Rev. Megan
Berkowitz
Rev. Amy
Clark Feldman
Pastor Megan
May 9 2025
Dear Church,
I had a lot of interest in the prayer structure I shared during last Sunday’s worship, so I wanted to write it out for you here. If you’re feeling like you’re not sure how to pray or what to say, sometimes a little scaffolding can help get you started. Don’t think that this is the ‘right’ way to pray though — any way to pray that leads you to open your heart to God is the right way!
You — Who — Do — Through
You: Name God whom you are addressing. “Loving and living God,” “Jesus, Healer of the World,” and “Spirit of Life,” are examples of this. You can also look to scripture for inspiration, seeing how our ancestors in faith called on God.
Who: Go into a little more detail about aspects of God’s being, or previous actions that God has taken, that you want to call to mind as you pray. So, if I want to remind myself of God’s power when I feel powerless, I might pray, “all things came into being through your creativity and goodness…” It could also be something about who God has been for you in your life — “you knew me before I was even born, and you have walked alongside me through every joy and trial in my life…”
Do: What is it that you’re asking of God in this moment? What do you want God to do in your life or in the world? Or, what are you thanking God for having done already? You may have a sense of this already, or you may want to notice how you called upon God for clues of what it is that you’re needing from God in this moment.
Through: How do you understand God to be able to work in the world in the ways you’ve asked? Or, is there another aspect of God that you want to call on in this moment? How is it that you come to God in prayer? “Through your holy name,” “Through Christ,” “through the power of your ever-present Spirit,” and so on.
All of this naming and describing isn’t about what God needs from our prayer, but rather are to help us. Prayer is a practice of communication, but also one of memory: we call on God in prayer because we remember that God has been in relationship with us and with all of our ancestors in faith, and has acted in care and love for us all along.
Blessings,
Pastor Megan
Past Posts
- From Our Pastors
Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 9, 2025 I had a lot of interest in the prayer structure I shared during last Sunday’s worship, so I wanted to write it out for you here. If you’re feeling like you’re not sure how to pray or what to say, sometimes a little scaffolding can help get you started. Don’t think that this is the ‘right’ way to pray though — any way to pray that leads you to open your heart to God is the right way! Learn More - From Our Pastors: May 2, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 2, 2025 There is very little in the Gospels that tells of Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension. This period gets 5 weeks in the liturgical calendar, but only one or two stories in each Gospel at most. As Pastor Amy shared in her sermon last Sunday, after the Resurrection, Jesus spends some time eating with his disciples, even sharing a grilled fish breakfast on the beach with them one morning. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 25, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 25, 2025 On Easter morning, we sang the hymn “Now the Green Blade Rises,” with its refrain: “Love is come again like wheat that rises green.” While it raises questions for me every year about how much pronunciation has changed in the last hundred years (did been/green and again/lain really rhyme?), it so beautifully captures the confluence of Easter and the coming of Spring in the Northern hemisphere. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 18, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
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April 11, 2025 This coming Sunday begins our walk through Holy Week. The story of this week is at the very core of our faith. We’ll travel with Jesus to confront the powers of this world that still cause so much suffering – injustice, hubris, abuse of power, scarcity, violence, and fear. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 4, 2025Rev. Amy Clark Feldman
April 4, 2025 This Sunday is our final Sunday before Palm Sunday and Holy Week. There is one week left before Jesus, with boldness and intention, arrives in Jerusalem to take a stand against forces of corruption, oppression, violence, fear, and hate. Learn More - From Our Pastors: March 28, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
March 28, 2025 We’re drawing to the close of our Stewardship season for this year, and we’ll mark Stewardship Sunday in worship this week with a testimony and a focus in scripture and sermon on generosity. Learn More - From Our Pastors: March 21 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
March 21, 2025 I gave up social media for Lent this year. I’ve tried it in past years, and it never quite stuck. I always found reasons to log back in: an urgent question for a group of colleagues, a video of Rosey that was too good not to share, or even just an accidental slip. It’s sticking this year, though. Learn More
