O God of the Ages, in whose sight a thousand years are but a moment, we give thee thanks for our small place in the long procession of history -- a place we occupy for but a very little while and must soon relinquish.

     Grant us grace so to order our lives that we may cherish life, rejoice in it and celebrate it.

     Help us to become aware, as have those in the countless generations gone by, that whatever advantages we have had -- in pleasant conditions of home life, in strong bodies, alert minds -- in parents, teachers, friends, along the way, who who cared and helped and have loved us ...

  
... That we must not take these things to ourselves as a matter of course, as our just due, or our well-deserved portion.  But rather, we must make a comparable investment in other life -- whether it be in providing Christian nurture for our own, here in this building, or in rescuing one frail, pain-ridden life from the brink of disaster in a distant land.

      Accept our gifts, which represent a tiny part of our lives, as an investment in other life: a participation, with thee in things eternal.  For we know that herein lies our fulfillment and our salvation.

     In the name of Jesus, Amen.