Lord, guide us to a new era of care, compassion, and community.
Help us to realize that wealth is not merit,
Oppression is not righteous, and
Inequity does not help us prosper.
Let us overcome fear, reject hate, and find the strength to pursue your ways of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.*
Guide us O Lord. Amen
* Galatians 5:22-23.
Lord, please keep this nation under your care and guide us as we vote that we may become a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Renew the ties of mutual regard on which our civic life depends. Send us honest and able leaders with the care and compassion to help heal our divides so that we may all live in justice and peace. Help us rebuild our common life. Amen
Adapted from The Book of Common Prayer.
Forgive us Lord, for we have sinned.
We have allowed technology to command our focus and fracture our attention.
We have closed our hearts and isolated ourselves, retreating from our fellow citizens.
We have followed the false gods of money and power and celebrity, and so lost our way.
Free us O Lord to see our world as it is; open our eyes to its needs.
Free us O Lord from our loneliness; help us create connected, resilient communities.
Return us O Lord to the right paths; help us to ensure the safety, the tranquility, the dignity of all.
Let us heed your admonition to turn from evil and do good, to seek and pursue peace. (Ps 34:14)
Forgive us, and lead us, O Lord.
Amen
As we start a new year, we share the following prayer from the encyclical “All Brothers” published by Pope Francis on October 3, 2020. The encyclical provides guidance for our civic lives. The prayer is titled “An Ecumenical Christian Prayer” and appears following paragraph 287. Let us commit ourselves to caring for one another and strengthening our communities.
O God, Trinity of love,
from the profound communion of your divine life,
pour out upon us a torrent of fraternal love.
Grant us the love reflected in the actions of Jesus,
in his family of Nazareth,
and in the early Christian community.
Grant that we Christians may live the Gospel,
discovering Christ in each human being,
recognizing him crucified
in the sufferings of the abandoned
and forgotten of our world,
and risen in each brother or sister
who makes a new start.
Come, Holy Spirit, show us your beauty,
reflected in all the peoples of the earth,
so that we may discover anew
that all are important and all are necessary,
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves. Amen.
We thank you Lord for those who build your kingdom –
Bless all of these who are doing your kingdom work here and now.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen
Today’s prayer comes from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.
Almighty God, who created us in your own image:
Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression;
and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you , and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
“Open my eyes, that I might see glimpses of truth thou hast for me . . .”
Clara H. Scott, 1895; Open My Eyes That I May See, Chalice Hymnal, #586
With you Lord all things are possible (Mt. 19:26).
Please show us the possible in our broken world.
Show us the possible of a people-centered economy, the possible of rebuilding our communities, the possible of healing and caring for each other.
Show us the possible of a path to peace and the quieting of our partisan bickering. Show us the hope of a better future for all, O Lord.
Show us your ways, teach us your paths; guide us in your truth and teach us (Ps. 25:4-5).
Walk beside us through these difficult days.
Amen
“God of light, eternal and bright shining, do not allow the noises and shadows of this fleeting world confuse us.” – Clare of Assisi (1194-1253)
Lord, as our routines are disrupted, our diversions disappear, and our futures grow increasingly uncertain, guide us through our fear, anger, and confusion.
Help us to trust in you.
As we sort through our media feeds, listen to the talking heads, and receive conflicting advice, focus us on what is true and hopeful and kind.
Give us a discerning spirit, O Lord.
As we seek to stay connected in community, help us find peace and comfort in what we can do and share, knowing that you walk closely with us in all things.
Help us to persevere, O Lord.
Amen
[On politics] “Most people just want somebody who can articulate their hatreds . . .” (David Brooks, 2011)
It is easy to fear the other –
And yet you call on us
Help us O Lord, to heed your call as we live our lives together.
Amen.
O Lord, help us to see those around us,
their struggles,
their hopes,
their joys,
their depth,
their humanity.
And as we see, fill us with love of your creation in all its beauty and complexity.
Help us O Lord to see what we might be:
One country, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Guide us there O Lord.
Amen
Prayers For Our Country 