Prayer For Class Reunion
I would like, first, to thank you for this honor of leading you
in prayer. As we gather for our 60th class reunion, I would ask
each of you, each in your own way, to reflect with me, and in your
own minds and hearts, blend your most solemn and best thoughts
with mine, as I lead you in forming a collective prayer a three
part prayer containing remembrance, blessings and thanks.
We want first to remember in our prayer- remember those
who are no longer with us all our departed classmates, our family
members and friends, and all who have helped to shape our lives
and destinies over the years. We will always look back with love
and cherish their sacred memories. We remember, too, our
classmates and family members not with us tonight because of
illness and health issues, and we pray for their quick recovery and
well being.
And we seek blessings in our prayer, blessings upon this
class gathering as we celebrate and cherish these 60 plus 4 years -
64 years of friendship and fondness, brotherhood, and a bonding of
love that unites us in such a unique and special way as the West
Point Class of 1957.
And we give thanks in our prayer. We give thanks for the
bounty of this great nation, and the privilege and opportunities we
have had to serve it. We give thanks for our lives and our families.
We give thanks for the legacy of West Point and the honored place
we have earned for the Class of 1957 in that Long Grey Line.
And so, for this privileged moment of prayer together with
you, as we remembered, and we sought blessings and gave thanks,
we offer together a collective and a grateful Amen.
O Giver of life we are here to celebrate 5 decades of life in the real world. Two score and 10 years ago the class of '64 left the friendly confines of Wapak High on a journey full of victories and defeats, joys and sorrows, a journey that has taught us how precious each day is. We didn't learn everything we needed to know in kindergarten, or even from Miss Hunt or Mr. Krebs or Mrs. Miller, or even from Mr. Bigelow or Coach Rose or Cappizello. We are all still students in the school of life, and we thank you for what we have learned and are learning from each other, from children and grandchildren.
Just as our long ago graduation was a commencement and not an end, this rite of passage tonight is another new beginning. It is an opportunity to share memories and laughter, to be inspired by the contributions we are making collectively and as individuals to the betterment of life on this planet. We know it is not up to us to solve the world's problems, and that's a very good thing; but it is up to us to be the best citizens, friends, parents, grandparents, spouses and partners we can be. Help us always use what we have learned and are learning to leave a positive legacy behind for those who follow in our footsteps.
So we celebrate the lessons learned so long ago in the classrooms and in the extracurricular activities at WHS, but also the human life skills we learned in friendships, in teamwork, in musical and dramatic presentations. We express our gratitude for the teachers and school staff who put up with us, we give thanks for the classmates and spouses who worked hard to make this weekend possible, and now we ask your blessing on the food we are about to eat and the fellowship we share around these tables.
For all that has been we say thanks, and for all that is yet to be, we say a resounding, Yes!
Amen.
God of love
Creator of every moment of joy-filled friendship,
of each sign of grace, each spark of hope, all wonders and every warm-hearted gesture;
here we are, old and growing older friends,
sharing remembrances and the news of our years.
We remember with gratitude
being touched by the friends whose lives are no longer earthbound.
In the midst of this present moment of celebration and fellowship,
we affirm the value of every breath you offer us,
every heartbeat, every step we take,
every dream to which you still call us,
every lesson life continues to teach us,
and every opportunity to speak and act with loving-kindness.
Now we thank you for the food we share around these tables,
and for the labor of all those who harvested, prepared, and serve it.
Bless this reunion meal with your presence,
and keep us all always in your peace.
Amen.
God of love
Creator of every moment of joy-filled friendship,
of each sign of grace, each spark of hope, all wonders and every warm-hearted gesture;
here we are, old and growing older friends,
sharing remembrances and the news of our years.
We remember with gratitude
being touched by the friends whose lives are no longer earthbound.
In the midst of this present moment of celebration and fellowship,
we affirm the value of every breath you offer us,
every heartbeat, every step we take,
every dream to which you still call us,
every lesson life continues to teach us,
and every opportunity to speak and act with loving-kindness.
Now we thank you for the food we share around these tables,
and for the labor of all those who harvested, prepared, and serve it.
Bless this reunion meal with your presence,
and keep us all always in your peace.
Amen.
Creator God,
Sustaining us always,
We give thanks for the gift of life,
for friends, teachers, coaches, family and all who have influenced us in our pilgrimage.
Also, we grieve for the loss of our classmates who have died too soon, dear friends, treasured relationships. We pause to remember them.
SILENCE
We trust your care for them and for us, now and forever.
Thank you for memories from our high school years, for the education we received in the classroom and in other places and in other ways: basketball courts and Teen Town.
We remember the words of Alma Mater: Twas there the teachers lent their aid to guide our climbing steps, and taught us how to drink the cup of knowledge to its depths.
A chapter of our lives ended when we graduated. Other chapters began. We are aware of your grace every step of the way.
Tonight, on this occasion of our fiftieth high school reunion, we thank you for the opportunity to renew old friendships.
We also thank you for those who have worked hard to make this reunion a success. Keep us safe until we gather again. Amen
Our Heavenly Father, We come to you at this cycle of our lives, our later years.
We remember those, friends and companions, who have been in our midst, but who are now gone. We thank you for the part of their lives that we have shared, however brief or however joyful. Let us remind ourselves, because of them, that each day is a gift, not a promise, to be lived as beautifully as possible within our abilities and our means.
Thank you for the fleeting marvels in each moment, for the solaces of friendship, for the continuing miracle of love coming into our lives, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes through the touch of a child or the embrace of another human, sometimes in the overwhelming reality that You approve of who we are or of what we do.
Thank you for laughter through the years and for those events, small or large, that bring us delight.
Thank you for mercy in the midst of suffering, for comfort when we are afraid or distressed, for sleep that eases our sorrows.
Thank you that we have danced, that we have celebrated, that we have sung and praised, that we have been privileged to live deeply in a time of amazing advancements.
Thank you that many of us have had meaningful work in our days.
Thank you that some of us have made a difference for good in our world.
We are sorry for the times that we have disappointed You, or abandoned others, or betrayed our own selves. Forgive us, please, and help us to do better.
Bless us this evening, we pray. Give us joy in meeting again. Give us tenderness for those who struggle. Help us to be kind in word and deed. Grant that we may be alive with curiosity. And as we leave one another, perhaps never to meet again, help us to wish one another peacepeace for living and peace for dying.
We pray this in Your name: in the name of the Father, and of His Son, Jesus Christ. May we use the time still left to us, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to be more than we thought possible. Amen.
Lord, You are the God of life that sustains every moment of our being.
Today, we thank You for this opportunity of class reunion,
after we said our temporary goodbyes to our dear Alma Mater.
Thank You for all of us present today, for our friendships new and old,
and for all the good memories we share.
Thank You for the meal we will partake later,
the fruit of human hands from the bounty of your blessing.
Bless us all and our families,
including those who could not attend this reunion,
for various reasons.
We pray most especially for our classmates,
who have completed their life's journey
ahead of us. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
Make this special day full of fun and excitement,
celebrating life as we walk through memory lane of our youth.
And after our great time together, grant us a safe trip back home,
even as we pray and hope to be enjoying each others company again
at our next class reunion.
For all these we ask your blessing,
our loving Father, through Jesus your Son,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Welcoming God, whose abiding love sustains our world, with glad hearts we gather here in celebration of our shared histories.
In deep gratitude that stretches back through the years, we remember the strong friendships forged in our youth. We give thanks for the devoted lives of teachers, coaches, mentors and family whose generosity nurtured us as we grew. Tonight even as we rekindle old friendships, we are tenderly mindful of our twelve friends and classmates who are no longer with us on earth. We give thanks for their lives, and we pray for peace and comfort to those who grieve their loss.
May our time together be joy-filled as we share memories of days gone by and news of where life's journey has taken us. Give us grace to recognize our mistakes from the past, so that we might have forgiving hearts. May our personal reunions be shaped by kindness and laughter, and may the stories told and retold tonight bring delight and good will.
We give thanks for the food we share tonight, for the hands who harvested, transported, prepared and now serve it. And as we enjoy this meal, may our festivities be a toastin honor of and thanksgiving for those who had a part in our lives at Centralia High School over thirty years ago.
Bless this reunion time. May these moments together lead us to treasure ever more fully each beat of our hearts and every new day life brings us.
With the hope of God's shalom in our world we pray, Amen.