This prayer, by staff member Derek Duncan, is a wonderful resource to use in the opening of a church meeting.

God of grace and mercy,
God of hope and blessings,
Be with us today in this place.

Be with our thoughts and ideas—
With our consensus
And our disagreements—
With our “Yes, and’s”
And our “No, but’s.”
Be with our “Me too’s”
And with our “Not I’s”—
With our “Oh-no’s!”
And with our “Oh-yeah’s!”
Be with our “good griefs”
As well as our
“good gracious.”

Be with our brilliant inspiration
And with our tepid tries,
Be with our best,
Our worst,
Our left, our right,
Our right, our wrong.
Be with us in peace,
And in pieces,
In our adoration,
And in our frustration.
In our walk, and our talk,
(whether or not we walk the talk).

Be with us in our hither and yon,
In our “come near” and our “sit far.”
Be with our Mission, our Commission, and our Omission.

Be with our waking and sleeping,
With our comings and
With our goings.

Most of all, gracious God,
Be with us,
In this place.

Amen.