Prayer for the last few days of GC 2015

O Gracious Creator of things we cannot see, have not yet imagined,

so small we forget to consider them,

so large we may not think to look behind or beyond them,

and of us humans, amazingly beloved by you,

but who sometimes think we are at the center of the universe:

may we ask You, honestly,

do You still “need” the Episcopal Church to do your work,

or do You simply “need” people who walk in Jesus’ Way?

Will You show us what about us Episcopalians delights you, gives flesh to Your will?

And will You show us “the back of our heads:” our blind spots, what we haven’t noticed You calling us to live into, what we need to let go of in our journey?

God of our future, God of our history:

some of us remember our Anglican identity as including the gift of “both … and …,” a way of thought sometimes confusing to others, but reminding us that no single point-of-viewing could adequately comprehend your mystery, your holiness, your being;

and we remember being able to laugh at ourselves and enjoy our differences, at “low and lazy, high and crazy, broad and hazy,” laughing at our own “niches” and managing to seek You together;

help us to discern if there is still value in being a “bridge” church which holds together apparently conflicting views, in being a church of “Scripture, tradition, and reason,” and in what new ways you call us to be your people.

God of immeasurable power, who seeks out the lost, the wounded, the forgotten:

be with any of us who feel squeezed out by others in this family because we are different in some way;

be with any of us who are anxious about the odd, rambunctious mix we are;

and help us to discern your presence in each other and in the world in which you call us to bear your love.

God of chronos and kairos: in these last days of this Convention, 
help us to keep going from meeting to meeting, location to location, decision to decision;

to be patient, stay cool enough and warm enough;

and grant us enough focus, enough discernment, and enough of your wisdom to grasp your will as we shape this limb of your church.