I will offer something in our Wednesday emails that you are welcome to use or refer to. For me, a prayer can be as simple as taking a breath with the intention to remember God. It may be a longer time in silence for you, a chance to let go of something burdening you, or take any other form. Whatever this Pause looks like for you, remember that Jesus first prayed for us that we might be one in the Spirit. It is the same Spirit who draws us together now, across time and space.
Jesus, you have called us to be one in the Spirit.
Yet we are a people hurting and divided.
We lament senseless and racist violence.
We grieve the beloved lives lost, elders and children.
We despair at the seemingly intractable systems that profit from fear and hate.
To families, grant comfort.
To teachers and community leaders, grant strength.
To policymakers, grant courage.
Blow your Pentecost winds into our hearts,
And create pathways of hope within us,
That we might be sparks for your justice and peace.
In faith, hope and love we pray together,
Amen.
