Easter Flower Dedications 2021

The Easter Azaleas and Lilies
are given to the Glory of Almighty God by:

Anonymous
In honor of Cindy Johnson, my secret sister.
 

Barbara Abell
In memory of Ed Abell, the love of my life.
 

Leon and Mary Anderson
In loving memory of our parents, Iris and Robert Fudge
and George and Leota Anderson.
 
Rosemary and David Bailey
In honor of all mothers who are spending Easter
with the risen Lord.
 
Cherie Crescini
Praising God for my first granddaughter,
Eliza Jean Crescini, born January 27, 2021.
 
Jim and Cici Donnelly
In memory of CiCi’s parents, Bill and Jane Carl.
 
Eschenbrenner Family
To celebrate our church family.
 
Dan and Rhonda Forsman
In memory of Alec Edwin Forsman.
In honor of Ed and Ann Forsman.
 
Chrystal Godfrey
In memory of Phyllis Wright.
 
Rev. Robert Hardin
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. RM Hardin, parents
and Mr. and Mrs. Mansel Hardin, grandparents.
They are in God’s Heaven and in my heart.
 
Carolyn and Dick Huff
In memory of loved ones.
 
Diane Kleinschmidt
In memory of my mother.
 
Laura and Jack Landreth
In memory of Laura’s parents and Jack’s dad.
In honor of Jack’s mom.
 
Lawrence Family
In memory Julie Lawrence and our loved ones.
 
Karla and Jim Light
To the glory of God.
 
Sarah and Edward Lorek
To celebrate the Lorek and Vence Family.
 
Glenda Lytle
In loving memory of my husband, Allen Lytle,
son-in-law, Ian Seely, and my parents.
 
Frank and Kathy Mazur
To celebrate our risen Lord!
 
Phil and Sue Menthe
In honor of Patuxent Presbyterian Church.
 
David and Laura Padula
In memory of David’s mother, Annamarie Padula
and Laura’s mother, Susan Van Till.
 
Donald Patterson
In memory of Barbara Lanning,
mother of Debbie Patterson.
In memory of Merle and Elsie Patterson,
parents of Don Patterson.
 
Scott and Debbie Patz
In memory of Mary Jean Fagan and Brenda Urik.
 
Bill and Genie Posnett
In memory of Margaret Russell.
 
Rachel and Bob Portillo
In memory of Bob and Pat Larimer, Rachel’s parents
and Bob Portillo, Bob’s father.
 
Rhodes Family
To celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!
 
Cindy Romano
In honor of my parents, Robert and Emma Ross.
 
Les and Shirley Schnake
In honor and memory of members of the Schnake/Byers families.
 
Patsy and Tom Schumacher
In honor Ken and Jean Reamy for their work in the Garden Club.
In honor of the Pooley family.
In honor of this great country.
 
David and LuAnn Smouse
In memory of our parents, Bill and Hazel Smouse
and David’s brother, Billy,
and Lou and Ann Lakes.
In celebration of the birth of our first grandson,
Cru David Smouse.
 
The Unangst Family
In loving memory of our departed
Hawes and Unangst family members.
 
Mac and Tina Watts
In memory of our parents and Tina’s sister, Betsy,
who await us in heaven.
 
Wicker Family
In praise and glory to God for our risen Savior.
In honor of our parents who have always modeled great faith.
 
The Wolfe Family
In loving memory of Grandpa Peter, Grandma Mimi,
and Aunt Megan who we miss very much.
In blessed celebration of our risen King! Alleluia!
 
Don and Beth Wright
To the glory of our risen Lord.
In memory of Don and Beth’s parents.

A Prayer for Holy Week

 

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Pax Pres, and to all people,

Please join me in prayer in this week known across the church as “Holy Week,” as we consider Jesus’ final week that culminated in the best news ever!

Humbly in Christ,
Pastor Matt

Almighty God, shape our lives around the many truths and events of Holy Week. As we remember Palm Sunday and your triumphal entry, humble us again under your kingly rule. Remind us that the “crown” belongs on your head, not on ours. Inspire in us the same kind of genuine praise that the crowds offered: we call out to you to “rescue us!” Hosanna! Lord, even for the quieter ones among us, stir up in us a joyous voice of praise - for if we don’t cry out, the rocks will!

Almighty God, as we consider the early part of Jesus’ week in Jerusalem, we’re reminded of his sobering words of judgment and woe to come on those who reject him. We confess how often that is us - both individually and as a community and society. As you cleared that Temple, Jesus, we remember that as disciples, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Our gathered church community is a temple of the Holy Spirit as well. Clear out of us the specific habits, attitudes, and thoughts that are an offense to your love, grace, and holiness. Where we have treated the poor and oppressed with disdain and selfishness, forgive us and fill us with new habits of sacrificial love toward them. Teach us your definitions - not the world’s definitions - of justice, righteousness, and generosity. And then help us live those out with radical and fearless courage. We pray this for ourselves - our personal “temples” of Your Spirit - and for our gathered church. Too often we are just as bad as those moneychangers in Jerusalem: Lord, cleanse us and rebuild us as a house of prayer for all the nations.

Almighty God, as we approach your Last Supper and Maundy Thursday, shape our lives around the truths of that day as well. Who are we, God, that you would choose to dine with us even in our sin? Who are we, Lord of all creation, that you would stoop down and wash our feet? Who are we, Lord, that you would offer not just the bread and cup, but your very body and blood, to be given in our place and to establish a new, eternal covenant with us? Who are we, Lord, that you now call us “friends”? Father, reshape our hearts with the sheer grace of your words and deeds around that final meal. Fill us with equal parts humility and joy. That night, you called us to a greater love - a love that is willing to die for one another. We can only love like that because you first loved us like that. Reshape the way we love to look more like the way you love, Jesus.

Almighty God, as we consider your final night and day on earth, keep us aware and alert in prayer. Our spirits are willing, but our bodies are weak. When we see and hear others who wish to do harm or offense to your name, give us courage not to desert you but to humbly, confidently remain faithful to you. We are just like those first disciples, who, left to our own devices, cannot do this. Though we are faithless, you alone are faithful. So grant us the gifts of courage and faith to stand strong in the name of Christ no matter what may come.

Jesus, for the joy set before you, you suffered the cross in our place. Shape our minds, hearts, and actions around what you did in our place. You died a death only we deserved - to grant us, by faith in you - a life that only you can offer. The great reversal, God!! Amazing. We like to think we don’t mock or scorn you, God; but in ways big and small, we do. Forgive us, Father, for we know not what we do.

Almighty God, reshape us around the deep, heavy waiting of Holy Saturday. We confess that we hate waiting. We struggle with silence when we have no idea how long it might last. Spirit, help us sit in the waiting. Help us sit, trusting you, in the silence and in the unknown.

And lastly, triumphantly, joyfully, God: reshape our hearts around the great news of Easter! Where we are uncertain, anxious, depressed, fearful, unwell, discontent, and more, fill us with joy everlasting. Not with fleeting happiness or pleasure - in your common grace, we can get that pretty much anywhere we want. Lord, we need to be filled anew with your everlasting joy. This Easter season, restore to us the joy of your salvation and uphold us with a willing spirit. 

Lord, shape our daily obedience and trust in you around each and every profound truth and event of Holy Week. Surely that kind of transforming work takes a lifetime in each of us - so God, continue the good work you’ve begun in us and bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. Amen.

(painting by Wayne Pascall)

PRAYER: Weight of Life, Weight of Glory

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Pax Pres, and to all people,

The sentiment of the prayer below has been on my heart and mind in recent days, both personally and in the daily news. Join me in prayer.

Humbly in Christ,
Pastor Matt

Gracious God,

You do not need reminding of what your own Word says. But I do. Lord, you have reminded me lately of these words you breathed out through the apostle Paul:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor. 4:16-18, NIV)

Lord, you promise that, in Christ alone, you are preparing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs all our troubles. God, I admit my heart wants to say: Amen! Yes! What an amazing promise! But I have to ask, God, how can this be? We know all too fully the weight of this life:

Father, a memory of something poignant from this time last year bubbles to the surface, and we are weighed down with grief. 

Father, we have an aging parent or loved one that we have to care for long-distance. While our love for them does not end, we are weighed down with the exhaustion of long-distance caregiving and weighty decisions to make. 

Father, we hear of the murder of eight of your beloved image-bearers at spas in Atlanta, and we are weighed down with grief, let alone with anger at the racially charged motives of those attacks.

Father, we hear of the murder of ten of your beloved image-bearers at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, and we are weighed down with shock, grief, and the reminder of how precious and fleeting life is.

Father, we think about the fact that every day, so many instances of pain, suffering, and injustice strike your image-bearers across our world… and so much of it never “makes the news.” We are weighed down to remember just how broken and sinful our world still is.

Father, we who continue to remain isolated due to the pandemic are weighed down with loneliness and despair.

Father, we who have done “okay” through most of the pandemic nevertheless feel this nagging fatigue creeping in, and we’re weighed down by just how much has happened to us, our loved ones, and our world in a year’s time.

Father, those of us charged with leading others through the pandemic - business owners, ministry leaders, medical professionals, and more - we are grateful for the mantle of leading others through these times. But we are also weighed down with the daily need to maintain the kind of resilience, joy, and wisdom that others hope to see in us.

Father, every day you see each of us navigate interactions and conversations about masks, vaccines, and distancing, and we’re so aware of how unnecessarily emotional and weighty every single word, decision, and non-verbal reaction seems to be in our charged, divided social moment. We are weighed down with the toll of navigating those things at work, at home, with family, with neighbors, and more.

God, hear us clearly: this list - to which we could keep on adding! - is not merely our complaint. It is our lament and our admission that, yes, Lord, these troubles do indeed weigh us down. So now back to your promise, Lord: are you really saying that the eternal glory prepared for us in the victory of Christ “far outweighs” the sum total of everything up above? Lord God, if that is indeed true - which by faith in Christ we believe it is! - then we are moved to tears by such a profound promise. Because Jesus, we know how “heavy” life can feel. Yet you tell us that there’s a glory waiting for us that will make all of this feel like a milligram on a scale. Wow, Lord. Wow. And to think, Jesus, that this is just one of your promises offered through your victory over sin and death in the resurrection of Easter! Wow, Lord. Wow.

God, help us to hold onto that incredible promise every time our shoulders get hunched by the weight of this life. Help us to hold onto that incredible promise every time our headaches and migraines return because of the weight of this life. Help us to hold onto that incredible promise every time our souls feel crushed by the weight of yet another tragedy, big or small. As Paul says, Lord, fix our eyes on you in all situations. Holy Spirit, point us to someone within our reach who needs to hear that promise that your glory outweighs all the pain of this life; give us love and courage to offer that promise of Christ to someone today. All this we pray for His glory and the renown of His name in our lives and throughout the world.

Amen.

Prayer: How Are You?

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Pax Pres, and to all people,

How are you doing lately? Not just the “I’m fine” or “Okay” answer you might give in a quick, passing greeting to someone else. Really - how are you doing? A simple two sentences to God (see below) is prayer enough to ask Jesus to meet you in whatever your answer might be. One or more of the words below might be your answer - or “fill in the blank” with your honest answer. Please join me in prayer.

Humbly in Christ,
Pastor Matt

Almighty God,

I am uncertain, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my uncertainty.

I am empty, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my emptiness.

I am exhausted, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my exhaustion.

I am in pain, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my pain.

I am depressed, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my depression.

I am scared, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my fear.

I am angry, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet in my anger.

I am anxious, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my anxiety.

I am lonely, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my loneliness.

I am ashamed, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my shame.

I am ____________, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, meet me in my ____________.

God, as I walk through this valley of __________, let me know that you are with me, for you, Jesus, great Shepherd, are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Ps. 23:4) Why, my soul, are you ___________? Why so disturbed within me? Christ, put my hope in you, for I will yet praise you, my Savior and my God. (Ps. 42:11) Grant me enough of Jesus and your Spirit that I can say along with the apostle Paul that I am hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; ___________, but not _____________. (2 Cor. 4:8-9) Amen.

Prayer: Anniversary of United States Covid-19 Shutdown

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Pax Pres, and to all people,

This coming weekend marks the one-year anniversary of virtually everything in the United States shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. This prayer, with a lot of references to Psalm 90, marks that occasion.

Humbly in Christ,
Pastor Matt

Almighty God, a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by. (Ps. 90:4) To you, God, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2 Pet. 3:8) Hear our prayer and grant us your perspective on what feels to us like the eternity that has unfolded since March of last year.

Before the mountains were born, before you brought forth the whole world, long before the year 2020 unfolded across this planet, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Ps 90:2) You, Jesus, are the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). These truths are made plain in your Word, but in our despair and doubt, we struggle to hold onto them in the face of untold devastation and uncertainty. Grant us faith to see your constancy even in the midst of the turmoil of the last 365+ days.

God, we give you thanks for the people across all professions, industries, and walks of life whom you have given incredible strength to lead us through the last twelve months. We give you thanks for healthcare workers of every specialty and for first responders who are still on the front lines of protecting us and our communities. We give you thanks for school teachers and administrators who have faced unprecedented daily pressure regarding plans and decisions since last year’s shutdown. We give you thanks for business owners whose lives have been upended since last year, and yet who have sought to be as resilient as they can be in our economic chaos. We give you thanks for unsung, anonymous individuals who have tried to keep our spirits hopeful and encouraged in the midst of uncertainty and despair. For all these people and so many more, we give you thanks: we would not have lasted the year without the resilience, creative leadership, and skills they each have offered in this pandemic.

God, we also grieve every death wrought by the pandemic. You turn people back to dust, saying “Return to dust, you mortals.”  (Ps. 90:3)  Children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, co-workers, neighbors, friends, teachers, nurses and caregivers … we have said painful goodbyes to so many people we cherish since March of last year. Help us to find our peace and hope in you, Jesus, our eternal dwelling place (Ps. 90:1), not just in hopes that the year ahead will get better. Jesus, you conquered the grave — grant us the comfort and hope of your resurrection beyond any earthly hope we try to conjure up. Continue to minister the comfort of your Spirit to those grieving.

This, God, is our prayer, exactly as the psalmist prayed centuries ago: Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds, and may the salvation offered in Jesus alone, be shown to your servants and to this world. (Ps. 90:13-16) God, commit us anew to the work of restoration, rebuilding, healing, forgiveness, and more. By your grace, may we arrive at March 2022 and be able to see evidence of your redeeming work in us and through us. Lest we get proud of ourselves for a self-made resilience in the year ahead, may you, God, be the one who establishes the work of our hands. (Ps. 90:17)  Through the finished, atoning work of Christ we pray all this. Amen.

Prayer for Grace in the Pandemic

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Pax Pres, and to all people,

The coronavirus pandemic continues to have a huge impact on our daily lives, even while there are promising things happening and on the horizon. As individuals and organizations all discern what “re-opening” and the new normal look like, recently I’ve been personally reminded of the need for grace and patience all around. Let’s pray together toward that end.

Humbly in Christ,
Pastor Matt


Almighty God, we need grace, forbearance, and patience with each other. As fallen people, we have always needed these qualities. But we confess to you the ways the coronavirus pandemic has revealed even more clearly the habits and nature of our hearts.

God, we are encouraged by promising signs like the development of vaccines. We of course give you thanks for all the good you are bringing into these devastating times — every good gift comes from you, God (James 1:17). But we confess that, even in the midst of promising signs, we still find ways to treat each other poorly. God, you watch from heaven and you see us navigating so many questions and unknowns about when and where it is safe to venture out again. You watch from heaven, and you see schools, non-profits, businesses, churches and ministries, and other organizations all discerning how to “re-open” or establish a new normal. Some of us, God, are still a long ways off from this. Some of us are in the thick of such hard and daily decisions right now. 

God, in light of all the decisions to make, we especially confess to you how prone we are to judge the decisions of others. We confess that we want grace shown to us while we show judgment to others. We see someone wearing a mask or not wearing a mask, and depending on our pre-set inclinations, we think hidden negative thoughts about them. We read a news story of “this person doing such-and-such…” or “this organization making such-and-such plans,” and we quietly criticize or even condemn them in our hearts. “How can they handle the pandemic that way?” Lord, you search us and you know our thoughts — none of these judgments and criticisms that we lodge against others are hidden from your sight. 

Even now that vaccines exist for Covid-19, Lord, we still desperately need a vaccine for the habits of our hearts. You alone, Jesus, provide that vaccine. Help us turn to you for healing. Flood our minds and hearts with your Holy Spirit and grow your fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control (Gal. 5). Every day, we concern ourselves with what we are wearing, how we appear to others … I’m the first to confess being more concerned with “optics” and people’s impressions than with genuine concern for sacrificial love of neighbor, regardless of how it “appears” to others. Holy God, you command us not to be concerned with what we wear outwardly, but with how we are clothed inwardly:

“Clothe yourselves,” you say to us God, “as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, with compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Col. 3:12-15) Father, so many of us are trying so hard to be virtuous, gracious, forbearing, and so forth. But we all hit our limits… we tell ourselves how we “should” be, and yet only you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, can make those changes in us in lasting ways. Show us how to navigate these re-opening, establishing-new-normal times with your perfect balance of smart choices and grace toward one another. We repent of trying to do all that on our own, and we come to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for forgiveness and renewal. Amen.