EDITOR'S NOTE:
We are looking for authors to write Starting With Scripture devotionals for December. A survey will go out soon for the 2023 schedule, but we are accepting authors now for December. Please let me know if you are willing to write a devotional, like the one below, within the next few weeks: cochranem@sneucc.org.
Shelly Stackhouse served in parish ministry and seminary education for 40 years, the last 16 in Connecticut, and now is the Senior Director of Programs at Partners for Sacred Places.
Scripture: Luke 19:9-10 (NRSV)
“Salvation has come to this house. For [Zacchaeus], too, is a son of Abraham. For [I have] come to seek out and save the lost.”
Reflection: Who Deserves to be a Child of God?
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PRAYER
Gracious God, more gracious than we want you to be sometimes, expand our understanding of the “lost” that you sought and saved. Help us to make a way where there seems to be no way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
New Prayer Requests:
We ask churches and church leaders to join us in the following prayers either by sharing them during worship, printing them in bulletins, or sharing them in some other way. To make a prayer request, please contact Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane at cochranem@sneucc.org.
Prayers of Intercession:
- For the people of Ukraine whose lives continue to be shattered by war.
- For those grieving or suffering due to the ~35,670 gun violence deaths in the US this year
- For the friends and family of the Rev. Rollin E. Johnson Jr. who died September 29, 2022. Rollin served various churches in New England as a Congregational minister, including Baldwinville, MA; Lawrence MA; Ashby, MA; Halifax, MA; and Farmington, NH.
- For the people of Australia, Chad, Bangladesh, and other areas recently affected by severe flooding
Prayers of Joy and Thanksgiving:
- For the 1400 Authorized Ministers and a host of MID's in the SNEUCC during October, Clergy Appreciation Month
- For innovative church ministries and the people who offer their skills to help others suffer less
- For opposing sides
This Week in History:
October 24, 1945 (75 years ago): The United Nations (UN) international organization was established with "an aim to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,…to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights,…to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom...." [Britannica]
“Study the past if you would define the future.”
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Shelly Stackhouse
The Rev. Rochelle A. Stackhouse has served in parish ministry and seminary education for 40 years, the last 16 in Connecticut, and now is the Senior Director of Programs at Partners for Sacred Places.