8/8/2023 0 Comments Awaken church kcGrant also, O Lord, that their days lived gratefully within these temporary walls, enjoying these momentary fellowships, would serve to awaken within them a restless longing for their truer home. May this new home be a place of knowing and of being known.Ī place where forgiveness is easily asked and granted,Ī place of meaningful conversation, of words not left unsaid Ī place of joining, of becoming, of creating, and reflecting Ī place where diverse gifts are named and appreciated Ī place where their stories are forever twined by true affections. That they might bear fruit for the nourishing of others. May it be a garden of nourishment in which their roots go deep May this home be a harbor of anchorage and refuge,Īnd a haven from which they journey forth to do your work in the world. Where bonds of love are strengthened, where mercy is learned and practiced. May your Spirit inhabit this home, making of it a sanctuary where hearts and lives are knit together. People: We thank you for this new home and we welcome you here.ĭwell among them in these spaces, in these rooms.īe present at this table as family and friends eat together.īe present as they rise in the morning and lie down at night.īe present in the work here. Leader: We thank you for _’s new home, O Lord, for the shelter it will provide, for the moments of life that will be shared within it. There are so many moments throughout our daily lives where we can intentionally remind ourselves of God’s presence in them. Also, take some time to peruse the Every Moment Holy website and consider purchasing one of their prayer books. I encourage you to consider using this liturgy or something like it the next time you or a friend move into a new house or apartment! Gather others from your spiritual community and prayerfully and intentionally celebrate God’s blessing in the provision of a new home. I am grateful for Marineya and Luis’ initiative to invite their church community and me into this practice.īelow you will find the adapted liturgy we used that evening. We spend much of our lives in our homes, and it is important to mark those key transitions with a focus toward God and his vision for them. We should intentionally find ways to remind ourselves of that reality. Jesus is Lord over every area of our life and deeply cares for the spaces where we live, work, and play. We used a prayer liturgy adapted from Every Moment Holy, had a time for people to pray specifically for Marineya and Luis, toasted to their new home, and then continued the celebration with food and drinks.įor me, this experience so beautifully embodied the kind of whole life discipleship we talk about so often. So one Saturday evening, their community group, some other church friends, and I huddled together in their home to pray for God’s blessing over their journey there. I was intrigued by this idea, having never heard of someone doing something like this. She said this can “be a way for us to dedicate our house to God in service in front of our church community since all we have is his and not ours.” Marineya is from Bolivia and explained it is typical in her culture to invite one’s faith community and spiritual leaders to do this when moving into a new house. A young couple, Luis and Marineya of our Downtown Campus, purchased a house, and they wanted a pastor to pray for God’s blessing over their new home. A few months ago I received a unique and exciting pastoral request.
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