Father God, You alone are sovereign over all things and I pray right now that Your will be done in this board meeting and that Your Son and His Name would be glorified in how we conduct our business matters for the church. We seek to always do Your will and ask for Your Spirit to give us guidance in how to make decisions, the freedom to speak up when somethings on our mind, and to make sound and wise decisions that would be for the benefit of the church and for this I pray and in the most glorious name of all names, Jesus Christ, amen.
Righteous God, I ask for Your presence in this meeting today that You would bring to mind the things that are most important and that we would be unified in purpose and not take things personally when someone disagrees with me or someone else or when there are disagreements between others. Help us to focus on the issue and not the person and avoid personal attacks so that the meeting can be more productive and we can do things as You would have us do them. That means we must sometimes humble ourselves before others and acknowledge that someone else's ideas are better than our own. We must keep in mind what the desired outcome is and not what we think it should be, and so I ask for Your help in these areas and for the glorification of the name that is above all names I pray, and that Name is Jesus Christ, amen.
Father God in heaven, I ask You to fill us with Your Spirit and give us the courage to speak in the meeting if we have reason to and that the meeting would be in the best interests of everyone involved. The decisions we make can make huge impacts and so give us Your wisdom that is from above and not lean on our own human understanding. Open our minds to the ideas of others and open our ears to hear the words of others and to make fair assessments of what others might say and to treat with dignity and respect, everyone who is present. We want to be godly in our actions with one another and this means we should be slow to speak and quick to listen and value the opinions of others, so with regards to this, I pray for Your help and in the mighty name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.
Great God in heaven, You are in perfect union with Your Son and Your Spirit and so please I pray that You would give us unity. A unity of one mind, one purpose, and of one spirit so that we can be agreeing upon the one, true purpose for which we are meeting. I need You and everyone here needs You and so send us Your guidance through Your Spirit so that we can more easily be joined together in a common purpose and that all things would be done decently and in order as You would have them done and in a respectable manner that would bring You glory and in Jesus Christ's beloved name I pray, amen.
I ask You of Father God to help me focus on being humble in this meeting because I don't want this to be about bringing my own personal agenda to the meeting. I want to esteem others and their opinions better than my own and want to humble myself before them and admit when I make mistakes and confess to everyone present when I was wrong. I desire to model the humility that Jesus Christ our Lord showed (Phil 2:4-9) but I also don't want to be inhibited from speaking about what I think is best so please give me boldness to speak with I feel it is important but not because it's my idea; but because I sincerely believe it is best and help me to keep my focus on You and Your will in making decisions in alignment with Your will. Let that be the chief purpose in my soul and in Jesus Christ's precious name I pray, amen.
Loving God,
We come to you in gratitude today
Giving thanks for fellowship and friendship
And the promise of a new school year full of hopes and plans
We welcome our new colleagues into our family and ask that you bless them and guide them as they begin their journey with us
Bless and guide those of us who join them today as we seek to share our well-worn and well-intentioned paths with them, and as we delight in learning what new things they have to teach us
Help us to be present and compassionate for those for whom these new beginnings bring fear and uncertainty
Lead us in all the work we do, so that our students may reap the benefits of our collective wisdom and experience
And let us all marvel in the joy of being together on this beautiful day
Amen
We offer salutations and respect to all present at this meeting and
to all who will be affected by it.
We brush off the chairs on which we sit -
to make a clear space for a meeting of minds.
We brush off from our clothing any debris picked up on the way -
to clear our minds of extraneous matters.
We wipe the blood from our hands -
to acknowledge and apologize for any hurt we have inflicted.
We wipe the tears from our eyes -
to acknowledge and forgive any hurt we have received.
We take the lump out of our throats -
to let go of any sadness or disappointment.
We take the tightness out of our chests -
to let go of any fear or resentment.
We acknowledge and pray for guidance -
to the Great Creator Spirit of All Life.
Lord, God, we gather together unified in Your name this morning seeking guidance, wisdom, and support as we reflect on past accomplishments of the division and look ahead to working together to promote a brighter future for the University. Lord, grant us courage, boldness, and discernment as we engage in meaningful discussion in an effort to grow closer as a campus community.
Guide our minds and hearts throughout the year so that we work for the good of our community and help all your people. Fill us with the grace of the spirit and continue to remind us that all that we do and accomplish is for the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of you, and for the service of humanity. Help us to grow in peace and understanding with one another.
Lord, we thank you for the blessings that you have bestowed upon Xavier University and its employees. Help us to realize how thankful we are to be working at such a wonderful institution, and that God's presence accompanies us each day of our career.
In closing, bless our families, friends, and coworkers with the gifts of kindness, patience, love, and respect. Give us the grace to share these gifts. Empower us to enjoy the second half of this summer, whether at work or on vacation, before welcoming the students back at the end of August, as You lead all of us through a successful academic year.
Lord, we bring before you these prayers and the prayers that we hold silently in our hearts. We ask all of this in God's name.