A church with heart in the heart of the city
Like the ancient prophets, we are dispatched back to the good work entrusted to us.
It is the work of peace-making.
It is the work of truth-telling.
It is the work of justice-doing.
It is good work, but it requires our resolve to stay it, even in the face of the forces to the contrary that are sure to prevail for a season.
Peace Be With You. – Paul
Prayers Of The People
Gracious God, Creator of all that is, we lift our prayers to you.
We pray:
For peace among nations, and an end to violence,
For the end to struggles which tear our souls and quench the fire of our spirit,
For the end to our inhumane treatment of each other,
Whether in other lands or in our own,
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
We pray:
For those who respond in times of crisis,
For those whose training and concern defuses difficult times,
For all who bring peaceful presence to moments of pain,
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
We pray:
For all who journey out of one land and into another,
For all who work with those moving from violence into safety,
For all who treat others with great care and great love,
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
We pray:
For all who do not feel loved within their own families,
For all who seek to make others comfortable and welcome,
For all who have restless hearts and minds,
For all who yearn for better times and circumstances,
For all who help better times happen,
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
We pray:
For all governing leaders, that they may make wise and helpful decisions,
For all who implement policies of love and compassion,
For all persons of faith, that we may respect and love one another in our differences,
For all who seek to live in gratitude and in peace,
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers. Amen.
From Rev. Dr. Tercio Bretanha Junker in “Reclaiming Faith beyond fear and ideology”. Here is the link to this article from United Methodist News. Dr. Junker is senior pastor of Friendship United Methodist Church in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
In a world wounded
by fear and division,
the church’s role is
not to dominate
but to serve;
not to judge
but to heal;
not to retreat
but to engage.
Peace Be With You. – Paul
From thetinyjoyproject:
The older I get, the more I understand that forgiveness isn’t a favor you give someone else.
It’s the weight you stop carrying.
You put it down, breathe deeper, and realize your hands are free again for holding better things.
Peace Be With You. – Paul
People are exhausted right now.
Just give grace.
Just give mercy.
Just give love.
Peace Be With You. – Paul
From Anne Lamott, beloved author, rabble rouser, and thoughtful person:
Anne Lamott
Brothers and sisters, here we are, clueless about what the future holds but knowing who holds the future. I wonder if it would be so much skin off Their divine nose to let us know how everything is going to shake down, so that we can make advantageous plans. But noooo, this is not the system.
The system is that one some days God’s will unspools in in the ways of a surrealist, non-linear movie director, with PMS.
Other days, we feel hilariously abundant love and grace, grace as spiritual W-D 40 that against all odds, and I mean ALL odds, pokes its thin red straw into our darkest and most clenched spaces, and offers release. (Cold dead hands, in my case.) (I heard in early recovery that everything we let go of has claw marks on it.)
And most of the time, everything pretty mixed up, hard stuff, love, the sniper in the trees picking off someone you love, peace, grace, bad news.
If I were God’s West Coast representative, I would have a much more organized system, all sad and weird events were in the knife slot in your silverware drawer, joy and peace where the big forks go, acceptance of the mystery in the salad fork slot, resentments and the desire for revenge in with the teaspoons.
So where does that leave us? Let me tell you a story from ten years ago when I was going to fly off to Africa. Of course I have always been a little more tense than the average bear, so I became fixated on all the ways I might die—a hijacking, deep vein thrombosis, snakes, terrorists, etc. But when all else fails, follow instructions, so I went up for the altar call the Sunday before I left, and asked the pastor for prayers.
She said, “Annie, when you get on a plane, it’s a little late for beggy prayers. It’s time for trust and surrender.”
Trust and surrender. Hmmm. Left to my own devices, I am more about praying for God’s will, but then adding in a number of my always-excellent thoughts on how things should shake down. I know God rolls Their eyes gently and smiles . God’s name for me is Beloved. So, just for today, I pray trust and surrender, I pray not to be such an a**hole, I pray gratitude, I pray thankyouthankyouthankyou sweet gentle shepherd; and I pray Make me ever caring and available to the needs of the poor.
Amen.
Peace Be With You. – Paul
Prayers Of The People
from Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church – November 16, 2025
Loving God, who watches over us like a parent, delighting in our happiness, weeping over all the ways we harm one another, guide us. Nurture us. Empower us to be your peacemakers and mercy-bringers in this world.
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
Merciful God, our world is full of war, violence, injustice, and oppression. As we are surrounded on all sides by misinformation, half-truths, and lies, give us courage to tell the truth of your love, to protect the innocent, and to resist evil in every way it presents itself.
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
Gracious God, our neighborhoods are full of people who are struggling. Struggling to make ends meet, struggling to find stability, struggling to find community. Empower us to notice, to reach out, and to love our neighbors as you have called us to love.
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
God of Hope, our lives are filled with so many reasons for despair. Loneliness abounds, uncertainty overwhelms, and suffering feels constant. Fill us with the warmth of your love and inspire us to extend a hand, a hug, a smile, a gesture of connection in a disconnected world.
God, in your love,
Hear our prayers.
In the name of the God who gives, receives, and extends Love to all. Amen.
Peace Be With You. – Paul
Rev. Paul W. Calkin, Pastor
Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church
revpwc@gmail.com
405-514-0151
he/him
From the poet Jessica Kantrowitz:
Peace with your concept of God
Peace with God herself
Peace with your questions
Peace with your doubts
Peace with your lament
Peace with your fury
Peace with no answers
Peace with the answer “no”
Peace with your own warm body
Peace with your pure spirit
Peace with your tired mind
Peace
Peace Be With You. – Paul
This is the Pastoral Prayer from Rev. Lori Walke from this past Sunday at Mayflower UCC.
“What Women Ruined”
No one was particularly surprised, Holy One, when a man used the NY Times opinion page to ask, “Did Women Ruin the Workplace?” It was quickly changed to “Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?” but the hand had already been played.
To be fair, women ARE guilty of ruining things, which we know because we’ve read the Bible.
A woman ruined that silent, holy night by bringing a baby into the world to save it, instead of recruiting more violent men to do it.
A woman ruined the chance for that jar of costly perfume to be sold and the money given to the poor when she instead used it to anoint Jesus.
Women ruined the idea that they are too emotional to lead by being the last to leave the foot of the cross and the first to arrive at the tomb.
A woman ruined the idea that God only calls men to preach after the resurrected Christ told her to go and tell the others the Good News.
It turns out that people of faith come from a longline of women who ruined things because they had enough grit and grace to insist on Love.
Grant us the courage to take up the mantle, Holy One, whether we are shes, hes, or theys – for it will take all of us to ruin the plans of the unjust and the greedy.
We pray in the name of Jesus, who trusted women. Amen.
Peace Be With You. – Paul
From grateful.org Word of The Day
Grateful living is important in the world because in our constant pursuit of more and better we can easily lose sight of the riches that lay right in front of us and within us. – Guri Mehta
Peace Be With You. – Paul
Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church 