Grace Cathedral
Gather for Worship
Prayer and Care
When you need support from us.
We are here for you and for each other.
Our community provides support to one another as we walk together through life’s ups and downs and especially in times of crisis, illness, or grief. There are many ways you can get and offer support in difficult times. Learn how to request personal prayers for healing and how to contact a clergy member.
Prayers for Difficult Time and Special Occasions
You can request to speak with a clergy member for pastoral care. Our clergy wants to have the chance to be helpful to anyone who is in the hospital, having health problems, experiencing grief, or otherwise in a time of crisis. In a pastoral emergency, please call the cathedral’s main telephone number, 415-749-6300. There will be a prompt for connecting with our clergy member on call. If you do not hear the prompt the first time, press 9 to replay the welcome message.
During the 11 am Eucharist on Sundays, you are invited to individual prayer with our Healing Ministers in the AIDS Interfaith Memorial Chapel.
The Rite of Reconciliation (Confession)
Clergy are available for confession and counsel around services on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Confession is an invitation to encounter God’s extraordinary grace and forgiveness, in a confidential, face-to-face conversation with a priest. You may make an appointment for a confession at any time by contacting the pastoral staff; or simply come to the Chapel of Grace at open hours between services on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.
In The Episcopal Church, we often approach confession with the refrain “all may, none must, some should.” Confession may be a spiritual discipline you feel called to undertake during the penitential season, or a response to an event that weighs on your conscience. In preparation, it is helpful to set aside time to reflect on our lives in light of God’s presence and call to us, traditionally called “the examination of conscience.” Resources such as the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the first portion of the Great Litany, or The Seven Social Sins, can be helpful optics through which to view your life. The idea is not to make an exhaustive list of shortcomings, but to have a sense of when you are working in concert with the divine, and when you are willingly turning from God. One or two representative sins are sufficient.
The priest will guide you through the rite of reconciliation. and may recommend a prayer or spiritual practice, text to meditate on, or movement toward reconciliation with another person.
God’s love is always stronger than our fear; God’s forgiveness always greater than our sin. There is nothing you can do to remove God’s goodness, but confession offers a pathway of inward transformation that makes us more receptive to God and more free to live in communion with God, our neighbor, and ourselves.
Form to Request Prayer
Please submit the form below to request prayers. Be assured your submission will be treated with the utmost confidence. Your first name will be added to the prayers of the people, and we will pray for you during the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer. Please feel free to call us with any questions at (415) 749-6300 or email us.