Prayers of the People. . .

Loving God,

On this day, we gather with a spirit of newness. Whether we feel newness within ourselves or whether we find ourselves longing for it, You are in the midst of that Spirit, because You are turning us and calling us in a new direction.

As we contemplate the new year. . .

As we contemplate this new day. . .

As we contemplate new ways of being called to be Your people. . .

We pray for Your grace.

In a spirit of newness, we pray that all time may come alive. As we remember our baptism, send us in remembrance to our beginning, that we may know firmly who we are and Whose we are. And in the newness that is now, we pray that You would make that baptismal identity alive so that we might live as the people You have created and called us to be. As we remember what is ahead for us - in our lives and as your church here in this place - may Your being and Your identity and Your dreaming for this world precede us so that we may bring our fullest selves and follow You in such a new, holy direction. May it be.

May joy enter this place - this building, this space, this city, in these hearts of ours - so that it can meet us in all the places that need to be greeted with joy.

In joblessness, we pray that joy would meet us in opportunity.

In sickness, we pray that joy would meet us in a peace that passes all understanding and in the loving care of our community.

In grief, may joy come in the surprise that You walk with us - through all the losses that are real and painful to bear.

In depression, in anxiety, in irritability, may joy seep into the very cells of our bodies, that we might feel made alive once more.

In conflicts - inner conflicts, personal conflicts, and large conflicts that weigh down this globe of ours - may joy be found in ways that call all sides to love one another and to make swords into plowshares.

Be with us, Holy God, in this time and spirit of newness. With the joy that is ours - the joy we feel now and the joy we find ourselves yearning toward - we are bold to pray the prayer you taught us as Your children, saying. . .

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name,

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,

For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever.

Amen.