World in Prayer

This Week’s Prayer

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, September 24, 2020

God of Our Ancestors,

Since before we were born, you have knit your people into a great reimagining of purpose and life. You call us by your mercy and claim us with your truth. Even in these days of protest and pandemic, show us what it means that you are the Creator, Christ, and Comforter. Show us how to believe that you have made each of us in your image. Show us what it means that even now, your kingdom is breaking into the world. Even in these days, show us how to sing and praise and pray to you.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of Our Present,

In Christ, we recognize our reality as people called to join you in the journey. Teach us how to follow you. Make yourself known to us. Make yourself known to those fighting and fleeing wildfires on the West Coast of the United States, as well as those who are living with the aftermath of devastating flames and red skies of smoke. Make yourself known to those grappling with COVID-19, whether they are at home or in hospital beds, prison cells or nursing homes, science labs or health institutes or non-profit organizations. We give you thanks for those within the African Union, New Zealand, and other regions where communities are collectively, compassionately working so well to contain and curtain the virus in their midst. We pray for guidance for those in the United States, India, Brazil, and Mexico, as they all grapple with severely high mortality rates. This week our heart breaks as the United States pass 200,000 dead. This week also we lift up the family and colleagues of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, after her death in Washington, DC, last week. Shower mercy upon all those who grieve. Be with us in our present moments. Reveal yourself in ways that we might taste and touch and see and hear and know, deep within our flesh and bones.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of Descendants,

Your story does not begin and end with us. You who loved our ancestors are also preparing the way for our children. Nurture the lives of all young people around the world who are living with the uncertainty of economic prospects, the stress of climate change, the unanswered questions around truths of human dignity. Bring forth in them a new energy for purpose-seeking, meaning-making, and community action, as they lead us forward into the future.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of Our Every Ending and Beginning,

We pray these things because you have come among us, as human, as Word Made Flesh, as God with us. In Christ, we have been shown the kindness of your touch, the fierceness of your grace, the perseverance of your covenant, the power of your peace. How glorious it is to rise in your grace, to pray in your name, to rest in your Spirit. Thanks be to you, Triune God.

Amen. 

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World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, September 24, 2020

God of Our Ancestors,

Since before we were born, you have knit your people into a great reimagining of purpose and life. You call us by your mercy and claim us with your truth. Even in these days of protest and pandemic, show us what it means that you are the Creator, Christ, and Comforter. Show us how to believe that you have made each of us in your image. Show us what it means that even now, your kingdom is breaking into the world. Even in these days, show us how to sing and praise and pray to you.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of Our Present,

In Christ, we recognize our reality as people called to join you in the journey. Teach us how to follow you. Make yourself known to us. Make yourself known to those fighting and fleeing wildfires on the West Coast of the United States, as well as those who are living with the aftermath of devastating flames and red skies of smoke. Make yourself known to those grappling with COVID-19, whether they are at home or in hospital beds, prison cells or nursing homes, science labs or health institutes or non-profit organizations. We give you thanks for those within the African Union, New Zealand, and other regions where communities are collectively, compassionately working so well to contain and curtain the virus in their midst. We pray for guidance for those in the United States, India, Brazil, and Mexico, as they all grapple with severely high mortality rates. This week our heart breaks as the United States pass 200,000 dead. This week also we lift up the family and colleagues of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, after her death in Washington, DC, last week. Shower mercy upon all those who grieve. Be with us in our present moments. Reveal yourself in ways that we might taste and touch and see and hear and know, deep within our flesh and bones.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of Descendants,

Your story does not begin and end with us. You who loved our ancestors are also preparing the way for our children. Nurture the lives of all young people around the world who are living with the uncertainty of economic prospects, the stress of climate change, the unanswered questions around truths of human dignity. Bring forth in them a new energy for purpose-seeking, meaning-making, and community action, as they lead us forward into the future.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God of Our Every Ending and Beginning,

We pray these things because you have come among us, as human, as Word Made Flesh, as God with us. In Christ, we have been shown the kindness of your touch, the fierceness of your grace, the perseverance of your covenant, the power of your peace. How glorious it is to rise in your grace, to pray in your name, to rest in your Spirit. Thanks be to you, Triune God.

Amen. 

World New This Week in Prayer – Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020

“No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.”
~ Teresa of Ávila

Dear God,

We are living in a world that is in deep need of your healing power.  As we strive to be your hands and feet in a world which is staggering from hurt, pain, loss of life, loss of home, tiredness, and weakness, we need you, God, to hold us up when we have such little strength.  You know more than anyone what our bodies look like right at this moment.  You know the pain we are going through personally, the pain we feel for our neighbors around the world, the pain we feel for our family and friends who we cannot help.  You know, God, what we are going through, and so we ask that as we do your work to show compassion, to reveal love, to help our neighbors, that you will also help us as we need to be filled with your peace just as we reveal your peace to others.

God, as we learn to be your body in the world, we ask for your presence in a world which is being ravaged by natural disasters.  We pray for our friends, our family members, and our neighbors in California, Oregon, and Washington, U.S., where fires are devastating the homes, businesses, and lives of all these people.  We pray that you might send a healing balm to quench this burning earth.

As a particularly harsh hurricane season continues, we pray for all of our people around the world who are in the path of so many hurricanes that are about to hit as well as those that are yet to come.  We pray, God, that as we find ways to assist our neighbors that are in their paths, may they prove to hurt fewer of your beloved people, and may you be a shield of protection to them.

We pray for all of our friends and communities in Israel where so many feel unheard, and where injustices continue to hurt so many.  We pray that peace may abound someday and all will be treated with dignity and love regardless of who they are.  As violence continues in so many parts of the world, we pray that there are fewer casualties.  May we find our own peaceful ways of fighting for justice for the poor and those without privilege.

As Covid-19 continues to ravage our world, with 29 million people around the world having been diagnosed and the global death toll being about 925,000, we see a world which is continually breaking.  As we recognize that the numbers are likely much higher than this, we also recognize that so many other pieces of our lives have been devastated by this virus.  As poverty increases and illness of all kinds continue to become worse due to loss of jobs and lack of healthcare, we also recognize the aid that is not going to countries that desperately need it.  We pray for our neighbors in Yemen where aid cuts have devastated our neighbors there.  As malnutrition doubles there, may you be with your beloved people who are in great need of food and supplies.

God, help us to be the hands and feet.  Although it may seem that there is little we can do to make a difference, help us to start now..  Teach us to find ways to nurture and help those who need your healing.  Grant us the wisdom to find a way to be your body in a broken and hurting world.  While we may feel we can never do enough, help us to do what we can with what little time we have on this earth.  Although we recognize we will never be perfect, teach us that by even doing the smallest of acts, we are spreading your love to your dearest children who need it most.

In your name we pray,
Amen.  

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, September 10, 2020

May you be well,
And all whom you love,
And those you work with,
And all who eat of the crops you handle.

That has been my prayer/mantra at least one afternoon a week for the past month, as I joined with other volunteers to prepare 100,000 Covid-19 prevention kits to be given to agricultural workers in this part of California (U.S.). One washable cloth mask, one small bottle of hand sanitizer, several small multi-lingual instruction cards in each zip lock bag. One bag, one prayer. Fifty completed bags in each box; another prayer. Looking at the stacks and stacks of boxes ready to be delivered to the agencies who will pass the kits out; another prayer.

For all who face the risk of Covid-19, or extreme heat, or smoke, or drought, or flooding in order to feed themselves and others; for all who work in the fields, and harvest the seas, and nurture the livestock; for all who gather and transport and package and prepare the food we eat; for all who have barely enough food to survive, and those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and those for whom mealtime is a feast of abundance:

May you be well,
And all whom you love,
And those you work with,
And all who share in the fruits of the planet.

It is so, so hard to pray for those who want to hurt us or endanger the lives of those we love.  The Russian and Chinese (and probably other) agencies using social media to foment unrest and influence elections in other countries. Whoever started QAnon, and all the social media and dark web sites that are allowing its conspiracy theories to spread. United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government, who have threatened to override elements of the Brexit withdrawal agreement with the European Union – even though that would violate international law. The Niger army that, instead of protecting civilians, has now been accused by Niger’s human rights commission of executing dozens of civilians during counterinsurgency operations.

Countries treating dissent as treachery: China, arresting people in Inner Mongolia who protest against the edict that Chinese language textbooks must replace Mongolian language ones; opposition leaders in Belarus who have been terrorized, detained, and threatened with deportation.

United States President Donald Trump, who has made more than 20,000 lies or misleading comments during the past 15 months – including, it has now been proven this week, lying repeatedly about the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, and repeatedly denigrating those who serve in the U.S. armed forces. And U.S. legislators who have failed to extend financial relief to the millions who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19 and are now facing eviction and homelessness. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro giving in to international pressure to protect the rainforest against fires by imposing a 120-day ban on fires and deploying the army to badly-hit areas – while simultaneously declaring the fires a lie.

It is so, so hard to pray for them. And yet, it is like watching a teenager engaging in a risky activity despite everything you can do to dissuade them: you hope, and hope, and hope they will come to their senses before anyone gets hurt. Despite being terrified and furious, despite the desire to lock them in their room without privileges until they turn 30 (at least), still you pray for them to escape the worst consequences of their rash actions.

And so we pray for all governments and corporations and individuals who are endangering lives, and for those whose lives are endangered:

May you be well,
And all whom you govern,
And those who rule over you,
And all who must choose ways to live together in mutual benefit.

In California, Oregon and Washington (U.S.), the skies are orange, the sun invisible, and smoke and ash from the 56 major wildfires currently burning over 3.7 million acres is making the air unhealthy to breath; thousands have been evacuated. Greece is struggling to find shelter for the 13,000 migrants who had been living in the overcrowded Moria camp on the Island of Lesbos, until it was destroyed by fire earlier this week. Sudan is trying to protect its 2,300-year-old pyramids in Meroe from unprecedented flooding by the River Nile, which has also made thousands homeless. Yet, experts have known for at least 20 years how to manage forests and grasslands to prevent massive wildfires. We know how to treat migrants with dignity and safety. We have learned how to restore wetlands and floodplains to mitigate flooding. We are learning how to plant and farm in order restore depleted groundwater and break the cycle of desertification.

For those who are fighting natural disasters; for those waiting to hear if their homes have survived, for those living in fear, and those wondering how they will once again find the strength to start over; for those whose warnings and advice have been ignored, and those who know what to do but not how to rally massive support and resources:

May you be well,
And all whom you want to protect,
And the earth that we cherish.

Several well-known figures died this week. Chadwick Boseman, the U.S. movie actor who starred as Black American icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown, and inspired audiences worldwide as the regal Black Panther, died at age 43. Through him, many Black children for the first time were able to see themselves as strong, beautiful, worthy, and able to change the world. English actress Dame Diana Rigg, who starred in Game of Thrones and as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, died at age 82. But it was her role as Emma Peel in the original Avengers that led a whole generation of young women to imagine themselves as bright, inventive, funny, and powerful against evil.  Top South African human rights lawyer George Bizos died at age 92. He represented some of the country’s best-known political activists during the apartheid years, including defending Nelson Mandela, and became one of the architects of South Africa’s new constitution.

And then there are the living heroes whom virtually no one has heard of. In Nigeria, math teacher Basirat Olamide Ajayi came up with a way to help 12th graders prepare for crucial final exams despite the Covid-19 school closures, by offering free, 5-minute video classes online via Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. She now has more than 1,800 students – and not only from Nigeria. Also in Nigeria, Anthony Mmesoma Madu, an 11-year-old male ballet dance student in a country where ballet is almost unknown, won the hearts of the world after a video of him dancing in the rain went viral. This week, he was awarded several scholarships to continue his studies in the United States, and his teacher, self-trained Daniel Ayala, also received a scholarship for a two-week intensive U.S. training program for ballet teachers. In Sweden, a secret group of artists is sneaking stunning miniature installations for mice into public spaces in the dead of night. The clandestine collective ― called Anonymouse ―  has installed 25 pieces*, mostly in cellar windows, across Sweden, in France and on the Isle of Man. In Jerusalem, Israel, hospitals are enlisting those who recovered from Covid-19 and are antibody positive, to visit hospitalized patients who would otherwise be in isolation. In Singapore, two mothers who lost sons to suicide have started the PleaseStay movement, urging a national strategy to address youth mental health and suicide, to break the taboo against talking about these topics, and – most poignantly – to urge troubled teens and youngsters, to “please stay.”

For all heroes, alive and dead, great and small; for the hope they give us; for those whom they inspire:

May you be well,
And all whom you help,
And all whom you inspire,
And all who gladly enliven the world.

For all of who you read, and share, and pray these prayers:

May you be well,
And all whom you love,
And the great, wonderful, terrifying and awesome world you surround with your prayers.

Amen.

*Ok, we can’t resist: here’s a website where you can enjoy some of Anonymouse’s creations: https://www.instagram.com/anonymouse_mmx/?utm_source=ig_embed

World News in Prayer – Thursday, 3 September 2020

We pray Lord,

We pray some of us on our knees, some hands folded, palms to heart, forehead to ground, some raising a sign in protest, some gritting their teeth and eyes tight shut and others lighting a candle.  We pray for your mercy in these tumultuous times, in these times where every shooting raises a collective groan, “not again,” “this will not stop, when?”  families torn from loved ones – gone with the discharge of a weapon. Gone, over and over and still we see the news sorrowing through death, fire, loss, loss, loss….

Lord have mercy. Bring your compassion and comfort. Oh, we grieve.

Silence

For some there is deep sadness. For others anger. For some hatred. Perhaps indifference; resignation; skepticism and denial.

Silence

We grieve for the family and community in south L.A. USA where Dijon Kizzee lived and died on its streets. The county was set to vote on funds for a contract to purchase body cams for its police officers. They are currently not required to wear them.

Sustain us as we gather, sitting at tables and voting, as we march, raise our arms with homemade signs and set candles on a bare sidewalk. Lord have mercy.

Silence

Ninety percent of low- and medium-income countries and even developed countries are having to set aside primary health care services as they address COVID-19. The WHO in its report this week calls attention to the inevitable gap that must be minimized. Lifesaving vaccinations, women’s health care, family welfare home visits, and midwifery services for pregnant women and infants hang in the balance.

Dear Lord we ask that you help us to reconcile the supply chains for essential medicines and health products. Sustain these programs and shepherd funds equitably and swiftly to those most in need. We fear for epidemics and outbreaks – all these words that have become so common in our language.

Lord hear our voices. Amplify our gifts.

Silence

We are grateful for health care workers, strong of will and heart, giving of their years of training. Guide them as they deliver care around the world. In the photo we see Dr. Samreen Khalil, a Polio Eradication Officer with WHO as she collects a sample from Muhammad Shabir at his residence (Pakistan) in order to test for COVID-19.

Encourage, protect and bless them in their often dangerous work.

Silence

Help us to witness the compassion and patience around us. Help us to seek clarity of mind and to let impulses pass, replacing them with wisdom and improved judgement. So much happens in the literal “blink of an eye.” We are continually caught off guard as so much is happening seemingly everywhere in the news. We pray for the people of Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA and now south Los Angeles, California. For those in literal storms and winds way. Help us to not turn off our sense of caring in the face of all of these deep troubles, restore our value that unity and faith are the tinder for our goodness and creative selves. Help us to focus on the simple acts of the heart. Words matter. What we read, write and say, print and broadcast matters. Help us to understand how easily our words can be like stones, our very speech setting forth destruction and killing.

Open our eyes, soften our touch and lessen our anger.

Silence

We give thanks for so many projects throughout the world where people from different countries and skill sets are coming together to provide solutions which help and save lives. We celebrate physicists such as Prof. Jim Black and Roger Rassool’s team making oxygen available in hospitals and clinics throughout the world where electricity supplies are irregular. In Mbarara Hospital, Uganda, child mortality fell by 60% using the FREO2 system. When we do this for the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters, we share your love and compassion.

Silence

Dear Lord, you call us forth when it seems as though there is nothing, nothing we can do in our corner of the world, our little spot, our shelter from the storm. Help us to don our gloves, mask, gown and face shield of tolerance, moderation, restraint, self-control and mercy. We have so many tools and fruits of the spirit. Grow in us a remarkable love that opens, perhaps speaks loudly, listens and even coos. You teach in so many ways as we walk thorough these horrors and calamities, natural and human made.

Help us to discern and forgive, honor and respect, and trust in your Holy Spirit at work among us.

Amen.

Image taken from: https://medpointhealthcare.blogspot.com/2020/09/pakistans-drive-to-restore-essential.html
Copyright WHO/Blink Media – Saiyna Bashir.

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, August 27, 2020

Holy One,

As we center ourselves for prayer, remind us that you are as close to us as our very breath, even in these times when you may feel so far away to so many of us; in these times when many of us find it so hard to breathe. You are there with us.

So we begin our time of prayer with three deep breaths. As we breathe in, may we breathe in your peace. As we breathe out, may we breathe out your love.

We lift up prayers of healing for the United States, after months of civil unrest over police brutality and attacks on innocent black lives. We pray especially for Jacob Blake, a black man, who was shot multiple times by police in Wisconsin, and for his children, who witnessed the traumatic assault on their father’s life. We pray, also, for the lives of the protestors who were killed and injured by a white teen with an assault weapon during related protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. God of Justice, help each of us do our part as we seek to redeem the soul of the United States as it faces the sin of racism.

We continue to pray for the Middle East, where turmoil seems ceaseless. We especially pray for those affected by the airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip, after 11 straight days of bombing. Our hearts are still with Beirut, Lebanon, where explosion survivors are trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives. God of Reconciliation, guide us into new ways of hope and peace.

During this seemingly never-ending global Coronavirus pandemic, we lift prayers for all who are affected, and pray for children who are starting a new school year, for the many stresses on families, and for wisdom for our leaders as they try to determine a way forward. We pray specifically for Spain, as the surge in cases has made it the new epicenter of the virus, and for Brazil, where new cases and deaths continue to rise. God of Grace, help each of us to do our part as we continually seek to slow the spread.

We pray for the Earth, as we face ramifications of climate change and natural disasters in so many parts of the world. We see over one million acres of California, USA, burning with wildfires; we see flash floods killing dozens in Charikar, Afghanistan as they were sleeping. We pray for those in the path of Hurricane Laura, as it has made landfall at the border of Texas and Louisiana, USA, where over 500,000 people evacuated, the storm bringing with it punishing winds and torrential rains. And all of these evacuations in each of these cases are more challenging due to the coronavirus.

Breathing in smoke from wildfires, or from explosions, makes it hard to breathe.

Seeing the lives of innocent people cut short due to prejudice makes it hard to breathe.

Experiencing the fear and loss of a global pandemic is making it hard to breathe.

Fill us with your Holy Spirit that, even now, with tensions high everywhere we turn, we may breathe in Your peace, and breathe out Your love. Help us to breathe, so that we may do the work of healing that is so desperately needed, and that we may find some joy along the way. Amen

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 20 August 2020

“Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8

Dearest creator of us all,

It is to you that we lift our souls and our very beings.  As we draw near to you in this very moment, we ask that you guide us, that you cover us, that you hold us in the palm of your hand and cover us with your ever present love.  It is this that we need as we long for hope.  Hope for a world to be more loving to one another, hope that your pure love might cover us both in our celebrations as well as in our mourning.

Let me hear of your steadfast love.

God, we pray for healing of brokenness as we grieve the loss of life, of businesses, of your natural world.  We lift up the people in Iowa, USA where tornadoes have changed lives forever and have demolished the livelihood of so many. We ask for your presence to be off the coast of the Republic of Mauritius where an oil spill has damaged your beautiful creation. We pray for courage and resiliency for those facing wildfires in California, USA, especially for those in danger’s path and those who are suffering renewed trauma because of losses suffered in previous years.  We ask for your healing and love in a world which is falling apart.

Let me hear of your steadfast love.

We celebrate with those of us who are celebrating the Islamic New Year.  As this new year begins, we ask for hope and love to spread across all of our hearts.  We are in deep need of moments to celebrate your love and your peace in this world.  Help us to seek out new ways to find pieces of hope in even the smallest parts of our world.

Let me hear of your steadfast love.

God, as you continue to cover with love those who suffer from Covid-19, we now pray for those who have seemingly recovered from the virus, but may indeed experience life-long effects.  As we imagine new ways of life, we pray for continual healing for our loved ones and neighbors who are suffering from these effects already.  We pray for those in Spain, Italy, and Iran where there have been significantly more cases in the past days.  We pray for your healing to spread out across to all of our neighbors around the world.  As we grieve these effects, we also grieve the losses of jobs and pray for those in dire need of income.  We pray for those in the United Kingdom where the economy is especially not well, as well as for those in so many other parts of the world where many do not know if their jobs will be their tomorrow or if they will be able to have a good meal tomorrow.  We pray that nourishment of all kinds might be had.

Let me hear of your steadfast love.

God we are so grateful for our neighbors around the world to whom we can offer our love and from whom we also receive so much love.  Although we may not be able to send our specific love and prayers to each one of them, we ask for you to send them love on our behalf.  We are so grateful that no matter where we go or what we do, we can walk knowing that we have your love on our backs and hope in our pockets.  Be with our neighbors, Lord, and rekindle in us the need to come closer together even as we safely stay apart.

Let me hear of your steadfast love.

Amen. 

World News this Week in Prayer, Thursday, August 13, 2020

Holy Creator,

You are at our Beginning and our Ending, the one who wakes us in the morning and settles us to sleep at night. When we move through the fog of uncertainty, bring a piercing light of a clarity, even if just for a moment. When we want to plop down in heaps of grief, abide with us until we are granted the strength to go on. And when we want to dance with excitement or joy over something that might seem insignificant to others, show us how to celebrate truly. Even while socially distanced, reveal the ways that we do not dance and rejoice alone. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Loving Lord, We pray for our world, as we move through more days, more deaths, more recoveries, and more challenging conversations around Covid-19. This week we pray particularly for those working with coronavirus in India, the UK, the United States, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa. No one person is experiencing this on their own. No one community makes decisions by themselves. Teach us how to live and move and experience our being as your people, whose responsibilities are bound with each and other, beings whose lives are wholly dependent upon you. Reveal your presence to those who are grieving or anxious and in social isolation. Guide each of us towards a fuller understanding of this disease and our interdependence on all of Creation.

We pray for our neighborhoods around the world, where protests by community members over life and death concerns continue, even after media vans have moved away. We pray for every village or city where people seek to safely gather in the name of peace, asking for recognition and reparations for their neighbors. This week we pray particularly for those in Belarus, Hong Kong, China, and Portland, USA. Show us how to speak words of solidarity that matter. Illuminate for us how to take actions that make a difference. Center us in you. Grant us your vision and hope.  Teach us how to walk with each other down the long road of justice.

We pray for Beirut, Lebanon and all Lebanese people, as their communities are convulsed by the aftereffects of the ammonium nitrate explosion. Hold the people close through their devastation. Guide all government proceedings through their tumult. Bind up the brokenhearted and give strength to the rescue workers. Teach us how to support and accompany their journey towards recovery and justice.   Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Advocating Spirit, As students, teachers, parents, and communities face decisions around the start of school—all around the world, and particularly throughout the United States–grant wisdom, discernment, and compassion to those who are making decisions on behalf of our most vulnerable.

As our world continues to wake up to the effects of climate change, help us learn how to combat the harm from the recent oil spill in Mauritania.  We hear of the split, collapse and now free-floating Milne ice shelf – the last in the Arctic a marine protected area known as the Tutvaijuittuq in Nunavut, Canada.

Show us how to live alongside and aid climate refugees all over the world. As we open our eyes to the world’s needs, we pray that you will abide with those whom we do not know by name, whose stories we read on a quick scroll through our feed. Be with those affected by the mud slide in Kerala, India. Be with those caught in the cross fire of violent battles in Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique. Be with those living through the emergence of deadly conflicts in Port Sudan, Sudan. Breathe into the lives of these, your beloved children. Bring your comfort, your power, your love, where your children are crying out.

We sometimes do not have words to pray as we ought. Pray through us with your Spirit.

In all these things, we discover again our finitude. In all these moments, we place ourselves back into your arms of mercy and grace. Show us how to delight in what is good, to confront what is cruel, to heal what is damaging. Give to us a discerning strength to move into the next moment, the next day, the next act of compassion and courage.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

In all these things, abide with us, O Spirit and Word of Comfort and Truth.

Amen.

 

 

World News in Prayer – August 6, 2020

Dear Lord, help us to hear these voices.

I pray today that my knees and back hold up.  I pray that my mom and children are ok in our two-bedroom apartment while I work at a hotel and clean 15 rooms each day. I pray that my paycheck will be enough, that my car holds up, that someone cares about me enough to say “hello” to give a smile.

There are approximately 926,960 maids and housekeeping cleaners in the U.S. Sometimes cleaners are assigned 30 rooms in a day.

Across the barrier of our indifference awaken us to the other, help us to understand the burdens they carry, oh Christ, by your grace. May we understand the equity built into a living wage, the costs of health care and child care, housing and food, transportation, and school supplies.

I was a child soldier in Liberia, but first I was a schoolboy. I still pray for my grandparents. The soldiers arrived and took me away. I was taught to fight. Smoking drugs would energize us. The war is over, long over and many of us are trying to get off of drugs. I pray that I can leave this sad life. What price must I pay for my country’s war. I pray that I am not abandoned and shunned. I pray that God will protect me and hear my voice.

The UN investigates and reports on child soldiers. The top-ranking countries are Afghanistan, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.  Children as young as eight are used as combatants, guards, human shields, porters, messengers, spies, cooks, and/or for sexual purposes. Girl soldiers are often used as “wives” and sexually abused by their commanders and other soldiers. Iraq’s Kurdish and Yezidi children were recruited. Myanmar children are forcibly recruited into the National Army. In Nigeria girls, ages 7 and 8 were used as suicide bombers. In Somalia over 900 children were recruited and posted at checkpoints. Two factions in South Sudan have taken over 17,000 children. In Syria, warring sides have recruited children as young as seven, half are under age 15. They have been exploited in propaganda videos. In Yemen, where we pray that those suffering from starvation will be cared for, boys are recruited to fight on all sides.

Across the world where these horrendous injustices continue against the most vulnerable, their childhood swept away, torn from their families, oh Christ by your grace we call out against war and these atrocities. Help us to take right action. Help us to speak out against militarization. We pray for those suffering and the loss to their families.

Will my land flood and be silted over taking away our livelihood? I feel there is nothing to do but wait and watch. I pray we will be safe and not lose everything. The wind is picking up and the rain has already been falling.

River flooding in population-dense countries includes India, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, and Cambodia.

Oh, Christ in your mercy, protect these countries from what seems to be inevitable flooding and a cycle of loss and destitution.  We pray for those in harm’s way around the world. Give us the ability to work together to share resources and contribute knowledge to reduce this suffering. Be with the emergency transport, the health care workers, the utility crews, the engineers, and their teams as they design and plan and understand the rivers that bring life and death.

We are the over 1,700 health care workers who have died of COVID 19. We did our work, loved our work, trained many years, endured long hours, cried and spoke out and then we too became sick. We were not indifferent or complacent. We pray this pandemic will end that the billions of people under this veil of suffering will find comfort that leaders will come together in reason and generosity of heart and mind.

Medscape publishes the names of workers around the world. We name these few in remembrance of so many. Onyenachi Obasi, 51 Nurse, National Health Service, Barking and Dagenham, London, England. Morteza Vojdan, age unknown, General Practitioner, Mashhad, Iran. Patricia Wilke, 63, Pharmacist, Winslow, Arizona. Valeriu Pripa, 59, Head of Radiological Imaging Department, Chisinau, Moldova. Rosalinda “Rose” Pulido, 46, Oncologist, San Juan de Dios Hospital, Pasay City Philippines. Freddy Pow Hing, 59, Interventional Cardiologist, Hospital IESS Duran, Duran, Ecuador. Anonymous, 62, Organ Transplantation, Wuhan, China. Oh Christ, in your compassion and mercy give us the will to endure, care, and remember.

We’re still in shock; we’re still refusing to believe that something happened. We still think it’s like a dream or something. It was terrifying. It was horrible.

Residents of Beruit, Lebanon are reeling after an explosion of ammonium nitrate leveled the port injuring at least 50,00 people and leaving at least 137 dead. Residents have been working together to clear the rubble and investigations seeking to determine responsibility are underway as residents grieve and begin to rebuild from the devastation.

I am a tree, a forest, a bird, a butterfly, a bumblebee and a bat I have no human voice, my habitat is shrinking and yet I cling to beautiful nature. Hear my song, the wind moving in the fir, the singing wetland, the happy buzz and light wings. Receive our offerings.

Oh Lord, we have trespassed on our own earth, we have stolen and killed, sprayed and paved over, and cut down without thought to 7 generations. Forgive us. Approximately 30,000 species per year — about three per hour — are being driven to extinction. Where is our mindfulness? Nearly 80 percent of species diversity of our world is destroyed because of habitat loss — approximately 5,760 acres per day or 240 acres per hour. Christ in your mercy awaken us to our stewardship. Help us to live and step lightly.

Oh Lord, call us to your table of life. Remind us of the mighty work we need to do to care for each and all. Rest us at night and renew us for this day that is before us.

Amen.

World News in Prayer – Thursday, 30th July 2020

I never anticipated that now, in the midst of an abundant summer following a beautiful spring, we would still be living out a winter spirituality. But the Covid-19 Pandemic has brought this upon us. 

But…We’re All in This Together, Right?….except…. 

Lowering of pollution that first month—the air so crisp and clear and breathable. Everything stood out in beautiful colors. 

The pandemic has starkly revealed the economic, racial and social inequalities of the status quo in so many countries of both hemispheres which makes for poor physical and mental health in all sections of the population, an increase in injustice and unstable communities. We remember the people of Portland, Oregon, USA and other cities where political machismo is rampaging over elected officials and the populace; for the democracy candidates in Hong Kong being imprisoned and denied their right to stand; for activists in so many countries standing up against corruption and violence, losing their lives and disappearing without trace: be close to those in China, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Russia, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Lord, you are the God of justice and truth: lead us from darkness to light

We have seen that people of color and the poor have borne the brunt of the crisis: much higher rates of virus infection and morbidity as well as greater economic devastation. Help all those researching in the UK, the USA, India and elsewhere for the reasons for this. May we all embrace the proven results and change what is wrong and protect our brothers and sisters of all colors and creeds. 

Lord you created us all in your image.  Open our eyes to see the beauty in the diversity you have created and celebrate our differences as well as similarities. Together we make up a beautiful image reflecting You.

The Pandemic has laid bare the gross social inequities in our nations and the many things we have taken for granted which have failed us. 

Help us to embrace that the new “now~” has to be different from the old “normal” if we want our children to have a future on this wonderful blue marble we call home, Earth.

Sojourners Magazine calls this Kairos time—”a propitious moment for decision or action.” Certainly we have seen an alarming escalation of hate crimes (especially targeting Asians) in many countries whether the predominant population is white or of color. We name for healing our own countries… but also South Africa, Russia, China, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Hungary. 

We give thanks for the generosity and welcome of individuals daring to stand out from the crowd to share your Love and welcoming heart to those fleeing violence, war and starvation.   Thankfully we have also seen a broad shift in attitudes and perceptions around the nations. Mercifully and providing a source of hope, the new generation is choosing not to tolerate what has been accepted for too long by too many people. This is very encouraging, but I must remind myself of the shortness of attention spans and the limits of bureaucratic imagination. Will our changing cultural consciousness have a real effect on laws, policies or practices of our flawed social structures? 

The bottom line is: We cannot go back to “normal” because “normal” is what got us here. 

A statement from URI (United Religions Initiative USA) regarding this moment of choice sums it up for us: 

“We choose love.
  We choose compassion.
  We choose non-violence.
  We choose equality.
  And we choose to dedicate our lives to creating cultures of peace, justice and healing.”  

We choose to follow you, Jesus, Prince of Peace. Send your Holy Spirit to fill us with hearts brimming over with love for one another and the planet and all its component plants, resources and creatures which you have created for each one of us to enjoy and have our needs not our wants met.

‘God of grace, you invite the despised,
 you touch the unclean,
you lift the head
 of those who are brought low:
 give us that hope against all hope
 for a world transformed
 by your healing touch;
 through Jesus Christ,
the mercy of God. Amen. ‘

(Steven Shakespeare, Prayers for an Inclusive Church) 

(Inspired by and adapted from
The Canticle, July 2020, Voice of the Community of St Francis, Province of the Americas)

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, July 23, 2020

Ever-creating God, Your glory fills the skies, from the transient sparkle of the fleeting meteor to the unexpected spectacle of Comet Neowise; your glory fills the earth from mountain height to ocean depth.  We praise you.

As difficult as it is to find words to express how much your glory thrills and excites us it is even more difficult to turn and face the problems of humanity.

We pray for the war-torn, hungry and pandemic hit country of Yemen; we can barely remember how this situation came about and cannot understand how it is allowed to continue.

We pray for East Africa countries into the Horn of Africa and India and Pakistan as huge locust swarms move across the land.  May our desire to act against their destructive force be planned sensibly, taking into account the needs of other wildlife so that the regions’ bio-diversity can be maintained.

We pray for the areas affected by earthquake this week, notably the Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States, with the possibilities of tsunami and repeated aftershocks.   We pray for the countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and eastern states of India hit by the worst monsoon flooding for many years. Reports that rare one-horned rhinos have drowned seem to news agencies worse than the many human deaths.

So many disasters, Lord, when our instinct to rush to aid those affected are impeded by multi-national lockdowns and closed borders.  As Australia, Hong Kong and China re-impose restrictions of movement, we give thanks that research for treatments and vaccines progresses.

Life continues, and for those who have planned new jobs, or moving homes, we pray it goes smoothly.  For those forced into unplanned life changes by war, politically-caused famine, and environmental disasters, we pray they may find safe, secure refuges of warmth, shelter, food, and drink.  We pray for all known to us suddenly overtaken by an unwanted trauma.

And finally, we pray for ourselves.  As we self-isolate, mourn, or rejoice and party, Lord, you know our lives and we place them in your safe and secure hands knowing that our names are engraved upon your palms.  (Is 49:16) Amen.