Our Dwelling Places

This scripture, in the chapel at Richmond Hill Retreat Center, is from one of the Psalms of Ascent.

By Rev. Caitlin Childers Brown
Pastor and Minister of Service & Community

This week, I am in Richmond, Virginia, to participate in a cohort from Union Presbyterian called The Bridge for Early Career Preachers. The cohort is filled with young pastors from across the country and across denominations who are in their first five to seven years of ministry. Through swapping stories and getting to know one another, I have been encouraged to hear how our church’s struggles and fears are the same whether we are in Plainview, Texas, Tacoma, Washington, or Macon, Georgia. The question of how to be a faithful body of Christ in our ever-changing society is universal and it is encouraging to know we are not alone in our wrestling.

One of the most powerful things for me has been the times of prayer at this retreat. We are staying at Richmond Hill: an ecumenical retreat center in the heart of the city, founded after the Civil War to pray for the city. That original mission is still central to the center, and so at morning, midday, and evening prayer there is a time of praying for the city, naming neighborhoods and leaders, churches and institutions. As a people who believe in a God who hears our prayers, there is something so beautiful in praying directly for the places we dwell. It is moving and encouraging to know that people have been praying for this city for over a century and a half.

In that spirit of knowing we serve a God who hears our cries and responds, this morning I thought I would share one of their prayers, adapted for Macon.:

Prayer for Macon:

For the healing of Macon, for the sick and those on our hearts; for the welfare of all our citizens; for the establishment of God’s order in our community; and for peace. Amen.

May we be a little like the people at Richmond Hill, praying for the places where we dwell!