Please feel free to join us in the prayers prayed in worship Sunday, January 29, 2023:
Loving God,
you created all that is
and called it good,
even us.
Over the millennia,
as we have struggled and contended with life,
as we have done violence again and again
to each other and your creation,
you have continued to accompany your creation,
with your steadfast love,
calling us to live into the brave new world come to life in Christ,
that we might embody your justice, healing, and peace.
May we live more fully into
the blessing of your continuing creation
and your constant intention for good.
We pray for the hurts of the world –
and particularly this morning
for the harm that comes from the violence we do.
We pray for the family of Tyre Nichols,
and for all who are wounded and who grieve
this latest police-committed beating and murder.
We pray for an end to the violence
embedded and animated
in American systems of racism and in our culture of violence.
Heal us and help us change.
Help us hunger and thirst for systems
that embody justice and peace.
We pray for the recent and continuing violence in Israel/Palestine,
for an end to the systems of apartheid and violence,
we pray for a lasting and meaningful peace.
We pray for the health and well-being of your good creation,
for healing for the harm that we have done,
as climate crisis progresses unabated toward the cliffs of collapse.
Help us live bravely, relinquishing ways of harm,
embracing ways that lead toward sustainable life.
We pray healing for every hurt.
For those who are hungry, food enough and more.
For those who are unhoused, safe shelter and a home.
For those who grieve, comfort.
For those who are lonely, the companionship of kindred spirits.
From the very beginning,
your intention has always been for our good.
Enlivened by the Spirit of Christ,
may we re-create with you
a world of shared power and mutual care,
in which all creation can live and thrive.
In community with all creation,
we lift our voices with the voices of all who have ever called on you,
praying the prayer that Jesus taught, saying:
Our Father/Mother, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Photo credit: Pascal Debrunner, used with permission via Unsplash