Opening Convocation Prayer - Richard Crocker

Richard Crocker, College Chaplain
Opening Convocation Prayer
Dartmouth College
September 10, 2012



God of Truth and Hope:
We are here to seek truth.
Sustain us in that task.

Help us not to be distracted by trivia,
or the fickle tyranny of college rankings,
or the foolishness of harmful traditions,
or illusions of self-importance.
Sustain our search for truth.

And sustain our hope
that this search is a human blessing,
not to be feared, but embraced with joy and perseverance,
and that it will lead us to a better life,
not for some, but for all.
Sustain us, O God of truth and hope,
in our common life,
this year and always.
Amen.

Baccalaureate Benediction - Kurt Nelson

A prayer especially for graduates:

You have been told for four years,

that you’re the best and the brightest.

You’ve been told countless times that "the world’s troubles are your troubles."

And if - by the end of this weekend -

you can count the number of times you've been told to,

"Go out and change the world,"

I'll be surprised. 

But I might humbly suggest,

in the midst of the whirlwind that is this weekend,

that you take a moment to Pause,

and let your blessings catch up with you.*

Martin Luther King Service

Benediction
MLK Multi-faith service
Rollins Chapel, Dartmouth College
Richard R. Crocker, College Chaplain
January 15, 2012

Dr. King did not often speak about mathematics, except in this statement, which he often quoted:
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

This was a quotation from the nineteenth century abolitionist/pastor Theodore Parker.

About 100 years ago, our own President William Jewett Tucker, standing at this spot in this chapel, said to the assembled student body, regarding the relationship between faith and reason:

“If you have found the arc, you can cast the circle. That is the business of faith. Reason traces the line inch by inch. Faith discovers the curve and projects it.” (William Jewett Tucker, Personal Power, 1920, pp 173-4.)

So let us leave today, with faith that the arc of justice in human history projects a circle that includes us all, and that the circle will be unbroken, by and by.

The Challenge of Unanswered Prayer - Richard R. Crocker

The Challenge of Unanswered Prayer
Richard R. Crocker
Church of Christ at Dartmouth College
July 24, 2011
Hosea 1:2-10 and Luke 11:1-13

Here I am, talking about prayer, again. I would not be surprised if you were tired of it. After all, I talked about it last summer when I preached here. And you were kind enough to ask me to come and give another talk about it this winte during a Sunday afternoon session. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to talk about it again, had not the gospel lesson in today’s lectionary compelled me to do so. For those of you who think you have heard everything I might have to say on this subject, I apologize and beg your indulgence. I shall try not to be unnecessarily repetitive. I do not aim to be like the man in today’s parable, who by his persistence finally rouses his sleeping neighbor, but I am aware of the parallel. There is something just a bit different in what I will say today. First, I will offer a few brief thoughts on the general nature of prayer. And then I will focus more specifically on the experience of unanswered prayer. Much of what I will say is heavily indebted to Harry Emerson Fosdick’s little book, The Meaning of Prayer, which I commend to you.

First, the general thoughts. Prayer is the essence of the religious life in general, and it is certainly the essence of the Christian life. That bears repeating, doesn’t it? Prayer is the essence of the religious life in general, and it is certainly the essence of the Christian life.

Commencement Prayer 2011 (Pentecost)

Commencement
June 12, 2011
Richard R. Crocker, College Chaplain

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

On this Pentecost day, we remember the promise:
Your sons and daughters shall prophecy. Old men and women shall dream dreams; young men and women shall see visions.

Today old ones – parents, grandparents, great grandparents, in body and in spirit - see their dreams realized.

Today young ones – our students, our sons and daughters, our grandsons and granddaughters - see visions.

We are all full of hope and gratitude.
May God’s spirit rest upon us all, enabling us to listen to the groaning of a fragile, endangered, and violent world, and enabling us to speak with voices of compassion that all can understand.

May the dreams of the old and the visions of the young lead us to a world of justice, mercy, and peace.

Amen.

Effective Prayer - Richard Crocker

Effective Prayer
Hanover UCC
Richard R. Crocker
July 25, 2010

Scripture: Genesis 18:20-32; Luke 11:1-13

You may have heard this joke. Forgive me if you have.

A man was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place. Looking up to heaven, he said, “Lord, please help me find a parking place. If you do, I’ll go to church every Sunday and I‘ll give up alcohol, I promise. Suddenly, a parking place appeared. The man looked up again and said, "Never mind. I found one.”

This sermon is about prayer. Prayer is something that all of us know about and that many of us practice. Yet there is a great deal of confusion among religious people about the efficacy of prayer, about its purpose and its practice. I hope this sermon will help you think about prayer more clearly and perhaps value it more dearly.