Past and future come together in gratitude. That is the assumption of this week’s Collective Prayer. In gratitude for what has been true, we are open to what is becoming true. So, let us join together in gratitude through these words adapted from Earnest Campbell.
Eternal God, our Father, beneath whose rule we live and in whose grace we stand, with all that is within us we bless your holy name. We thank you for the constants in our life:
that the ground is firm beneath our tread;
that day follows night;
that the seasons march in predictable succession;
that the gates of mercy are ever open to us in our need.
We thank you for all that is new and changing in our life:
for startling breakthroughs in the realm of medicine and science;
for the audibility of people too long silent, and the visibility of wrongs too long concealed;
the development and creativity in our ability to connect, in particular the ability to worship together even when not together;
for new people next door or up the street, and the prospect of contributing to each other’s maturation.
O heavenly Father, whose ways are from of old and yet whose works are ever new, make us grateful for the past and open toward the future.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.