LET US PRAY . . .
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. - Galatians 5:22-23
Prayer Family for the Week: Robin and Grant Vosburgh and family
*Please pray for Rev. Todd Jenkins' daughter Holly. Todd is the pastor of FPC-Fayetteville. Their daughter Holly is 23 years old. She is blind in her left eye from an early childhood problem and now she seems to be losing sight in her right eye. She had surgery yesterday for a detached retina. Please pray for Holly and her family. (2/2/12) UPDATE 2/2/12 from Rev. Jenkins: Post-op exam went well. Holly is diligently keeping her face down, which is critical in achieving optimal retinal adhesion. Five flat - face down is the first order of business. Then another 10 days of taking it easy. Thank you for your prayers and concern. UPDATE 2/9/12: Holly finished her 5-flat five days with her face parallel to the ground. Unfortunately, she found another blind spot in her field of vision.
*Teresa Burns requests prayers for her nephew, Jackson Baker. Her sister, Trish, said he has b een admitted to Tanner Hospital in Douglasville, GA for three to four days. He has a condition called pancreatitis which is not common for his age. They are bringing in a specialist and he is sedated because of the pain. We do not know if he will be having surgery. Jackson is 20 years old. (1/30/12) UPDATE 2/5/12 from Teresa: Doctors believe Jackson's condition was caused by drinking energy drinks. He is on a special diet now.
*Teresa Burns requests prayers for her friend, Randy Flagg, who has stage 4 esophageal cancer. (1/22/12)
*Heather Costello requests prayers for her mom in Canada. She has been admitted to the hospital due to difficulty in breathing. Heather will know more tomorrow. (1/15/12 E. Montgomery) UPDATE 1/22/12: Results of the biopsy should be available tomorrow. She's a very sick lady. UPDATE 1/25/12 from Rev. Montgomery: Marjie Kennedy, Heather Costello's mother, will soon be moved to the Palliative Care Unit of the hospital where she is in Canada. Her doctors met with her and her family yesterday and told them that the tumor in her lung has progressed too far for any medical or surgical options. Her doctors believe that she most likely has only a few weeks to live. Heather says her mother is coping remarkably well and is in good spirits so far. But obviously it is a very difficult time for the entire family. UPDATE 1/29/12: Heather's mother is getting worse faster than the doctors had anticipated. Heather intends to stay for the duration. UPDATE 2/5/12: Mrs. Kennedy is in Hospice Care. UPDATE 2/6/12 from Emma: Heather just sent a text: "Mom is not doing well. She needs our prayers." UPDATE 2/9/12 from Heather: Our prayers were answered. Mom went peacefully this morning. UPDATE 2/12/12: Funeral for Mrs. Kennedy will be next Saturday.
*Madolyn Hamlett requests prayers for a two-year-old named Clair and a nine-year-old named Sadie. Both girls have cancer and are not doing well. (1/6/12)
*Preston Ussery requests prayers for his mother, Wanda Ussery. She was airlifted to Saint Thomas tonight after suffering a heart attack. She is undergoing heart surgery tonight. She has blockages, as well as damage from a past heart attack. (1/2/11) UPDATE 1/3/12 from Rev. Montgomery: Preston said the procedures the doctors attempted last night were not very successful. They are trying some medicines, but if those do not help, they are planning open heart surgery this Thursday. UPDATE 1/4/12: Meds not working so far. Surgery possible on Friday. UPDATE 1/9/12: Wanda is at home taking meds to help her get strong enough for open heart surgery.
*Please remember Doris Latta in your prayers. She continues to have medical problems. (1/1/12) UPDATE 2/2/12: Doris is to have tests on February 10 and 13 to determine if she's doing okay. Please be in prayer for her.
*Brownie Brown requests prayers for Ron and Nancy Marshall. Ron is to have surgery in August to remove a rather large benign tumor. (7/20/11) UPDATE 8/17/11 from Brownie: Ron's surgery is scheduled for next week. They have gone back to Augusta, GA. UPDATE 11/26/11 from Brownie: Ron is scheduled for additional surgery in the near future. Please pray for them. UPDATE 11/28/11 from Brownie: Ron's diagnosis is urethal carcinoma high degree. The additional surgery will be a laproscopic procedure (trans urethal resection of bladder) which will be followed by six weeks of chemotherapy. He would like for us to pray for him. UPDATE 2/19/12: Doris should get the test results on Tuesday, 2/21.
*Kara Burns asks that her sister, Bethany Reischman, be added to our prayer list. She is 20 weeks pregnant and has found out that she is already dilating, making her a high risk for pre-term delivery. She goes to Vanderbilt tomorrow for further tests and a decision on how to manage her pregnancy from here on. She is understandably upset and nervous. She and her husband, Robert, also have 3 older children to care for. (T. Burns/10-25-11)
*Please pray for Erlene and Sonny Roller's daughter Cindy Stevenson. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctor is taking all precautionary measures to determine treatment. (10/3/11) UPDATE 10/24/11: Surgery is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 11 o'clock at Crestwood.. UPDATE 11/9/11 from T. Burns: Erlene called and said Cindy has completed the first surgery. Lymph nodes are clean and the reconstruction surgery is underway. She said it might be 3:00 or after before the second surgery is completed. Erlene said she would call again as soon as she has seen her. Keep the prayers coming. UPDATE 11/9/11: Cindy is out of surgery and in recovery and everything went well. UPDATE 11/10/11 from Erlene: Cindy is home. UPDATE 11/16/11 from Rev. Montgomery: Cindy met with her doctors yesterday and got both good and hard news. Her recovery from surgery is progressing very well, but the doctors have actually identified three cancers in her case. She will go back in for additional tests to see what treatment will be best. Her prognosis remains excellent, but the news was jarring, to say the least. UPDATE 12/5/11 from Erlene: Cindy will start chemo on Friday, Dec. 9. She will have four treatments, one every third week. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. UPDATE 12/11/11: Cindy has had no side effects from her first treatment. UPDATE 1/25/12: Cindy finished her third session of chemotherapy on Friday and has one more on February 9. It is a difficult road, but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Please continue to keep the family in your prayers. Erlene UPDATE 2/12/12 from Erlene: Cindy had her last chemo on Thursday at the Huntsville Cancer Clinic and has had a rough weekend. She should feel better in a few days. Please continue to pray for us as it will take several months for the chemicals they put into her body to leave.
*Seven-year-old Curt Cannon from First Presbyterian Church, Fayetteville, was riding his bicycle when he ran an intersection and was hit by his own mother. He is in Vanderbilt Hospital and is unresponsive. Please remember Curt and his family in your prayers. (4/14/11) UPDATE 4/15/11: Curt has opened his eyes several times but also had his blood pressure and intracranial pressure rise considerably. UPDATE 5/9/11: Curt has been transferred to Scottish Rite, Atlanta. He is still in a coma, but is making small steps toward recovery. UPDATE 5/17/11: The trach is out. He is moving more and is swallowing some. He is still in a coma. UPDATE 6/30/11: Curt is still at Scottish Rite and is not doing well. His agitation has returned which makes therapy impossible. UPDATE 7/14/11: Curt is doing good cognitively but not physically. He is scheduled to go home July 20. UPDATE 7/27/11: Curt is at home now. UPDATE 8/23/11: Curt is talking more and even put together a Lego set. His agitation and anger remain, however. UPDATE 9/1/11: Curt has made some amazing progress; he is much stronger. He is talking more. UPDATE 9/11/11: Curt will go for his 5 month evaluation in Atlanta this week. UPDATE 10/13/11: Curt is to be admitted to the Scottish Rite Day Rehab Program on Sunday (Oct. 16). UPDATE 10/20/11: Curt is doing so well at Scottish Rite Day Rehab. UPDATE 11/16/11: Curt is making great progress. He is becoming more stable with his walking and more sure of himself. Thanks to everyone for their prayers; please keep the coming. UPDATE 12/28/11: Curt graduated from the Atlanta Day Rehab and is back home. He made a lot of progress in the ten weeks he was there, but there is still a long way to go. Please continue to pray for him.
*Prayers of thanksgiving for the ministry of Robert Montgomery and for guidance as he shepherds the sheep of First Presbyterian Church. Let us also continue to pray God's guidance for the session.
*Please
be faithful in praying for the Youth of our church. With thanksgiving, remember all who work in this ministry.*Include these in your prayers this week, please:
*Please pray for those who have special needs and concerns.
. . . PRAYER OF CONFESSION. . .
O Lord God, our lives are in your hands. You are the judge of all the earth, and we are people desperately in need of your grace and mercy. We would like to think that our sins are limited to a few petty vices, but when we think of the grandeur of the universe and the depth of your great love, we realize that we have been lazy, self-absorbed and filled with our small ways. Forgive us, great Lord of life and love! Wake us anew to the splendor and joy of living lives rooted in your love, which gives itself away freely, regardless of the response from others. Help us to be disciples of Jesus, come what may, to live in awe and wonder of your goodness and kindness, and to give our hearts, minds and bodies freely to the call of the Kingdom of God. Let your will be done on earth, and in us, as it is in heaven. Amen.
* If you have a prayer request please call the Church Office at 363-2554, or send it by e-mail to
Barbara Puryear or Erlene Roller. Home