O living and loving God, who was so creative, loving, and protective that Jesus called you Father, we offer our prayer today for the fathers of the world. Help them not to be so busy that they miss their children’s childhoods. Teach them to love, and to care about feelings and little things, that the whole world may be richer. Let them be gentle and loving to their children’s mothers, in order that families may be strong and joyous. Show them how to relax and to play, and not to be so worried and caught up in things that don’t matter. Grant that they may be faithful in their relationships to you, that they may be models of honesty, integrity, spirituality, and wholesomeness to their children. And give us all a tender respect for fatherhood so that we may live in natural order with your creation.

Remind us today of the fathers of our faith, who braved the seas, crossed mountains, fought with wild beasts, and died in prisons in order to keep alive the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Deepen our commitments to what they believed in, and increase our strength for meeting the demands of the gospel in a complex world.

Comfort the sad and lonely, give support to the discouraged, heal the sick, save the young, and reveal yourself to us in the word that is spoken today by your servant.

O God, we are grateful for the many ministries of our congregation and for the all who have answered your call.  Fill us with your grace, lead us by your love and let our faith grow so that all who come in contact with us will experience your love and grace. We pray for the people who send our way for care, hope, and healing.  May their lives and ours be transformed by your love as encounter your love in and through each other. Fill us so full of your love and presence that all whom we serve will experience you in and through us.  In all we say and do, help us experience your love in such a way that we will become all you have created us to be.

We pray in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord who taught us to pray saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”