A Litany for Sustaining Pastoral Excellence
Beloved Creator, when you knit us together in our mother’s womb,
You fashioned in each of us a reflection of your glory.
Sustain us, O God, that we may reflect your glory.
Most holy Redeemer, you came to earth to rescue us from our calamities
and instill in us newness of life.
You offer us the high and holy calling to share that new life
with other pilgrims along our journey.
Sustain us, O God, that we may receive your new life and share it with others.
Divine Spirit, you move through deepest of waters and bring order out of chaos.
You know the groanings of our soul, and are not overwhelmed.
You stir the waters of creativity and bring forth new ideas and new possibilities.
Sustain us, O God, that we may embrace the creativity you birth in us.
Beloved Creator, you fashioned in us a people with whom you fell in love.
When you see us, your shepherd’s heart is moved to guide and protect us.
Pastor us, O God, that we may know who and whose we are.
Most holy Redeemer, when you saw we had gone astray,
You came to earth to show us the way home.
You invite us to be beacons of light to others,
So that none are left behind.
Pastor us, O God, that we may live out our calling and share your light with others.
Divine Spirit, you know our gifts and abilities,
You know our fears and weaknesses.
Still, you call us to serve you, peculiar though we be.
You minister to us that we, too, may minister to others in your name.
Pastor us, O God, that we may pastor the ones you have placed in our path.
Beloved Creator, when you looked upon all you had made, you declared it to be good.
You set us “a little lower than the angels”
and crowned humankind with glory and honor.
Excellent are your works!
Excel in your work in us, O God, that we may be excellent in our work together.
Most holy Redeemer, you looked beyond our fault and saw our need.
In your most excellent mercy, you deemed us worthy of salvation.
You restore us to wholeness, through your excellent word.
Excel in your work in us, O God, that we may be restored to wholeness, and strive for excellence in ministry.
Divine Spirit, you envelop us in love,
And gently transform us, calling us to become more than we are.
In your excellent wisdom, evoke in us every good and perfect gift
That your excellent name may be glorified.
Excel in your work in us, O God, that we may sustain excellence in ministry with a true pastor’s heart.
Amen.
The Rev. Dr. Patti Kenney is a staff member of the Program for Ongoing Pastoral Formation, an SPE project at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt, Mich. She wrote this prayer earlier this year for a meeting of the program’s advisory board.
