Dear Church:
Last Sunday during worship, our joy turned to heartache as we found ourselves saying goodbye to Faye. During the space of that hour, I remembered the power of what it means to be the family of God. As tissue boxes came out and we held each other in prayer, as our hearts went out to the Lyon family, as we ourselves prayed for faith to trust in what we cannot see, we were held by Jesus Christ who knows sorrow and promises, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Tomorrow, you are invited to join us at 11 AM for a service of worship as we celebrate the resurrection and remember Faye Lyon's life of faith. Then on Sunday morning at 10:30 AM, we are invited to once again gather together and attest to God's faithfulness to us and around us. We will hear more about the nature of God and then receive from God's generous hand as we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
The Lord be with you. Actually, the Lord IS with you. Lift up your hearts and discover the joy of the Lord who continues to walk through this life with us, who gives us HIS peace now and forever.
Peace.
Pastor Katie
Upcoming Events
Sunday, 2/20:
10:30 a.m.: Worship Service & The Lord's Supper
Sunday, 2/27:
10:30 a.m.: Transfiguration of the Lord
Wednesday, 3/2:
Ash Wednesday
2022 Directory
Our directory is now finished! Download a copy now or visit the website to view it. The password is "presbyterian". If you would like a printed copy, they are available in the Narthex!
Bless My Enemies, O Lord (Bishop Nikolai’s Prayer)
Bishop Nikolai’s story is that he was arrested for speaking out against the Nazi’s in World War II and they kept him in the Dachau concentration camp, where he became very sick and frail and was near death when the U.S. forces finally overcame the Nazi’s and liberated Dachau in 1945. While he was being tortured he prayed, “Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.”
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Enemies have driven me into Your embrace more than friends have.
Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth
and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.
Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms
and an extraneous inhabitant of the world.
Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does,
so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary,
having hidden myself beneath Your tabernacle,
where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world…
They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself…
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them…
Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand…
Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life,
they have demolished it and driven me out.
Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world
and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Your garment.
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them…
So that my fleeing to You may have no return;
So that all my hope in people may be scattered like cobwebs;
So that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;
So that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger;
So that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;
Ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me
in the dreadful web of illusory life.
Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows,
that we have no enemies in the world except ourselves…
It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good
and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.
Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies.
Slaves curse their enemies, for they do not understand.
But sons and daughters bless them, for they understand.
For they know that their enemies cannot touch their life.
Therefore they freely step among their enemies, and pray to God for them.
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