Prayer for Dedicating a Memorial Garden

Trinity Garden Dedication

Dedication of the Trinity Sarasota Garden of Hope

PRAYER OF DEDICATION
by Rev. Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, http://www.revlisad.com

In the beginning,
God chose to express God’s creativity and companionship
God’s nurture, harmony, and blessing by creating a garden

In the end,
When all of God’s desires are fully fulfilled
There will be a garden

It is in this promise and grace
That we dedicate the use of the NAME OF THE GARDEN
To the glory and use of the One, True, Living God

May it be a quiet place for those who need rest
May it be a joyful place, delighting the senses
May it be a peaceful place, for those who remain here until the last trumpet
and those who come to remember them

May these flowers remind us to keep blooming
May these benches remind us to stop and sabbath
May this tree remind us to root ourselves in Christ
and shelter one another in grace

In every season,
may this garden welcome our neighbors
and draw us all to the goodness of our Savior and Creator

We ask all this in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Trusting You, O God, will do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine
Amen.

To adapt this prayer for the dedication of a public or home garden which was not a memorial garden, change this line “May it be a peaceful place, for those who remain here until the last trumpet and those who come to remember them.” to “May it be a peaceful place, reviving the servant-hearted.”

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Prayer for Dedicating a Memorial Garden © 2021 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
(by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, http://www.revlisad.com)
Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

Two Prayers Based on John 2 -3

Summer in the Scriptures John

Prayer based on John 2:13-25
Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Merciful Savior
You offer your house to the nations
for worship and prayer
forgiveness and healing
community with you and with others

Come and cleanse your house again

Forgive us for losing sight of your agenda
Forgive us for all the obstacles
we put in the way of people connecting with you

Come and cleanse your house again

Drive out the mistrust, false teaching, and prejudice
Turn over the tables of gossip, hypocrisy, and apathy
Empty us of addiction to money, things, and power

Come and cleanse your house again

Return us to humility, charity, and sacrifice
Fill your house with welcome, growth, and redeeming love
Bathe us in your grace and holiness
so everything we do draws people to you
and brings honor to your name
Amen.

Summer in the Scriptures John (1)

Prayer based on John 3:1-21
Nicodemus and Jesus

Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” – John 3:5-6

Holy Spirit
Pregnant with twins- Truth and New Life
Welcome home to my spirit
Let it be with me according to your word

Reveal yourself in my thoughts
Bring forth encouragement and counsel
Deliver righteousness and justice in every choice
Carry hope and healing in every touch

Give birth not just in me, but to a whole new generation,
a people so full of your gifts and power they never labor in vain

Open our eyes to the glory that is possible
Open our hearts to the great responsibility- is it of flesh or is it of you?
Open us to the fullness of you. Amen.

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For the next few months, I’m reading a chapter from the Gospels each day. This is part of the Summer in the Scriptures reading plan sponsored by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Click Here for the reading plan.

You’re most welcome to read along and to join the Facebook discussion group, Summer in the Scriptures. You don’t need to be a Methodist or attend a Methodist church. All are welcome and all means all.

As part of the Facebook group, I’ve been supplying prayers based on the day’s reading. Feel free to post your prayers and observations based on the readings here or there as well.

May the grace of the Gospels, the challenge, and the call, inspire us to great faith and great good works in Jesus’ name. – Lisa <

Come, and Cleanse Your House Again © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Born of the Spirit © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

Prayer- Make us Your Sanctuary (Ezekiel 37:26)

safe place quote

Ezekiel 37:26 NRSV
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will bless them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore.

John 1:14 NRSV
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Glorious One
Covenant Maker
Peacemaker
Our Savior and God
You multiply Your goodness
You fill the earth with people and provision
You set Your safe place in our midst
You pitch Your tent
You abide
Not for a moment or a span
Nor for a year or an age
Forevermore
We glory in your presence
Our living and moving and being is in you
Make us your dwelling place
Make us your sanctuary

Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You
– Sanctuary by John W. Thompson and Randy Scruggs (CCLI Song #24140)

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Make us Your Sanctuary by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia © 2016
You are welcome to use this in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please contact Lisa directly for publishing and posting consideration.

Growing in Resilience: The Way of Peace, based on Isaiah 59.8

peace be with youGrowing in Resilience
Day 20, Read Isaiah 59
Reflection: The Way of Peace,
based on Isaiah 59:8, NRSV

The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. Their roads they have made crooked; no one who walks in them knows peace.

You
You are the Way
Your way is Peace
An unbent highway of life-giving words
Truth, Dignity, Encouragement
We will know you
We will walk in your ways

You
You are the Way
Your way is Peace
A shining path of justice
Integrity, Impartiality, Redemption
We will know you
We will walk in your ways

You
You are the Way
Your way is Peace
An unbroken road of sanctuary
Safety, Belonging, Becoming
We will know you
We will walk in your ways

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Click Here for more on the Growing in Resilience Reading Plan sponsored by Bishop Ken Carter and the Cabinet of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. 

The Way of Peace © 2018 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

Prayer for Holy Resistance

true-love-requires-actionBreak our hearts Jesus
That we may weep as You weep
Love as You love

Break our hearts Jesus and raise our voices
that we may speak and act so all may be safe
so all may have opportunity
so all may know belonging

Lord Jesus
take away our fear, our apathy, our silence
Grant us
Your courage, Your strength, Your perseverance, Your Word

That we may be Your sanctuary
Your safe and sanctified place of presence

That we may live Your justice
and use Your power with wisdom and humility

That we may be Your whole and holy people
people of integrity

That we may speak and act and love
again and again and again
till every dividing wall of hate, fear, and mistrust
comes crashing down in Your Powerful Name

Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, Savior of the Nations,
teach us to pray and teach us to live Your prayer…
Conclude with the Lord’s Prayer

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Click here for Comfort Ye based on Isaiah 40 by Steve Garnaas Holmes, a word of encouragement to those experiencing horror and abuse, and those striving to bring justice and healing.

Prayer for Holy Resistance © 2017 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please leave a comment for information/permission to publish this work in any form.