All the Ends by Lisle Gwinn Garrity
Used with permission. SanctifiedArt.org
Please feel free to join us in the prayers we prayed in worship this First Sunday of Advent, November 28, 2021:
Loving God,
you created us in love,
and all creation,
and,
from the beginning of time,
you have never stopped coming to us,
to breathe life into us,
to call us into community,
to liberate us from every system of oppression,
to bring us home our places of exile,
to enter into our suffering with us,
to heal our broken places,
to save us from everything that does us harm,
to set your whole world free.
Always, you are here.
Always, you are on the way.
As we enter into Advent,
may we wait for you,
and greet you with a Yes.
May we embrace
your love and tender mercy
in the lives we live.
We thank you for the nearness of you
in all the world’s hurting places.
We pray for the mortal ache of creation
in a climate emergency of our creating.
Forgive us, call us into better ways,
courageous ways, sustainable ways,
that help you heal the planet
and all who live here.
We pray for those harmed by the systems of oppression
we have created, particularly American racism.
Heal our uneven, unequal justice –
we give thanks for those moments
where vigilantes are held accountable for murder;
we mourn this violent world where men with automatic weapons
are allowed to roam free and wreak terror.
Help us see the ways we participate in systemic racism. And stop.
Help us dismantle with you what needs to be torn down
so that all your children can be free and thrive.
As we travel this Advent with Mary,
Theotokos,
Mother of Sorrows,
Mother of God,
we pray
for those who are hurting, healing,
for those who are unhoused, shelter,
for those who are hungry, food enough to survive and thrive,
for those who are oppressed, freedom,
for those who are mourning, comfort,
for those who are lonely companionship.
In your tender mercy,
we know that the dawn from on high is breaking even now
to shine into the depths of the world’s despair
and to guide our feet in the way of peace.
With all who have ever ached and longed for you,
we lift our voices, with theirs, in hope,
praying the prayer that Jesus taught:
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.