Here is a psalm of lament for our changing world, written by Carol
Prochaska.
Psalm of Lament for Christendom
I cry aloud to God
aloud to God that God may hear my distress
in remembering the church that once was
the church I have known and loved.
For this I am troubled.
In the night when I cannot sleep
my soul refuses to be comforted
my heart longs for the church that used to be.
aloud to God that God may hear my distress
in remembering the church that once was
the church I have known and loved.
For this I am troubled.
In the night when I cannot sleep
my soul refuses to be comforted
my heart longs for the church that used to be.
I consider the days of old
and remember the years of long ago
back when the church had status and clout.
Proud to be we were the mainline folks.
Sunday mornings were reserved for church.
We were known as good citizens
praying the Lord’s Prayer and singing O Canada.
It was (they tell me) Christendom.
It was in so many ways a grand thing.
It was.
And I say, “It is our grief.”
The world is not as we thought.
The church is not as we thought.
So we cry out asking
“Are God’s promises at an end for these days?
It’s not our fault!”
It is (they tell me) just what it is.
I will call to mind the deeds of our God.
I will remember God’s mighty wonders.
I will meditate on God’s living word.
I will trust the God Jesus has revealed.
So beloved people of God
let us finish our grieving.
Make us ready God to walk unseen steps
With your love renew and transform us
so that we may become the church that is yet to be.
~ Carol Prochaska (March 2010). Posted on the Nelson United Church website. http://www.nelsonunitedchurch.ca/PrayersofthePeople/psalmofabundance.html
and remember the years of long ago
back when the church had status and clout.
Proud to be we were the mainline folks.
Sunday mornings were reserved for church.
We were known as good citizens
praying the Lord’s Prayer and singing O Canada.
It was (they tell me) Christendom.
It was in so many ways a grand thing.
It was.
And I say, “It is our grief.”
The world is not as we thought.
The church is not as we thought.
So we cry out asking
“Are God’s promises at an end for these days?
It’s not our fault!”
It is (they tell me) just what it is.
I will call to mind the deeds of our God.
I will remember God’s mighty wonders.
I will meditate on God’s living word.
I will trust the God Jesus has revealed.
So beloved people of God
let us finish our grieving.
Make us ready God to walk unseen steps
With your love renew and transform us
so that we may become the church that is yet to be.
~ Carol Prochaska (March 2010). Posted on the Nelson United Church website. http://www.nelsonunitedchurch.ca/PrayersofthePeople/psalmofabundance.html
