Prayers of the People

by Douglas J. Eboch

Hear the story read by the author


In the town of Normal, Pennsylvania, there’s a little church on the corner of Wilson and Elm . On the last Sunday of each month, they do Prayers of the People in service. This a time when Pastor Henry O’Donnell asks the members of the congregation to raise their hands and offer their individual prayers of concern or thanksgiving. Most of the time it goes relatively smoothly. Last week was an exception.

Perhaps Pastor O’Donnell should have sensed something was brewing when he looked out over the congregation before the start of service. Husband and wife Kevin and Jill Boyer were sitting on opposite sides of the church. Jill was sitting with an unfamiliar young woman and Kevin was sitting with his friend Billy Kent. It was unusual but certainly not unprecedented for a married couple to sit with different friends, so Pastor O’Donnell noticed but didn’t really think much of it. And the identity of the young woman was revealed when it came time to introduce visitors. She was Joanna, Jill’s sister, visiting from out west.

Then came time for prayers of the people. The pastor was surprised to see Joanna’s hand raised. Visitors usually didn’t participate in that sort of thing. But he guessed maybe she wanted to thank her sister for her hospitality. He called on her first.

“My sister has a really hectic life,” Joanna began. “She has a full time job and two children that keep her very busy.”

Pastor O’Donnell knew Jill’s children. He could easily imagine how busy they kept her.

Joanna continued, “I’d like to pray that the people around her recognize how hard she works
and lend a helping hand every once in a while so she can take a break when she needs it.”

Kevin’s hand shot into the air. Pastor O’Donnell felt his stomach tighten as he nodded toward Kevin.

“I’d like to pray for the patience to tolerate meddling family members,” Kevin said.
Joanna shot to her feet. Pastor O’Donnell looked desperately for someone else to call on, but Joanna didn’t wait. “I’d like to pray for the patience to accept people who don’t realize how selfish they are. And I’d like to pray that I don’t miss my flight home tomorrow.”

Kevin hadn’t even sat down. “I’d like to pray that there isn’t another accident near the airport tomorrow so I don’t have to endure constant criticism because I was late one freakin’ time for reasons completely beyond my control.”

Joanna was about to respond but Jill stood and cut her off. “I’d like to pray that my loved ones recognize when they are embarrassing me and stop it,” Jill said.

Pastor O’Donnell took the opportunity to jump in before things could get any worse, saying “Okay, great, does anyone else have a prayer of thanks or prayers of concern for others?” Donald East raised his hand. Pastor O’Donnell pointed at him, glad he wasn’t related in any way to the Boyers.

“I’d like to pray for the poor people who can’t find parking spaces because SUV drivers take two spots in the parking lot,” Donald said.

Up in the choir, Del Winslow, a proud SUV owner, raised his hand. “I’d like to pray that people who drive compact cars park in the compact spaces instead of taking the big spaces and forcing the owners of big cars, who might have a perfectly good reason for owning them, to squeeze into tiny spaces because those are the only ones left.”

Pastor O‘Donnell desperately tried to steer things in another direction. “Any prayers of thanksgiving? Someone must be thankful for something.”

Ralph Billings, head usher, stepped forward. “I’m thankful there’s a grocery store a block up the street where I can get healthy food since only sugary snacks are served at coffee hour despite my many requests.”

Kevin Boyer shouted out, “I’m thankful for the sugary snacks.”

Two dozen hands shot up. Pastor O’Donnell sighed. He really wanted to just move on to the anthem, but it would be inappropriate to not give everyone the opportunity to express their prayers. He decided his best bet was to just start at the front and work his way back. Shane, sitting at the piano, had his hand up. “You have a prayer, Shane?”

Shane stood and cleared his throat. “I’d like to pray for my brother who just got diagnosed with prostate cancer and his wife and two little boys.”

Pastor O’Donnell was stunned. He gave Shane a sympathetic nod and made a mental note to call him later in the week. As Shane sat back down, the pastor turned back to the congregation. “Who else has a prayer?” Amazingly, not a hand went up.

Normally at the end of prayers of the people Pastor O’Donnell would say a prayer that touched on each of the concerns voiced. But this time he simply said, “Lord, we pray for sick relatives, give thanks for visiting family, and most of all we ask that you help us learn to get along with one another. Amen.” And the people said, “Amen.”

After the service, Pastor O’Donnell retreated to his office. He needed to consider whether once a month might be a little too often for prayers of the people.

(c) 2008 Douglas J. Eboch