Morning Prayer: God of the turning years, we are indeed a restless people. We fret and stew about life's many tasks. We forget to look to you for our sustenance and for direction in our lives. As we are buffeted by the winds that blow from many directions, take us above the fray that we may indeed glide in the steady flow of your grace. We know that if we but ask, you will provide the forgiveness and the joy that come from living within your will.

As summer comes to a close, we ask a special blessing on those returning to school. Our children need special graces in these troubling times. We trust them to your care. We also ask that you bless the work of adults who now return from vacations to a more intense period of labor. Even though it is often difficult to walk in another's shoes, may those who labor and those who manage seek to understand each other and their needs.

Some of us are retired from our jobs and professions. Bless the work that we do as volunteers, grandparents, and participants in the creation of better lives for all. Our work is also important. We are aware of those who cannot participate in many activities because of illness or advanced age. Their lives are also important. Provide them a healing grace and a hope for tomorrow.

We would especially remember those who are in the throes of serious illness. Hold their hands as they travel the difficult paths of pain, debilitation, and possible death. We remember their families and the care-givers who need your sustaining grace.

Finally we want to thank you for all you have given us. We are a people who have been richly blessed in this wonderful land of opportunity. Teach us to share our wealth with a world that is in great need. We thank you for churches that are trying hard to live up to your calling in their community. Give them a vision for the future as they serve a needy world.

Most of all we thank you for caring enough to send us your very own Son, who set out on a path that led to his death. He bade us follow him down that same path. We tend to stray from that path, yet your grace gently pulls us back. Hold our hands as we boldly take the next step on our journey. We ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen.