Posts Tagged ‘community’
February 7, 2021
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
Tags:community, compassion, confession, country, dignity, false gods, forgiveness, peace, politics, Prayer, right paths, safety, tranquility, United States, USA
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January 3, 2021
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.
Tags:brotherhood, community, country, diversity, healing, hope, humanity, light, love, politics, Prayer, United States, USA
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September 20, 2020
We thank you Lord for those who build your kingdom –
- for those who step forward to care for us, even at risk to themselves;
- for those who accept the call to military service;
- for those who, despite fear and threats, take action in the pursuit of justice;
- for those who speak up to defend rather than diminish our democratic ideals of community and trust;
- for those working to ensure all can vote;
- for those who feed the hungry and provide support to those who have lost their jobs;
- for those who shelter the homeless;
- for those who educate our children;
- for those who comfort the grieving;
- for those who reach out in hope and healing.
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
Tags:community, country, democracy, healing, hope, justice, kingdom, politics, Prayer, service, trust, United States, USA
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July 12, 2020
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
Tags:community, courage, Creator, freedom, God, grace, justice, mercy, oppression, peace, politics, Prayer
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May 9, 2020
“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
Tags:community, country, healing, hope, peace, politics, Prayer, USA
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March 29, 2020
“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
Tags:community, coronavirus, hope, peace, politics, Prayer, trust
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February 2, 2020
[On politics] “Most people just want somebody who can articulate their hatreds . . .” (David Brooks, 2011)
It is easy to fear the other –
- the alien,
- the stranger,
- the one who thinks differently,
- the poor,
- the sick,
- the ones in need who look for more.
And yet you call on us
- to embrace the alien (Ex. 22:21),
- to welcome the stranger (Mt. 25:35),
- to reject factions (Gal. 5:20),
- to serve the poor (Lev. 19:9-10),
- to care for the sick (Mt. 25:36), and
- to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mt. 22:34-40; Mk 12:28-34).
Help us O Lord, to heed your call as we live our lives together.
Amen.
Tags:community, compassion, country, faith, fear, hate, mercy, poltics, Prayer, USA
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December 15, 2019
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
Tags:christianity, community, country, faith, humanity, love, peace, politics, Prayer, religion, seeing, USA
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March 2, 2017
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8
O Lord, guide our leaders — and us as citizens — that we may pursue goodness, knowledge, self-control, godliness, and kindness in our political lives and in our communities. Help us reach out to our neighbors, breaking down the walls of “us” and “them”. Calm our anger and fears. Steer us from factions and petty disputes. Teach us to love. Help us live by your Spirit and find peace and prosperity together. (Galatians 5:19-26).
Amen
Tags:anger, community, country, faith, peace, politics, Prayer, progress, reconciliation, USA
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October 25, 2009
. . . “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25
Thank you Lord for those who take up the hard work of governing, and especially those who are volunteers in our cities and counties, or serve school and fire districts or on other boards and commissions. Bless and encourage those who work for the common good and persevere in the face of great challenges. Help free those who are caught in the vise of party partisanship and enforcement. Save us from those who would abuse their public trust. Mitigate the voices of paid lobbyists and partisan media, and help those who govern to hear instead the voices and needs of the governed. Help us examine our public life and turn away from the behaviors that discourage many who are capable from serving – mockery, misstatement, false accusations, and other behaviors designed to limit debate and consolidate the power of a faction. Let us, both leaders and citizens, find new ways to connect, engage, and listen to each other. Help those who would lead our communities reach across divides, focus on core needs, and move forward together, adding to their ranks as they go. Lead us, O Lord.
Amen
Tags:community, country, hope, leadership, politics, Prayer, renewal, USA
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Prayers For Our Country 