Prayers for Our Community, Our Nation and Our World

We can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Between Monday, October 3 and Sunday, October 9, we'll lay before God the needs listed below.

• Monday, October 3, 2022 - That we condemn racism in all of its forms.
• Tuesday, October 4, 2022 - That companies and unions in America would flourish with new creativity and practice honorable work ethics.
• Wednesday, October 5, 2022 - That workers be provided a safe workplace and paid a living wage.
• Thursday, October 6, 2022 - That textbooks would honor and reflect the godly heritage of our country and the contributions made by all the different groups within our country.
• Friday, October 7, 2022 - That we remember those who died in service to their country.
• Saturday, October 8, 2022 - That we have the courage to deal with the violence within our society.
• Sunday, October 9, 2022 - That artists and entertainers avoid debauchery, pornography, perversion, and drunkenness in their craft.

The PC(USA) Store - New Worship Companion from the Connections Series!

Two new resources in the Connections family are now available. The worship companion offers complete liturgies for all worshiping occasions between Advent and Pentecost of Year A, from the call to worship to the closing charge, with prayers and litanies for every need in between. The daily devotional is crafted with mainline, lectionary preachers and lay leaders in mind, both to supplement their planning for the week and to feed their souls in the midst of the work of ministry.   If you’re looking for other lectionary resources or for non-lectionary resources for preaching, check out our interactive digital Preaching Resource Guide where you can compare products and read excerpts. A Worship Companion to Connect to Your Congregation Connections Worship Companion: Year A, Volume 1 Advent through Pentecost Edited by David Gambrell Part of the Connections commentary series, these worship resources help congregations illuminate the connections between Scripture and liturgical rhythms. A “Making Connections” essay precedes each liturgical season’s resources, providing context for worship within the themes and purpose of the season.   Read an Excerpt Buy Now and Save 35%! A Devotional for Lectionary Leaders Everyday Connections Reflections and Practices for Year A Edited by Heidi Haverkamp  This year-long devotional provides a full fifty-two weeks of devotional prompts based on the Revised Common Lectionary for Year A. Drawing from the insightful Bible commentaries in the Connections series, each week also includes scriptural and literary readings, lectio divina, spiritual practices, questions for journaling, and prayers. Read an Excerpt Buy Now and Save 35%! The Original Preaching Series You save 35% at PC(USA) Store! Get a full year of preaching inspiration for only $94.25! For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. Additionally, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day. Read an Excerpt (First Two Weeks of Advent) Browse All Year A Volumes

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Presbyterian Peace Fellowship - Take the pledge to preach nonviolence

Preach for Peace Last month at Ginter Park Presbyterian in Richmond, Va., I talked a bit about Fossil Free PCUSA and opportunities for congregations to work to mitigate climate change. After worship a little boy, probaby 7 or 8 years old, came up to talk with me specifically about climate change. When you preach for peace, children hear it. They understand the world that grownups are giving them is crying out desperately for peace. This year we are reaching out to preachers in our network (ordained and not) who will pledge to preach nonviolence. We want to connect with more congregations in our commitment to nonviolence and anti-racism and we want to raise some money while we do it! That's where you come in. Will you commit to preaching peace at least one time before the end of 2022 in a congregation on behalf of PPF and donate your honorarium to the organization? We can support matching you with a church or you can set up a preaching gig on your own. Once you take the pledge we'll share a toolkit with you that will offer support to preach nonviolence and anti-racism and will also have some liturgy and resources for you to utilize as you plan worship. Our goal is to raise $2500 with this campaign by the end of 2022. We already have 11 people who have taken the pledge - help us reach 20! TAKE THE PLEDGE You may also know of a congregation that would be interested in connecting with PPF to bring a Preach for Peace speaker. Be sure to check in with them first, and then share this congregational interest form with them (or fill it out on their behalf) and we'll do our best to match them with a guest preacher. Peace, David Ensign, PPF Interim Executive Director Presbyterian Peace Fellowship 845-786-6743 | presbypeacefellowship.org Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

The Wedding Service for James Henry Shaffer IV and Jessica Alyssa Roberts on Sunday, September 25, 2022

On Saturday, August 20, I officiated the wedding of James Shaffer and Jessica Roberts in Worthington, Pennsylvania. If you're planning your wedding and need an officiant, please give me a call at 304-479-3402.

Worship resources for October 2, 2022

October 2, 2022 Seventeenth Sunday of Pentecost 2 Timothy 1:1-14 COMMENTARY Each year on World Communion Sunday, Flint River Presbytery gathers at four different church sites throughout our bounds to pack tens of thousands of meals. We partner with Rise Against Hunger, purchasing the food and providing the labor to pack bags of simple yet nutritious meals. Forsyth Presbyterian Church, where I serve as pastor, has hosted this event several times over the last nine years. In our fellowship hall, the generations joyfully gather to measure, pour, weigh and seal each bag, knowing that each bag will feed six people who would have otherwise gone hungry. Our teenagers and adults laugh and dance together to upbeat pop music from all the decades as they get into the rhythm of pouring into each bag the rice, soy protein and dried veggies. Our little ones run back and forth from station to station, changing empty baskets for full ones. Our elders sit while they carefully weigh and seal each bag. As I watch the young father with his baby resting in a sling on his chest, the grandmother guiding her grandchildren’s small hands with her now unsteady ones, the couple whose child has now moved to college, and the overworked mother of teenage boys, all smiling, all joyful, all acting out their faith together, I easily imagine Lois, Eunice, Timothy and Paul laboring with us. Those folks lived their faith through suffering and social shame, through tears and joy. They acted as heralds, apostles and teachers of the gospel, each passing on within the family of faith the power, love and self-discipline granted them by the Holy Spirit. You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. Thank you to guest writer Rev. Marilyn McKelvey Tucker-Marek. An order of worship for Oct. 2, 2022. This liturgy is free to use. A hymn-prayer for after hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette Judge not — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale A prayer for World Communion Sunday by Molly Spangler IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Sabbath and Sunday Lesson 3 of the 2022-2033 Presbyterian Women/Horizons Bible Study. — Rosalind Banbury The exceptional choices A Uniform Standard Lesson for Oct. 2, 2022, by Richard Boyce. Reimagining change in the PC(USA) and the world: We get to do this On the final day of its Sept. 21-23 hybrid meeting, the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) spent some time talking about unifying the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) and the Office of the General Assembly (OGA). — Leslie Scanlon A prayer for beauty, truth and goodness Karie Charlton shares the short prayer that buoyed her spirits as a music teacher at a Catholic school and continues to shape her today. Economics is about more than money, math and markets: A Christian argument for climate justice Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty makes a Christian argument for climate justice. Five tips for creating inclusive spaces Coordinator for Gender & Racial Justice for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) national office Shanea Leonard offers some suggestions to make your congregation a welcoming place for people of all genders. Mark Diehl retires after 40 years of ordained ministry Pittsburgh Theological Seminary prepares for fall conference: Missional Leadership in a Time of Disruption The Rev. Jaime O. Quiñones, former GA vice moderator, dies at age 94

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Today in the Mission Yearbook - No senior discount here

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - No senior discount...: Older adults are honored as ‘the saints among us’ during a hybrid worship service September 26, 2022 “La finca,” part of the Comunidad Presb...

Prayers for Our Community, Our Nation and Our World

We can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Between Monday, September 26 and Sunday, October 2, we'll lay before God the needs listed below.

• Monday, September 26, 2022 - That the world unites in care for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
• Tuesday, September 27, 2022 - That American youth would value honesty and respect in all their relationships.
• Wednesday, September 28, 2022 - That leaders put aside their pride and ambition for the good of their country.
• Thursday, September 29, 2022 - That Americans look past their differences and unite as a country.
• Friday, September 30, 2022 - That Americans have the courage to confront the violence within our society.
• Saturday, October 1, 2022 - That parents and communities would teach young people the importance of love and compassion.
• Sunday, October 2, 2022 - That those in national authority would be given godly counsel and God-fearing advisors.

Worship resources for September 25, 2022

September 25, 2022 Sixteenth Sunday of Pentecost Luke 16:19-31 COMMENTARY Moving from Luke 15 to Luke 16 is liable to give us theological whiplash. After grace-filled parables like the finding of the lost sheep and the return of the prodigal son, the reader slams headlong into the stony slab of Luke 16, which is full of admonitions about the love of money (it sounds dirtier in the original Greek: Phylargoria). The parable of the rich man and Lazarus needs its context to make sense. Jesus tells it to some Pharisees “who were lovers of money,” using Scripture to justify their greed (Luke 16:14). It is not a bad thing to have some money. Money in the gospel is actually pretty value-neutral. Jesus is more concerned with what we do with our money than whether or not we have it. Aside from the kingdom of God, Jesus talks more about money than just about anything else. The language of this parable is strong, which may make some of us uncomfortable. But this tale is sandwiched between stories of inclusion, mercy, kindness and forgiveness. In the stories of grace in chapter 15, no one – not even the rich – is left out. But grace, even God’s free grace, does not mean we can turn a blind eye to our faults. Let’s be honest: much of America enjoys comparative economic comfort, and our culture gives us plenty of ways to indulge ourselves. So whatever judgment this parable offers to the rich, to the lovers of money, it potentially offers us as well. You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. Thank you to guest writer Rev. Dr. Baron Mullis. An order of worship for Sept. 25, 2022. This liturgy is free to use. The character of Judah — a Uniform Standard Lesson for Sept. 25, 2022, by Richard Boyce. Welcoming the outsider in — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale The Church of Scotland pays tribute to Her Majesty the Queen IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... What is the World Council of Churches and why does it matter? Neal D. Presa, a teaching elder of the Presbytery of San Diego and a delegate of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, shares his thoughts. A new season for church ministry "What is the future of our congregation? Where is the Holy Spirit leading us?" — Glen Bell Jackson water crisis brings frustration Presbyterians, including Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, reach out to help. — PNS Seeing those who are rendered invisible "Faces change but exploitative systems remain the same." — Lukata Mjumbe Fewer than half of Americans may be Christian by 2070, according to new projections A new report projects Americans' future — a future where Christianity, though diminished, persists, while non-Christian faiths grow amid rising secularization. — RNS Opinion: The spiritual implications of imperial succession What is the hope in this moment of transition? Burnt Presbyterian Church celebrating 100 years in November 2022 Pittsburgh Theological Seminary prepares for fall conference: Missional Leadership in a Time of Disruption Hanover Presbyterian Church - 250 years of service in Wilmington, Delaware

Copyright © 2021 Presbyterian Outlook, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 1 N. 5th St., Suite 500 Richmond, VA 23219