Wichita UCC - Education & Spiritual Life

03/08/2025

02/17/2025

According to current and former officials in the bureau and other national security offices, the shift will jeopardize years of progress combating violent white nationalism.

01/12/2025

A Prayer for those in the Path of Fire

Steadfast God, we watch in horror as fires rage in Southern California, and we pause to raise these humble petitions to you.

For all those forced to evacuate, who leave so much that is precious behind and know not what the future holds, surround them with your gentle presence in these hours of tortured worry and waiting.

For each beloved one who has already realized the unfathomable loss of everything familiar, of homes and schools and places of worship and so much more that was their anchor and community, receive their shock and overwhelming grief and hold them close in love.

For those called out to fight the flames, to rescue and to help, for those tasked with leading through the crisis, for hospitals that receive the wounded, and for all those extending care even while they themselves have suffered loss, grant the capacity to withstand all that overwhelms and wearies.

And in the uncertain days to come, draw near to all who weep and rage as they begin to sift through the rubble and ash left behind. Stir bits of hope amid despair. Lend strength when exhaustion overtakes them. May they be wrapped in a blanket of grace and healing woven by each act of compassion and generosity we now extend.

O God, in your wide and tender mercy, hear our fervent prayers. Amen.

01/12/2025

🙌🏾 Help us in this time of becoming so we can see a way forward through this pain and destruction. Amen.

-Cathy Atkinson

🙏🏾 Join us in prayer and add your own to the People's Prayers for Peace: https://ow.ly/xmLp50UAWYm

01/12/2025

🙏🏾“It’s easy for all of us to feel powerless in the face of such immense devastation. But there are ways we can meaningfully and appropriately respond now, by giving generously to support recovery needs and by keeping all who are heartbroken and fearful in our steadfast prayers. Our response as the Body of Christ, now and over many months and years to come, can truly have a powerful impact.”

-Rev. Shari Prestemon, Acting Associate General Minister, UCC and Co-Executive of Global Ministries

The Global HOPE team is helping to connect Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ staff, churches, and others affected by the wildfires with immediate resources while also preparing to support long-term recovery efforts.

👉🏾 We invite you to support the UCC's recovery efforts by donating to the UCC's California Wildfires 2025 Appeal: https://ow.ly/w0Xe50UEj8s

01/12/2025

🙏🏾 Oh God of flame and wind, we ask for your sparing of lives in Southern California.

We wonder at the sheer power of nature and seek to remind ourselves that in the devastation, you are there.

Please, please, help it to be still…calm. Amen

-Jenny Jahn
Boise, ID

👉🏾 Add your prayers to the People's Prayers for Peace initiative: https://ow.ly/7GZE50UE4rB

🙏🏾 Give to the UCC's 2025 California Wildfires appeal: https://ow.ly/At3x50UE4rA

01/12/2025

🌟 This Epiphany...

🌟 May we be enlightened in a world that relates to knowledge & information with suspicion, that attempts to avoid discomfort & create false narratives by banning books, and that further sows division under the guise of fairness by indiscriminately adopting a both sides sensibility regardless of facts or issue.

🌟 May we testify to the possibility of a new world of abundance, mutuality, and love where basic needs are easily met, those who flourish share rather than hoard their resources, and the oppressed are released from every imposed burden.

🌟 May we declare “Let there be light” when illumination is necessary or helpful & may we embrace the blessed rest that the darkness offers as we recognize & declare both good.

🌟 May we be enlightened to the glory of God.

-The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay,
Minister for Worship and Theology, UCC
Excerpt from Sermon Seeds (United Church of Christ), 1/5/2025: https://ow.ly/KoqJ50UzVl2

01/12/2025

🙏🏾 Creator,

Please help all those who suffer from guilt and shame to remember that you are not a God of condemnation but a God of love.

Help all those who hold on to guilt and shame over who they are attracted to, who they love, and how they identify to let go of this guilt and rest in your peace as they are.

Help those who hold on to guilt and shame over their own bodies and desires to let go of the toxic theology that binds them and experience the freeing power of your great love. Amen.

-Matthew DeLucia, Enfield, CT

👉🏾 Do you want your prayer posted too?
🕊️ Add it to the People's Prayers for Peace: https://ow.ly/WjWb50UAXXW

01/12/2025

If you've never read any of her books, choose one this winter and start. You will be glad you did.