If you wish to have a prayer included on the prayer network, please submit your prayer request to etcumspiri220@comcast.net or telephone 410-535-4213 and leave a telephone message. .

Guidelines for Submission

Prayers must conform to the following guidelines:

· Maximum prayer length is one line (120 characters, Times New Roman, 12 point).

· If using someone’s name, prior approval must have been secured.

· The prayer network is not a discussion forum, legal, medical or otherwise, nor is it a soapbox to further one’s own views.

· The web page is available to all, so discretion should be used when wording a prayer request.

· Internet “prayer chain” requests will not be accepted.

· Anonymous prayer requests acceptable, but cannot identify a person by name.

For further guidance, please refer to the Prayer Network Guidelines previously issued. If you need a copy of these guidelines, please send an email requesting same to etcumspiri220@comcast.net and a copy will be furnished.

Prayers not conforming to the above guidelines WILL be edited

August 30, 2009

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; Psalm 15:2-5; James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.  You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."  (Mark 7:6-8)

August 30, 2009

In the Gospel reading Jesus chastises the Pharisees for honoring God only with their lips while their hearts were far from him; love was missing from their analysis of whether or not Jesus and his disciples had sinned by disobeying a Jewish rule about cleanliness. The rule was more important to them than the person. They had the self-righteous attitude of: "I know better than you, and I am better than you, proven by the fact that I obey the laws that you're breaking."

Obedience, when motivated by a love for rules and regulations, is hypocrisy. It's full of self-righteous arrogance that uses the law to make us feel superior to others.  It is right to speak up when we witness disobedience, and we should do it, but we are most successful in guiding others into greater holiness when we take the time to first understand the roots of their disobedience and then address those concerns with love.

All prayers received after 3:30 p.m. will be posted the next day.

Prayers will remain on the prayer network for two days only.

Our Daily Prayers

Pray for Brandon, that the doctors at Georgetown Hospital can find the cause of his headaches tomorrow. Peace and Grace Toni Johnson August 30

Please pray that my sister-in-law's surgery today was successful.  Please pray for a friend's nephew, Brett, who had a skate boarding accident yesterday & is in hospital for observation.  Mary Posey August 31