Come, Holy Spirit come and set our hearts afire with your love and compassion and power. We are grateful, O God, creator of the universe and lover of all people, for your invitation to worship, for this opportunity to adore you, to hear your word, and to receive it with into our hearts.

On this day, we want to come before you in a way pleasing to you and good for us, so we sincerely and humbly ask that you be with us, that you cleanse our speaking and our listening, that you open and enlighten our hearts and minds, and that    you awaken and strengthen our willingness to acknowledge you as the master of our lives and to live for you in all situations and circumstances. O God, breathe into us the fresh breath of your Spirit. Let us be so filled with your presence that we live today and everyday with greater grace, deeper love, and renewed joy.

Come, Holy Spirit come and set our hearts afire with your love and compassion and power. On this day, when we celebrate the birth of your church, we pray that you will give each of us and the people of this world your peace…your shalom. We hold before you all the people of our neighborhoods, our partners in ministry, and those who have and those who have not the goods that bring us such comfort and joy. We hold before you all the people of our city. We pray for healthy relationships among our city officials so that the decisions that are made work for the good of all of us; the rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless, the decision makers and the marginalized. We pray for those who have been victims of crimes and for those who are perpetrators of those crimes. We pray that you will help us be engaged with one another and with our community so that we can make a difference at all times and all places.

Come, Holy Spirit come and set our hearts afire with your love and compassion and power. Give us courage to hold the value of your Kingdom in the midst of the choices we make for ourselves and for your church. Thank you for the privilege of coming to you this morning. Do not abandon us. Let light shine where there is darkness, let there be peace where there is now strife, let there be courage and confidence where now there is sorrow and anxiety. Hear our pray, not because we deserve your mercy, but for Jesus’ sake through whom you have claimed us to be your children, and have redeemed us for your work in this world. Strengthen us through our service to you in our church and in our community. Bring us all at last into the awareness of your presence, where we shall praise you, and honor you, in all we say and do.

Come, Holy Spirit come and set our hearts afire with your love and compassion, and power. We pray in the name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus the Christ, who taught all his followers to pray saying…”Our Father, who art in heaven…”