Retirement And Farewell Prayers

We have collected some of the best Retirement And Farewell Prayers to use in request to God. May these prayers for safety bring you comfort and peace of mind. May these prayers for strength encourage your spirit and strengthen your faith.

Retirement is the withdrawal from one’s position or occupation or from one’s active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours. The prayers are for blessing those who are about to leave you.

An increasing number of individuals are choosing to put off this point of total retirement, by selecting to exist in the emerging state of pre-tirement.

A prayer for a happy retirement

Dear Father God,

Thank you for the seasons of life, for the joy of childhood, the excitement of youth, and the stability of maturity. Thank you for the blessings that come with age, for all the happy memories to enjoy, for the wisdom that comes through experience, and for the freedom that is given with retirement.

Lord, we give thanks for the tremendous blessing that has come from the work of many years, and thank you that you still anoint and use us always, in all seasons. We pray that this would be a new beginning, may your hope arise, and your vision be the guide. May a new rhythm emerge, one that forms a beautiful balance between rest and engagement with life.

And now Lord, we ask for your blessing. May there be good health, joy in abundance and peace in heart and mind, from this day forwards and each day that follows.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Pension

Pension

A Retirement Prayer

(a prayer to say for a person who is about to retire)

Lord, here I stand with a new horizon ahead of me. I know I am entering a later phase of life, yet I feel so much the same inside.
Help me to seize each sunrise, and fully live each day. May I be guided by You, and walk into this new landscape with hope and confidence.
May I engage with the beauty of creation, and connect with the passions, hopes and dreams I had as when young.
My prayer is not to leave anything behind, but to walk forwards into all I can be, all I can enjoy, and all I can give.
To this new page
The next chapter of my life
– Shared with You.
Amen.

Retirement Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come to you in thankfulness for the many years of service given by our friend and colleague who is retiring. We thank you for the long term contributions they have made in the execution of daily tasks, in their loyalty to our organization and in their sharing of their experience and wisdom with others.

We are appreciative of their hard work and dedication. They have adapted to many changes over the years and have made sacrifices of their personal time when the job demanded it. They have been a mentor and friend to their fellow employees and have worked faithfully despite their own personal obligations, joys and challenges.

We pray your continued blessings on them during this next phase of their life. May your Presence be with them as they choose new paths and explore new horizons. May they be blessed with strong networks of friends and family to enjoy the journey that lies ahead.

Keep them vigorous in body, mind, soul and spirit. Open new doors of service that will satisfy their desire to give and that will make a lasting difference in our world. May they find many receptive hearts and minds for the wisdom they have to offer and many recipients to receive their love and care.

Today we leave them with this blessing from the book of Matthew: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23)

And so we end our prayer, thankful for what has been and grateful for what has yet to be.

Amen.

Starting My Retirement

I have come to an important cross-roads of my life and know that there are many unknown opportunities in the horizons of my life, and I pray that You would take my hand and guide me along the path that You would have me to go.

Thank You that Your word has been a lamp to my feet and a light to my path and as I now step out into the unknown, I pray that You would continue to guard and guide the way that I take – and thank You that You have scheduled every day of my life, including the unknowns in this retirement.

Lord I pray that this may be a wonderful new beginning for me and not the end of the road, that is so often the case when retirement arrives. Help me to seize every opportunity that arises and to explore the skills and gifts that You have given me, so that they may be used to glorify Your name.

I trust You Lord Jesus to be with me in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth and pray that I will submit day by day to the leading of Your Spirit and simply rest in Your love, knowing that You are my light and my life, my way and my end.

– Author Unknown

Farewell Prayer for Students

(a prayer suitable for closing a graduation or school leavers service with)

May God’s blessing follow you all as you find new journeys to travel. May you walk safely along the pathways of your dreams.
May his gentle hand guide the decisions you will make and the passions that you follow.
May your hearts and lives always reflect his love and truth,
And may hope be a light within you that you carry into each new day.
strong>Amen.

Retirement

Retirement

For Your Guidance in My Retirement

Loving Lord, I thank You for the opportunity to step aside from the hustle and bustle of work-a-day living and for the opportunity to enjoy a slower pace of life, in the twilight years of my retirement.

Thank You for the way that You have led me and been with me throughout my busy working career and I pray that You will not forsake me now that life is about slow down as I face my forthcoming retirement.

Keep me I pray, from regretting the passing of my life and may I see this time as an opportunity to seek You more and to live in the expectation that You will open new horizons and opportunities to serve You in ways that will bring blessings to many and glory to Your name.

Help me Lord to see that as this one door on my past life is closing that the exciting door of my eternal future starts today. Thank You that I am Your child. Thank You that You died for me and that heaven is my ultimate “retirement” home and may I live the rest of my days in closer fellowship as I seek to do Your will in every area of my life, from this day forward–even for evermore.

– Author Unknown

Farewell Prayer

(a prayer to pray for those moving away)

May The Road Rise Up To Meet You

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
As we say farewell to our loved ones we entrust them into your care. We pray for happiness and joy to be ahead of them, for wisdom and guidance to be beside them, and for grace and truth to be behind them, pushing them onwards into your goodness. We know that you will always love and protect them, wherever they go.
Amen.

“May The Road Rise Up To Meet You” is an ancient Celtic blessing. It can be used as a prayer for those leaving that they would be ever conscious they are held in the palm of God’s hand. The following is a beautiful contemporary song interpretation of this prayer:

“We know that you will always love and protect them, wherever they go”

Farewell Prayer for Teacher

Lord God,

Thank you for the extraordinary love, commitment and creativity this wonderful teacher has given this school.

Thank you for the way he/she has served us and given out so much to the children we care for.

We pray that he/she would go on to find new treasures each day, and that the blessing of Christ would be upon all that he/she does, forevermore.

Amen.

Happy Memories

Thank you for this special day that we have dedicated to celebrating with our friend _______.

We ask that you would remind __________ of warm, happy memories and inspire him/her with thoughts of future joyful times.

May all his/her paths be filled with your best gifts.

– Beth McLendon

Prayer for a Retirement Celebration

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this special day.

We are excited about the opportunity to honor ____________ and celebrate the event of his/her retirement.

Lord, we thank you for all the ways that you have protected him/her and provided for him/her through the years.

We pray that you would make this retirement party a special time of joyful fellowship and warm memories.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

– Beth McLendon

Party Prayer for Retirement

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this special day that we have dedicated to celebrating with our friend _______.

We ask that you would remind __________ of warm, happy memories and inspire __________ with thoughts of future joyful times.

May all his/her paths be filled with your best gifts.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

– Beth McLendon

Opening Prayer For A Retirement Dinner

Heavenly Father! Thank you for allowing us to gather here today in this joyous occasion. Bless this happy re-union, in which we ask that you impart your blessing upon each of us. And I implore that you bestow a special blessing to your daughter Irma in this new road ahead entering her retirement.

We also request that you grant your approval towards everything that will be done here today and also impart your blessing towards the food that well consume in equal way.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord we prayed. Amen

— by Rev. Luis Figueroa, DD (Puerto Rico)

Military retirement prayers

O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,

You are with us through all our days. Even in times of change, you are still God and we trust in you.

I pray today for this dedicated and faithful Soldier as he retires. We are grateful for the decades of sacrificial service which he offered on our behalf. He and his family have given themselves for us; now I pray that the years to come might continue to bring them satisfaction and well being. Go with them and bless them in every new endeavor.

Lord, bless us all with strength, defend us from harm, and preserve all that we hold dear, that we may continue to serve our community, our nation and our world. In your holy name, Amen.

Prayer for a Retired Pastor

Almighty and ever-living Father, before whose face the generations rise and fall, we give you thanks and praise for all the blessings of this day, and for all the ways, in season and out of season, that you provide for us.

In this season, on this day, we invoke your Holy presence upon this congregation as it gathers in memory and hope to thank and bless this, your servant, Theophilus, at the conclusion of his active ministry.

We give you thanks for those early promptings of your gentle Spirit that stirred his heart to consider this holy calling. As “young men shall see visions and old men shall dream dreams,” we praise you for the persistent vision that led him through long years of service as a minister of your Word.

We thank you for bestowing the necessary graces upon him for carrying out the work to which you called him. Through trials and temptations your eternal presence strengthened and comforted him. In the dry seasons you provided him with living waters to restore his soul. Your unseen hand supported him with the courage needed for the struggles to make real the love of Jesus Christ by word and deed. In the face of disappointments you surprised him again and again with unexpected joy.

Lord God, without whose daily grace none could stand, we earnestly entreat you now to forgive Theophilus all his shortcomings and failures in your service, and to endow him with a calm mind and a peaceful heart as he concludes his days of active service. Remind him that your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts, and that the seeds he sowed and planted and watered during his ministry often only bear fruit in your good time, unseen and unknown except by you.

Our times are in your hands, O God. Bless Theophilus now in this new season of his life and this new chapter in his calling, that his remaining years may be full and fruitful, and assure him of his place, by your grace, among the great cloud of witnesses, living and dead, who have witnessed to your truth and lived out your love. And when his days come to an end grant him the gift of peace and the assurance of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pastor Retirement Quote and Message

God Bless You

TODAY & ALWAYS

We recognize your twenty five years of
priestly ministry service to the Lord,
your friendship and the difference
you have made in the lives of so many
as Preacher, Elder, Teacher, Counselor,
surely you will always be remembered.

Now, as the day dawns on the
next chapter in your life,
May Lord’s blessings be upon you
as you follow in His way,
May you find joy and peace
as He inspires you everyday.

With Great Affection and Gratitude
From Your Church Family

Honoring Our Beloved Pastor Upon His Retirement!

Meditate Relax Relaxing Calm Rest Relaxation

Meditation, Relaxing and Calmness

MASS FOR RETIREMENT

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

Today, we gather as a school community to acknowledge all that……………………..has contributed to education in this school over the last ………….years. With a sense of gratitude in our hearts we thank the Lord for her/his many gifts – especially…………….
We give thanks to God for …………………………..and we ask God’s future blessing on him/her.

HYMN: Gather Round, Alive O 5, page 55

PENITENTIAL RITE
Lord Jesus, you reward those who do good to others.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you draw us into renewal of life.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are a light for our path.
Lord, have mercy.

OPENING PRAYER
Gentle God, we give thanks for the faithful service to the school of ……………………
May we continue to be filled with the gift of your Spirit and support and encourage each other as we work for your glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading:
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to Timothy (2 Timothy 4: 5-8)
You must perform your whole duty as a servant of God. As for me, the hour has come; the time is here for me to leave this life. I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me
the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day – and not only me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.
The Word of the Lord.

PSALM
ALLELUIA
GOSPEL (John 17: 1, 3-5)
Jesus looked up to heaven and said “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you. Eternal life means knowing Jesus Christ whom you sent. I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do. Father! Give me the glory in your presence now, the same glory I had with you before the world was made.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Priest:
Source of all blessings we turn to you and pray:

Response: Generous God, bless us.

For the needs of our Church and our world today.
Response: Generous God, bless us.

For those who contribute to the education of children.
Response: Generous God, bless us.

For …………………….who retires from this school that s/he will be rewarded for his/her
dedicated service.
Response: Generous God, bless us.

For your continued inspiration and blessing on this school community.
Response: Generous God, bless us.

That through the prayers of …………………………..the patron/patroness of this school,
we may proclaim the Good News always.
Response: Generous God, bless us.

Priest:
Loving God, hear our prayers and continue to help us in our needs, through Christ
our Lord.
Amen

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Lord, look with love on our service. Accept the gifts we bring and help us grow in Christian love. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen

COMMUNION HYMN: Do This in Memory, Alive O 4, page 393

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord, you have nourished us with the bread of life. Help us to continue to serve and thank you by lives of faithful service. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Amen.

FINAL BLESSING
Invite the retiring person or persons to stand.

1 Invite the CHILDREN to stretch out their hands in blessing, palms turned down, while the choir sing…
The Spirit of God is upon us,” Alive O 5, page 33

2 A TEACHER reads the Reflection/Blessing: John O’Donohue

REFLECTION

This is where your life has arrived,
After all the years of effort and toil;
Look back with graciousness and thanks
on all your great and quiet achievements.
You stand on the shore of new invitation
To open your life to what is left undone;
Let your heart enjoy a different rhythm
When drawn to the wonder of other horizons.
Have the courage for a new approach to time;
Allow it to slow until you find freedom
To draw alongside the mystery you hold
And befriend your own beauty of soul.
Now is the time to enjoy your heart’s desire,
To live the dreams you’ve waited for,
To awaken the depths beyond your work
And enter into your infinite source.

John O’Donohue

3 PRIEST gives the Final Blessing.

FINAL HYMN

PLANT A MEMORY TREE
Some children, teachers and parents could be invited to plant a tree in memory of the teacher.

See also

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