Hey! I’m Ben White, pastor of our congregation in South Jersey. I’m here on the blog to remind you that you shine. What you do and who you are matters to God and to us. We’ve been celebrating Pentecost with sparklers most Sundays (there are advantages to meeting outside in parks and urban farms like we have been doing 😎)
Every time we’ve met in Newton Lake Park in Collingswood we have been praying this prayer as we light our sparklers. We call it “the ceremony,” even though it is not very ceremonious every time I fight the wind to get my sparkler to light and then yell “I got it! Let’s pray.”
Confession of the Holy Spirit’s Power
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Holy Spirit you fill us with all joy by making the ordinary glorious
By shining in us and through us onto all that we see and experience
You give us the power to trust God and to hope in God’s promises
Even when the hope seems impossible and the promises too good to be true
Shine in us, Holy Spirit
Your wind still blows us toward repentance
And reconciliation with you and each other
Your fire kindles in us hearts that burn with love
Bright fiery love that is not quenched by any darkness
Shine in us, Holy Spirit
You give yourself when we need
You show yourself when we ask
You answer when we call
Your power, Holy Spirit, lives in us and helps us remember all that Jesus said
You help us know more than we can know in so many ways
You bring us to newer life each day as you walk alongside us
Shine in us, Holy Spirit. Amen
You are shiny because the Holy Spirit is at work in your life. Pray this prayer if you want to experience that more. Come join us in prayer, too. Check out circleofhope.net/dailyprayer for more ways to pray. Check out circleofhope.church/locations to get together with us. The Holy Spirit reveals herself most often in community.
