Father in Heaven,
May we move slowly in this Advent season
And in a countercultural cadence
Trust that the One we wait for
Is the One we wait with.

Father in Heaven,
Holy is Your hospitality.
May Your Kingdom come today,
To our table and our home,
Our neighborhood and our city
As it is in Heaven.

Give us this day the gift of enough:
Enough courage to invite,
Enough vulnerability to inquire,
Enough food to share,
Enough gratitude to see Your goodness,
Enough honesty to share our unmet hopes.

Father in Heaven,

As the holidays approach
Both wonder-filled anticipation 
And worry-full apprehension 
Are held in my heart, my mind, and my body.

Grant me the strength of heart to notice and name 
The unholy holiday temptations
That pull my heart from being present
To You, myself, and my neighbor.

Father in Heaven,
We come before You today with gratitude
For the life of Your servant, Julia Greeley.

We thank You for the protection of her body—
Even through the pain
Of enslavement, scarring, sickness, and struggle,
She endured and carried out the call You assigned her.

Father in Heaven,
Thank you for our city.
We love our city.
You love our city.

You are the one who raises up leaders.
All authority comes from You. (Romans 13:1)
Today, we pray for our mayor.

Glory be to God for Dirt—

For backyard soil
as dark and dense
as the midnight sky.
And for all the creatures
who make this ground
their earthy home—
the wiggly ones
and leggy ones
and the tiny ones
our eyes can’t see.

Lord of the garden and the city,
You placed humanity over the work of Your hands
To tend the earth and cultivate life,
To bring order, fruitfulness, and care.

The call to cultivate now echoes in our neighborhoods,
In offices, shops, kitchens, fields, and factories.

Father, Son, and Spirit,
You are a God of mercy and justice, 
Full of grace and truth.

We pray today for our first responders,  
Women and men who answer the call for help.
When sirens ring, they are the ones who come, 
Stepping into uncertainty, chaos, and danger.
Their daily work is too often the most tragic day of someone else’s life.

Great Teacher, 
We pray for students of every age and every stage
As they enter a new season of learning.

May they find safe space 
To pay attention and process the many emotions that arise. 
Would they come to trust no amount of knowledge will matter 
If they have not learned how to study the depths of their own emotional world.

Beyond the shame and pain for the world, 
In You there is hope and joy. 
We celebrate today the many gifts You have given to us: 
Our life, Your breath, the hope of the world.

We celebrate all You have done today 
And hold on to hope for all You will do tomorrow.

Father in Heaven,
Thank You for places near and far
For us to explore and experience;
For creating a world overflowing with
History and humanity, cuisine and color
Unique to the landscapes and locations
We visit on vacation.

Thank You for the rhythm
Of rest, recreation, and re-entry.

God who walks beside us
Guide me as I lead myself, my work, and my neighbors.

Teach me wisdom—
Wisdom rooted in reverence,
Wisdom beyond my experience,
Wisdom to discern what matters most.

Spirit of God,
Tune our hearts to hear You.

Help us hear with intention and attention,
Listening longer to those who labor beside us.

Help us hear the weight in the weary words
Of the waiter, grocer, or warehouse worker.

Father in Heaven,
Thank You for fathers
Who are Your beloved sons.

May they be loving and wise
As they seek to provide and protect
The children You have entrusted to them
Each with distinct purpose and unique passions.

We pray to you Our Lord, Jesus Christ,
but we do not pray in abstraction.
For you are the God who demands specificity.
You are Jesus of Nazareth.
the Word made flesh,
born of Mary,
the eternal Son of God,
raised in the home of Joseph the carpenter.

God,
Thank You for creating mothers
In Your bold and tender image.

Thank You for how mothers have reflected You—
Compassionate as a cleft in the rock,
Protective as an eagle brooding over her young,
Loving as the breath that gives us life. 

“The earth is Yours, and everything in it.”
Psalm 24:1

Father in Heaven,
Creator of all that is.
May we reflect
Your love for Creation,
And care for the home we share
With all You have made.

“In Your tender compassion, the morning sun has risen upon us…”— Benedictus

Our Father in Heaven,

May sunrise light
The brilliant beams of Creation’s color:
Pale peach, dusty orange, candy pink, and ruby red
Announce with holy hues
The arrival of this new day.

I am carried gracefully
By these two wheels beneath me,
Through the day.

In the morning
I’m surrounded by people
Rushing in cars to their places.
I pray mercy will mark their day.

Creator God,

May those whose work is making theatre
Be seen as valuable and meaningful.
May we hold the art and skill of telling stories
An essential aspect of our society. 

May the stories that unfold on stage
Cultivate empathy for others:
For suffering and solidarity in community,
For the brokenness and brilliance of humanity.