This week is the annual July neighborhood food drive. In the past it would result in over 2400 pounds of food. That has changed in the past few years. We now wonder what the intake will be this time. What once was used in a week will now be used in a day. It is a sign of our economy. Let us pray for all those who are seeking nourishment in food or otherwise.
Each month I strive to bring communion to our shut-ins. Increasingly, the afternoons are for sleeping but often the day consists of sleeping. The communion part becomes less a part of the visit. Prayers and just hand holding become the norm. Sometimes the person just stares blankly at me. I sense that their mind is at work but with Alzheimer’s and other conditions who knows what is going on inside the person. Let us pray for God’s care for these wonderful people and all God’s children.
This week’s Gospel is about the wheat and the tares (weeds). There is much that seems to be normal or OK until the defining moment. When we find out the true nature of the plant (person), we know what we are dealing with. It has become increasingly hard in today’s world to tell the good from the bad. Therefore let us pray that “good” will grow in our world and not be choked out by the temptations that exist along side us.
This past Friday, I attended the funeral of a former parishioner. Phyllis celebrated life. She loved the Lord and loved to share with others. At the funeral, everyone was invited to come back that night. As part of the celebration of her life and the life to come, she arranged for a fireworks display. I expected a small display but just like her life it was a wonderful show. Let’s pray for all to be able to celebrate life!
I think that it is pretty easy to figure out why a man can’t pay his family’s rent. The only job he could get pays him $7.00 an hour. He feels lucky just to have that job. There is no slack in his budget and the smallest of things going wrong can wreak havoc. Let’s pray for all who are seeking better circumstances in their life.
How often has something bad happened and you hear yourself saying, “I didn’t/don’t deserve this!” We sense that there are times that are simply unfair. We become sullen. Yet, by God’s grace we also get what we don’t deserve. Maybe life’s not fair. But is grace? Let us pray for grace to carry people through the unfair circumstances of life.
In a world where we accent individualism, it’s hard for people to ask for help. Yet, wouldn’t it be better to ask for help than struggle? Surprisingly, many people are able to figure things out for themselves and come out of struggles better off than if they asked for help. Let’s pray for all those who need help but just can’t bring themselves to ask for it.
In response to Rob Bell’s new book, a friend asked whether or not I thought there would be a church if not for the heaven/hell aspect. I referred him to the Apostle Paul who wrote that if this is our main concern we are to be pitied. God is really a God of the living. It is encountering this God in life that negates the whole issue of heaven and hell.
Let us pray for all to find God in this day.
It may be summer but some children are working hard at summer school. If a child is not reading at the appropriate grade level by the third grade, they will have problems for the rest of their academic life. This only emphasizes the importance of early childhood education and special education. Unfortunately, these aspects seem to be too costly for most legislators. Unlike the rising costs of incarceration for those who don’t do well in school and end up being a liability instead of an asset. Let us pray for our children and our legislators.
Over the past 20 years, members of Bethany Lutheran Church in Elkader, Iowa, have suffered through several major floods.
“We are no strangers to what people in crises go through,” says Jim Klosterboer, pastor of the congregation.
So when members heard about the devastating destruction, many promptly opened their hearts-and their wallets.
“We’re a small congregation-like many in the ELCA-but we have a long history of responding quickly and generously to disasters,” Pastor Klosterboer says.
Daniel Rift, director for ELCA Disaster Appeal, says that Bethany is not alone.
Let us pray for all who are threatened by flood waters.
