The following prayer was shared by Pastor Mark Flores at the Mt. Herman Baptist Church in Bedford, VA this past Sunday as I celebrated their 225th Anniversary as a Congregation.  This was a truly moving moment in the worship celebration.

God of Eternity, we gather today to give thanks for the past.
We think back to those who first had a vision of a church in this place,
to those who gave of their labor, their treasure, their time to make it happen.
God of Eternity, we also give thanks for our present and our future.                                  As we gather here today we look for hope.  The present is unsettling, the future is uncertain.  We hope that in the goodness of your love that your guidance will be ever-present.
Fill us with a vision for what we could be.
Give us hope for our congregation and our community that lead us into your abundance and not our scarcity.
God of Eternity, in a time of uncertainty we so often fall into fear and worry,
show us the opportunities in our chaotic world,
remind us of our priorities in relationship to you,
push us to see how our choices matter, and then fill us with hope in a new heaven and a new earth.
God of our future, may we walk boldly into what may come, as a people of faith and hope.
May we be found faithful in the world in which we live.
Amen.