Sharing is Praying

Day 7: September 21, 2013

Isaiah 58:5-11

It’s hard to remember to pray. I try to give God thanks before every meal, when I wake up, and when I’m preparing for bed. But it’s just as easy to feel guilty and ashamed when we forget or are too exhausted from the day’s work.

Thankfully, our God has given us other ways to give thanks and praise to our Creator. The prophet Isaiah explains that we may also give praise to God by sharing what we have with others. Isaiah wants us to know that God sees our “light breaking forth” whenever and wherever we practice justice, love, and liberation. A mouthful of food might get between us and our daily prayers, but when the table is shared with others the meal itself becomes a prayer of thanksgiving to God.

Holy and Merciful God, we give you thanks.  Guide our hands and feet, O Lord, that we might seek out those in the world who are standing in need of our presence.  Help us become ambassadors of your love and justice.  Help us remember to pray, not only with our lips, Lord, but with our whole being. Amen.

Rev. Nathan Dannison

First Congregational Church, UCC

Kalamazoo, MI

www.kazoofcc.org

Hope Will Not Perish

Day 6: September 20, 2013

Psalm 9:12-18

Though harsh and difficult to swallow, the Psalmist tells us we cannot depend exclusively on self-reliance. Instead, we’re called to depend on the Lord who hears and supports us.  

So together, we give thanks for God’s willingness to side with those living against the odds in the midst of our non-peaceful world.  Whatever that “non-peace” is called, or from where it comes, we trust that evil, iniquity, violence, and sin will not thwart God’s work in the world.

Just as Zion was a dwelling place for the Divine, we trust that we too are a dwelling place for your Spirit, O God.  Protect us, and our children, as we depend on you.  For we know that our trust is in you and that, “the needy will not always be forgotten, nor will the hope of the poor perish.”  Amen.

Rev. Laura Phillips

Associate Minister

Overland Park Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Overland Park, KS

www.opccdoc.org

Hide and Seek

Day 5: September 19, 2013

Amos 5:14-15

As a child, I played Hide and Seek with my grandmother and sister. I preferred being the one hiding. Seeking required more effort.

Seeking good requires extra effort, too. Yet, Amos tells us we must do it so we may live. Seeking good not only allows us to live but others, too. Amos would say this is one game of Hide and Seek that is worth the extra effort.

Gracious God, For a world where all children can play Hide and Seek, we pray. For a world where children can seek good and not live in fear, we pray. Help us establish justice in your gate, so all may live. Amen. 

Rev. Susannah DeBenedetto

United Church of Christ Minister

serving St. Giles Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)

Raleigh, NC

www.saintgiles.org/

The 8-Year-Old Prophet

Day 4: September 18, 2013

Deuteronomy 24:14-20

The scripture seems clear: share what you have with others. While it’s simple to remember the material and financial, I believe today’s prophet would add the emotional.

I counsel camp to give back. This summer I got more than I gave. An 8-year-old girl came up to me and said, “you’re pretty” and left. It was a simple exchange. She gave of herself, leaving behind more power and love than she will ever know. 

She reminds us of the power we hold to not only share of the material but also of our core being, where God dwells within all.

You who dwell deep within all of Creation, remind us to give of our whole selves to a world in need. Amen.

Rev. Kate West

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Des Moines, IA

Measure Up, While Growing Up

Day 3: September 17, 2013

Isaiah  28:14-17

On the chimney in the attic of the parsonage are the names and heights of children who grew up here long ago. We have done the same on a doorway on the second floor.  Measuring one’s height and age in comparison to siblings is something many have done.

We like to know how we measure up. God invites us to use justice and righteousness as the measuring stick of our lives. Built upon the foundation of faith in God, we can trust that we will be bearers of peace as we grow in our faith.

Holy God, help us to see your standards, presented in your word.  Help us to trust that in living according to your word, we will make a difference in the world for all. Amen.

Jeffrey S. Dick

Pastor

First Congregational Church, UCC

South Haven, MI

www.uccsouthhaven.com

"Hubba What?" --Super Grover 2.0

Day 2: September 16, 2013

Isaiah 3:4-9

Super Grover 2.0, a superhero version of Sesame Street’s Grover, “uses his superpowers of investigating, observing, and reporting to solve problems and help others.”(1) Sent to investigate questions causing problems for other characters, Super Grover is not really the intellectual superhero his title claims. He solves problems by accident. He is an everyday character who is going through life, like all the other characters, asking questions like, “Hubba What?” 

Isaiah causes a “Hubba What?” response when he says those in charge should not be in charge, those who are going to be in charge are not ready, and that some are refusing to be in charge.  Nobody trusts or respects anyone else, no one wants to take blame, and everyone is caught up in an evil mess. Sound familiar?

Like those in Judah, we at times create a mess. We try to help our world, but often make a bigger mess for those in the future.  We are afraid that those who look at the world we are creating for the future are going to look at us and say, “Hubba What?” 

But this is the beginning of Isaiah. It is not the end. Once we include God in what we do and in what we teach our children, we have hope. With God, we can be like Super Grover 2.0 who accidentally solves problems. 

O God, with your power may we be accidental superheroes for children, just like Grover. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Olivia Bryan Updegrove

Minister of Family and Children’s Ministries

Disciples Home Missions

Indianapolis, IN

(1) (http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Super_Grover_2.0)

Beating Swords into Plowshares: Creating a Peaceful World with Children

Day 1: September 15, 2013

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

“…walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, … for your own well-being.”

When we think of creating a peaceful world with children, we need to let the children take the lead. Children can show us how to create and enter into this peaceful world. 

For many reasons, children, more than adults, are able to listen to the wise words, “for your own well-being.”  Children inherently understand that loving, serving, and following God is a way of deep peace. They inherently understand it is for their own and others’ well being.  We as adults so often forget that God’s teachings are good for us, are what is best for us, and are what will indeed bring peace.  

I pray, let the children show us. Amen. 

Rev. Olivia Stewart Robertson

Minister of Family and Children’s Ministries

Disciples Home Missions

Indianapolis, IN

Leading Astray

Matthew 18:6-7

Children depend on adults to teach them right from wrong and good from bad. In today’s world there are many adults who are not up to the challenge. If we do not show children the right path how can we expect them to walk it?

Today’s children are surrounded by poverty, violence, war, and social degradation. If there is no one in their life who will teach them how to rise above this, they will inevitably repeat the cycle. The children are our future. How do you want to spend it? 

Prayer

Lord of guidance and truth; Help us to have the wisdom to lead the children. That we may show them the right path and help them to overcome all the stumbling blocks in their lives. Amen

Angela Kern

Portland, Tennessee

Shine the Light

Isaiah 58:5-11

The Children’s Defense Fund 2011 report of the State of America’s Children announces that in the last decade the number of children participating in the National School Lunch Program has increased 15% over the last decade. Finger pointing is useless and the motions of prayer are not enough, says Isaiah. The light of a nation rises when the children are fed.  

Prayer

Lord, we are looking for your guidance. May we find courage and compassion in these forty days to stand up for children who depend on school lunch for nutrition. Show us ways as Church to provide for them when our nation dims its light. Amen.

Rev. Laurel Ragland

First Christian Church

Claremore, Oklahoma

http://www.claremoredisciples.com

God Remembers Those That Suffer

Psalm 9:12-18

God created all of us equal and promised to take care of us. Some children of God are not treated equally by all of us. These children are looked down upon. They are left out because they are different or face challenges. We must strive to make our leaders and planners remember children who are left out. God has promised that, "the needy will not always be neglected and the hope of the poor will not be crushed forever." 

Prayer

Father, may we often be reminded that we are all made in Your image. May we hold those who cause suffering accountable while remembering that you are the arbiter of justice. May we help You eliminate the suffering of those who are different. Amen. 

Jim Price

Member

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

New Martinsville, West Virginia

http://www.nmfcc.com

Seek Good

Amos 5:14-15

Amos warns the wealthy that what they have gained by “trampling on the poor” will be lost.  He tries to redirect the people to “seek good, not evil,” “hate evil, love good.”

When society places its priorities on the accumulation of wealth by whatever means, evil has already taken a front seat. 

Employers closing facilities for cheaper, often exploited labor, leave communities bereft of jobs and public school funding. Seeking good?   Allowing children to attend school in crumbling buildings with out-of-date texts, no basic supplies and over-wrought teachers speaks more to trampling on the poor than loving good.

Who will be the Amos of today to cry out for the children?

Prayer

Lord help us to find our courage to speak for justice “at the gate,” - in the places where the most vulnerable gather. May we seek good and live. Amen.

Rev. Maggie Sebastian

VA Medical Center

Portland, Oregon

Feed My Sheep

Deuteronomy 24:14-20

Just harvesting.  Just living.  Those who are the most vulnerable, the most needy, the text tells us, are to be taken care of first no matter what the normal business policies may be.

Preferential treatment of the poor is the idea that God, as revealed through scripture and experience, expects that the poor, the least of these, are to be given more consideration by the rest of society because of their fragile state.  Nearly 15 million or 21% of children in the U.S. live below the federal poverty level.

Too often in our “pull yourself by your bootstraps” society, we want to condemn those who are impoverished as lazy, stupid, or at least lousy decision-makers. God makes no such judgment. God does not give qualifiers to poverty. God just says, "feed my sheep."


Prayer

Lord, Lord, we want to deem who is worthy of our great beneficence.  Perhaps we should pray, Dear One, that we are worthy to be Christ-like benefactors. Amen.

Rev. Maggie Sebastian

VA Medical Center

Portland, Oregon

Our Job

Isaiah 28:14-17

Quality education is the cornerstone of a nation. That this cornerstone fit perfectly into the foundation on which this country is built is not only a desire but a necessity.  As the surveyors, carpenters, and masons named on the God-entrusted contract we hold in our hands, it becomes our job to make available the best tools possible to each and every child. They look to us with hope and trust. They are our building apprentices. Their final achievement level is our challenging task.  May we approach it with love and justice for all.

Prayer

God of Learning, may I recognize and accept with gratitude the job you have given me to do in being a part of educational reform in my nation.  Amen.  

Judy Bennett

Island Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Wheeling, West Virginia

http://www.island-christian-church.org

Educating Leaders

Isaiah 3:4-9

It is a gloomy picture of Judah.  No one will even want to be their ruler.  Justice is no where to be found. 

The problem is this: uneducated people--children according to the text--are given responsibilities beyond their capabilities.  They have not been taught the ways of just governance.  

So how are we doing in educating our young people to be leaders in the church and community?  If we fail to teach our children justice, fairness, and compassion, we will be like Judah. “The people will be oppressed,” and we, their educators, will be found guilty.

Prayer

Holy One, give us hearts of justice and compassion that we pass on to our children.  May they learn by our example.  Amen.

Rev. Maggie Sebastian

VA Medical Center

Portland, Oregon

God is Not Partial

Deuteronomy 10: 12-22

God is not partial. God executes justice for those in the greatest need. God took care of our ancestors when they were strangers in a strange land. Let us recognize what a loving God does and do likewise. 

In this time of diminishing resources let us remember the generosity of God and extend that generosity to others, without partiality. We, faithful followers of Jesus, must continue to work just as hard for educational opportunities for the children of strangers as we do for our own children.

Prayer

God of justice and impartiality, as we begin this season of prayer for children, open our hearts and give us courage to speak and act on behalf of those who are most vulnerable, the children, in our local communities and in the wider world. Amen.

Kaye Edwards

Church of the Covenant, UCC/Disciples

Lynchburg, Virginia

http://www.chcov.org