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World News in Prayer – Thursday, March 25, 2020

Conversations will not be cancelled.
Relationships will not be cancelled.
Love will not be cancelled.
Songs will not be cancelled.
Reading will not be cancelled.
Self-care will not be cancelled.
Hope will not be cancelled. *

Beloved, how are we to pray in these times of pandemic, when country after country imposes stringent stay-at-home orders? When schools and restaurants and businesses are closed, and all public gatherings banned? When what we do to relax and let go of tension…when the ways we come together to celebrate birthdays and weddings and graduations…when what we rely on to grieve and reassure and comfort one another in funerals and hugs and touch….when these have all been closed off? When life seems to be increasingly put on hold while we shelter in place, and even those who like long stretches of time alone are finding the walls starting to close in?

Breathe.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

Beloved, how are we to pray when fears start to consume us? When we can’t shake our worries about our own safety and the safety of those we love? When we are daily reminded of the risks taken by health care workers and grocery clerks and delivery people and emergency service providers and all other essential personnel? When closed borders (between U.S. and Mexico, between Germany and the rest of Europe) leave migrant agricultural workers unemployed, while farmers lose their crops and food shortages threaten for lack of harvest labor? When too many are desperate for income as their work places are shut down and jobs eliminated?

Breathe.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

Beloved, how are we to pray when the number of Covid 19 illnesses and deaths keep rising exponentially? When these stop being safely anonymous numbers, and start being stories about real people: the doctor in China who first recognized and spoke out about the impending epidemic; the priest in Italy who gave up his respirator so someone else might live; the nursing home residents in Spain who died alone after having been abandoned by their caregivers; the first known case in Zimbabwe; the first teen who died in the U.S., shocking those who thought only “old folks” were at risk; the relative – of a friend – of one of your online acquaintances, who is now on your prayer list…?

Breathe.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

Beloved, how are we to pray when there are still those (even among our own families!) who believe and spread wild and provably-false conspiracy theories? When seemingly-rational adults claim they have a right to ignore the personal and public safety rules? When there are a handful of religious leaders who endanger those they are pledged to care for, by insisting on holding public worship services in the midst of the pandemic? When too many government leaders still deny the seriousness of the situation and refuse to act, or demand to put profits before human lives? When there is a real risk in other countries that temporary measures put in place for public safety will lead to cancellation of elections, extended government control, totalitarianism?

Breathe.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

Beloved, how are we to pray when nearly every country in the world has insufficient Covid 19 tests, medical masks, respirators, ICU beds, morgue space? When many people lack access to even basic medical care, or can’t afford it? When we know it would take but a single spark to make the epidemic run rampant among the homeless, those in jail, refugee camps, or the many others in the world who simply can’t take the basic precautions of frequent handwashing or social distancing, because they don’t have access to soap and running water, or live in overcrowded conditions?

Breathe.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

Beloved, how are we to pray when our prayer lives are so cramped by worries about the virus, that we can barely take in the fact that there was a major earthquake in Croatia? That the Great Barrier Reef in Australia has suffered another mass bleaching? When we know that there must be so much else going on in the world – both good and bad – that merits prayer, only right now neither the media nor we, ourselves, have the energy to focus on it?

Breathe.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

Beloved, how are we to pray when hints of goodness and love creep into our tightly-closed-in lives? When governments in India, United Kingdom, and Canada promise payments to assist the poor, the self-employed and/or unemployed during this crisis? When banks and other lenders promise not to foreclose on mortgages and extend the time for monthly payments? When homes become festooned with Christmas lights, or candles or stuffed animals in front windows to cheer the neighborhood? When churches and synagogues and mosques learn to worship and minister to one another via the internet, and schools move classes online or send work home for their students? When free web-based courses in just about every subject, and virtual museum and park tours, and music, and dance performances, and amazing photography proliferate and go viral? When grandparents can meet their loved ones through closed windows, and we check in with one another with love, and clergy administer pastoral care (and even last rites) via phone?

Breathe.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

Beloved, how are we to pray when we remember that You are with us always? That You are full of mercy – no matter whether we are angry, frustrated, fearful, sad or full of joy? When we believe – or so much want to believe – that “Love will not be cancelled. Songs will not be cancelled…Hope will not be cancelled”? When we trust that Your love for us will never be cancelled?

Breathe.
Breathe.
Lord, you are full of mercy.
Christ, you are full of mercy.
Lord, we are filled with your mercy.
Breathe.

*Excerpt from a 3/15/2020 blog post written by Jamie Tworkowski, founder of the non-profit “To Write Love on Her Arms,” https://twloha.com/blog/hope-will-not-be-cancelled/. Reproduced with permission.

Note: There are many, many churches that now have Sunday worship online, with many also offering weekday services. If your own church doesn’t offer this, or if you don’t have a church or are feeling isolated and would welcome this kind of support during this time of Covid 19 crisis, just do a Google search and you’ll find a wealth of options to choose from. And take heart – sampling the many services, as Bishop Megan Traquair (Episcopal Diocese of Northern California) joyously proclaimed last week, is “like hearing Pentecost take place right here in March!”

World News this Week in Prayer, Thursday, March 19, 2020

From a distance the world looks blue and green

And the snow capped mountains white

From a distance the ocean meets the stream

And the eagle takes to flight*

Holy One, during this time of social distancing and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remind us that we are still connected to one another. We pray for those impacted by travel bans, those unable to connect with loved ones, those who have insurance, those who do not, those who are getting treatment, and all those who cannot get a hospital bed.

We pray for all of us, who are anxious and afraid. Remind us that we are infinitely connected to you, and we can come to you in prayer at any time, in any setting.

From a distance there is harmony

And it echoes through the land

It’s the voice of hope

It’s the voice of peace

It’s the voice of every man

Help us to be the Body of Christ that you call us to be in this moment.

May we be your hands and feet right now, in neighborhoods, farms and small towns, hospitals and clinics, tribes and large cities as we work to safely feed each other, heal each other, look out for each other, and act as your instruments in this ailing world. Be with the very young, the school-age children as they watch this world around them.

Guide the healers on each continent, in each country, in each city around the globe, and be with them and each of us as we struggle to navigate new things in new ways. Sustain the researchers, virologists, laboratories and medical transport teams.

From a distance we all have enough

And no one is in need

And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease

No hungry mouths to feed

All economies around the world have been terribly affected over these past months. We pray for each of the ways it is impacting the small business owners, investors, our elderly, our homeless, the middle class, all of us in vastly varied ways. May we rebuild together without rank of who is worthiest, but, instead, guided by your light and filled with your love, stronger than we can imagine.

From a distance we are instruments

Marching in a common band

Playing songs of hope

Playing songs of peace

They are the songs of every man

May we hear your songs of hope ringing from the balconies of Italy. May we hear your songs of a common band like the Lummi Nation in the US Pacific Northwest as they have planned for months to protect their members. May we hear your songs of peace in the “caremongers” of Canada who out of kindness, not fear, have created online groups searching out need (#iso) and/or providing help (#offer). May we know that these are the songs of all of us, your beloved children.

God is watching us

God is watching us from a distance

May God watch over us, and may we watch over one another, from a distance.

Amen.

*Excerpts taken from From a Distance (Written by Julie Gold, sung by Bette Midler)

World News in Prayer – Thursday, 12th March 2020

Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the

Grandfathers of the World. Black Elk, (1863-1950)

Oh God, we read these words from a holy man who lived not so long ago. We have heard in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus’s words to his disciples of certain strength in the meek. We are reminded of his teachings to care for the poor and the least or marginalized. We remember that Jesus came humbly and joyfully into Jerusalem on a donkey with her colt – not the horse a symbol of war.

The ways and acts of peace are tender. They seem fleeting and small. Help us like the very grasses to act with hearts shining toward each other. As we turn to each other we ask that we may we see the other. Help us to pass the peace and love you have offered us through your son Jesus Christ.

We are grateful for the communication systems that connect each country through reporting and analyzing data to understand the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is on our minds night and day.

We are grateful for the common sense public health measures and call to action of simple hand washing not hand wringing.

We pause in our hearts. We grieve for the families whose elders have been swept away by the virus. Replace fear during increasing lockdowns with focus and quiet action. Help us in unforeseen ways to grow in our understanding of our connectedness. Safeguard the emergency and health care teams and families exposed across the continents. We name them out loud thinking of the peoples in locked down regions…knowing the list will grow.

Africa – Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa

Americas – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,

Guadalupe, Mexico, United States

Eastern Mediterranean – Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates

Europe – Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Herzegovina, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia (23%), San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Southeast Asia – Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand

Western Pacific – Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, North Korea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia (77%), Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam

In celebration of International Women’s Day this past Sunday there comes singing, clapping and dancing, tears and laughter. Help us to receive the wisdom from indigenous women of the Ecuadorian Tribal Nations of Kofan, Siona, Siekopai and Waorani peoples as we hear their voices: “We are at the forefront of our peoples’ struggles and victories against the exploitation of our natural resources of extractive industries. From monitoring our territories and confronting emerging invasions to leading sustainable economic alternatives to resource extraction and shaping a vision for the education of our children and grandchildren, we are creating solutions for the long-term protection of a forest we all depend upon for life. And now, we are also training to become journalists and filmmakers in order to share our stories and struggles from a female perspective.” Lord we ask you to amplify their words: “We come with love and peace, we, women from four indigenous nations of the Western Amazon in Ecuador, are fighting against the threats to our forest.”

We end this weeks prayers for the hungry – the over 820 million people who have suffered from hunger in 2018, the greatest number since 2010 as reported by the World Meteorological Organization released this past Wednesday.

We ask for your mercy in these times.

Increase our compassion.

Sustain us in doing your will.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer — Thursday, 12 December 2019

During this season of Advent, this season of waiting, we are called to anticipate the fulfillment of God’s reign. Advent is a chance for each one of us to practice the reign of God in the way we meet and treat one another. As we prepare for this time of prayer, let us anticipate the coming light.

Holy God, our hope, we rejoice that your word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we long for your reign. As we wait, our hearts overflow with gratitude for the beauty of your creation and for signs of peace and reconciliation.

We lift our hearts in thanks for the inspiration that Greta Thunberg has been to so many and celebrate with her as she has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the year. We value the hope that she has encouraged across the globe as we work to honor and restore your planet more and more.

We feel joy and expectation as the world’s first fully-electric commercial aircraft took flight for 15 minutes over Vancouver, Canada this week.

As we celebrate the coming of Jesus as a poor, helpless child, we also yearn for the day when there will be no more sorrow or pain.

We lift our hearts in prayer for the small South Pacific nation of Samoa, where a measles outbreak has infected 83 people and killed 71 people to date. We pray for your help and healing.

Even as we make strides toward preserving your earth, we remember the many victims of natural disasters. We pray for the people of New Zealand, where the Whakaari volcano erupted with at least 47 visitors from around the world on the White Island, some of whom have died and many of whom are in intensive care. We also pray for those affected by the landslides on the South Island, which has left thousands stranded. We pray that all affected are met with aid and support.

As we pray for justice and peace, we lift up the United States, where two articles of impeachment have been filed against President Trump. We also pray for the victims of a shooting in Jersey City, NJ where six people were killed and others injured. May your people move forward with a sense of hope and purpose.

O God, whose will is equity for the poor and aid for the afflicted, let your herald’s voice break through our hardened hearts to announce the coming of your kingdom. We know there are wonderful and terrible things happening in the world around us, and we are grateful to have a faith with room to hold it all, and room to hold us all. We pray that our complacency gives way to conversion, oppression to justice, and conflict to acceptance of one another in Christ. We ask this in the name of the one whose coming we celebrate this season, and whose life we strive to model in all seasons.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away.
~ John L Bell and Graham Maule*

When nations are being riven by fear, lies, lack of trust in political, business
and so many seeming to seek leadership positions for their own aggrandisement rather than the common good:

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away, so justice and truth prevails.

When all efforts have been made to cope with natural disasters:

Hurricane Dorian, devastating the Bahamas and threatening east coast states of the USA;
Severe ice cap melting in Greenland, the Antarctic and Arctic – threatening low lying communities and countries throughout the world;
Bird migrants arriving at their usual time in northern countries (e.g. the UK and Scandinavia) to find food sources already flowered and unavailable due to climate change

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away.

When people are exhausted from the struggles against injustice and terror:

1.9 million people facing losing their citizenship in Assam, India;
Those detained, disappeared or tortured in Kashmir;
Starvation, violence, lack of medical care and hopelessness experienced by millions in Yemen, and in stateless camps throughout the Middle East, Libya, Sudan and so many other countries;
The fear of so many in Afghanistan where the US -Taliban deal does nothing to stop bombings and the use of children as suicide bombers;
Increased xenophobic riots in South Africa leading to deaths, injuries and boycotts;
Thousands of economically disadvantaged groups left without education or medical care after Christian and Muslim schools and health centers were seized by the government in Eritrea;
The desperate and often life-threatening experience of refugees in the US, Mexico, Sweden, the European Union, Canada, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Australia and so many other countries

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away.

When people seek to care for their fellow human beings in need:

Over 1,000 people in the Central African Republic have become foster parents, like Henriette and Jean-Philippe Idjara. Despite having 4 children, and having lost 5 others through illness, they adopted 2 teenage boys who had seen their father executed by rebels. Alone and in fear of their lives, the boys had fled and walked 150 miles in a week, before being found exhausted and rescued by the Idjaras.
We give thanks for all who open their hearts and homes to brothers and sisters in need of any sort, without checking their balance sheet first. Help us to dare to trust in You, our shield and our defender.
We give thanks and remember all who act as carers (paid or unpaid), ambulance workers, medical staff, police, firefighters, military personnel, ministers and priests of all faiths, and those who keep our communities clean and safe with often little thanks. We pray for their protection and support, praying especially for their mental health dealing with the sights and situations we so often prefer not to see.. Throughout the world, the silent loss of way too many of those helpers of us all, their high rates of suicide and mental and physical illness from so much stress, is a scandal and source of shame..

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away. Bless and strengthen them by your loving spirit and help us provide them with the care and support they need.

When families are changing, new life is being formed and others prepare to leave this earthly life:

Give us all a sense of thankfulness and proportion as to what is real or imaginary;
help us nurture truth rather than deceit;
humility rather than hubris;
tenderness, love and compassion rather than aggression, hatred and division.

Despite all we like to think, we are not in charge. You are.

O God, save us from ourselves, from double standards and divided hearts, and give us light and life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, August 22, 2019

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:7-10

God of all creation, we are aware of our mandate to care for the beauty you have given us, but we fail. From the Amazon rain forests and smoke-filled skies threatening Brazil to the official death of a glacier in Iceland, we have not listened to the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, or our planet Earth as it now moans in pain under the pressure of population and the technological advancement of human ways and human will over our Creator’s. God, we no longer know how to live simply and in harmony with your creation.

Divine Love, Hear our Prayer.

God of our very being and nature, we have to search deep into the news to find such inspiring stories as Switzerland teen Greta Thunberg who’s gone from solitary climate change protester to icon; or the perseverance of tech-savvy Iranians to stay connected for social good on social media despite regime restrictions; or the recent hero story in Canada where one man rushed to the aid of a United States family from New Jersey at a campground when a sick and dying wolf attacked them in their tent at night. We are made all too aware of the evil and sick parts of human nature, but it doesn’t seem to be leading to changes toward a more just and grace-filled world. The detention this week of a British consulate worker in China, ongoing nuclear proliferation in Russia and North Korea, and the more than 60 people killed after a bomb blast at a wedding in Afghanistan. There are children living in shipping containers in the United Kingdom and infants, toddlers, and teens remain in detention camps in the United States as new allegations of additional sexual assaults come to light. God, we are mistreating one another, your children of all ages, and we no longer know how to compassionately converse or have civil discourse.

Divine Love, Hear our Prayer.

Global concerns may have local impact, but we know there are many prayers that need to be heard from our various local communities and neighborhoods.

Whether it be in prayer for your entire creation, or well wishes for students, teachers, administrators, support staff as schools resume from break, or the addict down the street, or the upcoming mental health awareness initiatives, we wish to see things with new eyes, with passionate and respectful hearts of our neighbors and their needs. Help us to find the divine energy within us so that we may be representatives of your love, grace, kindness and compassion in your world. May it be so. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, April 4, 2019

“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing…” ~ Isaiah 43: 18 – 19a. (NIV)

“For now my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ. How changed are my ambitions! Now I long to know Christ and the power shown by his resurrection:

….I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal—my reward the honor of being called by God in Christ. “

~Philippians 3: 8-10, 13b -14. (J.B. Phillips New Testament)

Thank you, Holy One, for giving us such promise and hope. You have told us repeatedly throughout history and scattered throughout the scriptures, that you are calling us forward to new life, new beginnings, new ways of being and doing – in You, for You, through You. Yet as ever, we are mired in the trappings of the familiar, however pleasant or unpleasant, and fear of change holds us back. As we reflect on our shortcomings whether personal, national or international, help us to admit our crippling fears and failures, to throw ourselves on Your everlasting mercy and loving forgiveness. Then lead us to a new way of thinking, being and relating to each other and especially to You.

Holy One, hear our cries.

Change and fear of change is sweeping through so many of our countries ]including Algeria, Venezuela, Canada, the UK, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Japan. Authoritarianism and seeing everything and everyone in binary terms increases fear, division and hopelessness. Open the eyes and ears of each one of us, to listen to the stories of others, discerning our common humanity rather than focusing on perceived and often illusory fears born out of ignorance and conjecture. You are the Creator of all and when you looked on it you saw that it was all VERY good. How then can we despise, belittle and denigrate people you have created?

Holy One, open us to Your understanding of this world by the inflowing of Your Holy Spirit.

The darkness swirling around is almost overwhelming: when a “game” is made widely available to play act as a sociopathic Rapist; when the Sultan of Brunei implements this week Sharia law where a first offence of burglary will result in a hand amputation; where LGBT love is to merit stoning to death; when government agencies in so many of our countries arbitrarily operate outside the law: protect all who shine the light of justice, truth and righteousness.

Holy One, lighten our darkness and help us to individually choose to follow Your will and way. By Your Spirit, enable us to be channels of Your love, light and grace.

We give thanks for all working quietly and often without mention to make the lives of others better, to ease loneliness and the sense of being marginalized and unwanted. You saw that all that you made was VERY good. We give thanks for the women in Madagascar marginalized and ostracized for having obstetric fistulas following prolonged labor without medical intervention who, having received free treatment, are helping others break the taboo of getting help. Also those from the divided communities of Turkish and Greek Cypriots using a building in buffer zone to reunite a bitterly divided island. We give thanks that for all the efforts meeting the continuing desperate needs of communities devastated by natural disasters on all Continents.

Holy One, may we become one as You are one – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To this You have called us. AMEN.

marginalised and ostracised for having obstetric fistulas following prolonged labour without medical intervention who having received free treatment are helping others break the taboo of getting help. Also those from the divided communities of Turkish and Greek Cypriots using a building in buffer zone to reunite a bitterly divided island. We give thanks that for all the efforts meeting the continuing desperate needs of communities devastated by natural disasters on all Continents.

Holy One, may we become one as You are one – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To this You have called us. AMEN.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, March 7, 2019

“Safe in the shadow of the Lord

beneath His hand and power,

I trust in Him,

my fortress and my tower.”

– paraphrase of Ps 91 by Timothy Dudley-Smith

Heavenly Father, Your word and being is of compassion, merciful care and everlasting love to all, regardless of merit. The response to this has to be our choice. But, if we come choosing to trust You in your nature and openly admit with contrition where we have fallen short or turned away from You, Your everlasting mercy erases our failures and unites us with Your heart. We long for this acceptance and healing.

Lord, I trust in You and give thanks and praise.

“My hope is set on God alone though Satan sets his snare,”…

The temptation to be obsessed by becoming “successful” and gaining material wealth and power too often based on exploiting others and the world You have created is seen as being mainstream and so seductive. We think of our cheap, instant fashion created by people in sweat shops; our flowers often out of season grown in developing countries using chemicals not allowed in our own home states; cheap palm oil at the expense of deforestation and loss of habitat for wildlife and endangering the ecosystem of the entire planet. Our rubbish, whether technical, plastic, or ships and vehicles, dumped overseas where they are stripped by people in desperate need of work, often in very dangerous conditions, and contaminating their environment.

Lord, open our eyes to the convenience of our lives so dearly paid for by others we don’t see or rarely think of. But, these too are our brothers and sisters, created and loved by You.

I choose to trust in You, God, to keep each one of us in Your care and make us more aware of how we are co-dependent one on each other, regardless of where we live on this small, beautiful, but fragile planet.

“From fears and phantoms of the night, from foes about my way”…

The widespread use of violence in word, attitude, and action wounds, marginalizes, and even kills people. Anything that is “other” than what we are is portrayed as being negative and even not worthy of being allowed to exist. We remember people of faith being persecuted for being Christian in Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Northern Nigeria, Iraq and even in Europe and the UK if people of other faiths chose to become Christian; for those Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Jehovah Witnesses and others who are routinely targeted by hatred and thoughtless violence in word and action and even torture in Russia, the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and many countries in Africa, South America and Asia. Our fear of difference and love of the same as ourselves distorts so often into ugliness and hatred of others.

We give thanks for projects, such as that led by Dr. Paula Green in Massachusetts, USA, bringing people together from across whichever divide exists in our communities for conflict resolution. Helping to put faces to the depersonalized hate or feared group of people, and to really listen to each other are major starting points.

I choose to trust in You, God, by darkness and by day. Forgive us our smallness of mind, heart and understanding and open us by the in-pouring of Your Holy Spirit.

“His holy angels keep my feet secure from every stone;”…

Fake news abounds throughout the media and the world, built on fears and trying to cause division and confusion. In Venezuela, Israel, the Middle East, Europe the UK and Northern Ireland over Brexit; countries, politicians, multinational companies trying to manipulate others through media disinformation and lies, breaking down trust, increasing the sense of helplessness and hopelessness in so many: we recall the Chinese telecoms corporation, Huawei, Facebook, Twitter, most major newspaper groups in the UK, and so many of our own governments who are involved in this to varying degrees. We give thanks for the individuals and groups daring to challenge, often at great personal cost, even of their lives, and hold to account those perpetrating such destructive practices. You are the God of truth, justice and what we rarely speak about now, “righteousness”.

I choose to trust in You, God, and with Your help, unafraid go on. Keep hope alive for all those who look and trust in You so others too may come to know You and Your love.

“Strong in the everlasting name, and in my Father’s care”…

The widespread epidemic of violence of gun and knife crime, and using sex as a weapon of violence is destroying lives and communities throughout the world but with especial focus on India, Canada, the UK, the USA, South Africa, and the Middle East.

We give thanks for many initiatives both at national and local levels to combat this globally including Boston, USA as far back as 1995, inspiring others in Scotland and now England.

I choose to trust in You, God, who hears and answers prayer.

Daily, let our prayer be that in all we seek to be and do as individuals and communities, we choose to be safe in the shadow of You, our Lord, our God and Redeemer. Possessed by Your divine love, help us to trust in You and meet Your unfathomable love with our puny and sometimes swithering love and, so, be participants in transforming and transfiguring all of Your Creation of which we are part. Power in Your terms is Love. May we become people of such power. AMEN.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 1 November 2018

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2

And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Ezekiel 47:9

Dear God our Creator and Redeemer,

Help us to live in awe in this world, this day and in this moment. Help us to understand with new eyes how you spoke the world into being and as it unfolds, even now, in this season, as wind and water move over earth. Help us to hold sacred the lands. Are we stewards or despoilers? Help us to understand how you restore and renew the world. Help us to see your grace at work. We read of TheKofan people of Sinangoe in the Amazonwhoprotecting more than 79,000 acres of primary rainforest in their ancestral homeland in Ecuador. Theyhave won a landmark legal battle to defend one of its’ largest and most important rivers from mining claims.

And when will peace come like fresh water flowing through the many rivers of Ethiopia where 1.4 million of its 100 million people are displaced? Help us to hear Ambassador Shalework Zewde’s words, “When there is no peace in country, mothers will be frustrated. Therefore, we need to work on peace for the sake of our mothers.” Help us to see your grace at work as the two Houses elected their first female head of state. Sustain this ancient land, stop the bloodshed and renew its peoples.

Be with the people and lawmakers of Sri Lanka, Germany and Brazil as leadership is changing and uncertainty grows.

And when will peace like the rains that come to Gaza in winter bring reconciliation and an end to the bloodshed and deprivation for the near 2 million Palestinians? We mourn for the 210 killed and more than 18,000 wounded in the past 6 months during the weekly Friday protests along the Israeli border. We pray for the brokering by Egypt for peace as refugees live with undrinkable tap water and only a few hours of electricity a day. Only your mercy can cause these and other injustices to fall away. In these days and weeks to come may your truth be known and received.

We watch and pray as the United States government has been ordered by the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands to halt sanctions that it had placed on the exporting to Iran of medicine and medical devices such as incubators, food and agricultural commodities such as wheat and spare parts and equipment necessary to ensure the safety of civil aviation. Open our eyes and hearts. Help us to bend and bow to your commandment: to love you and to love one another.

Awaken us from the suffering and deep misery, the horrible loss of opioid addiction and death so prominent in both the United States and Canada. We pray that the US legislation signed into law this week known as the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act will indeed work swiftly, prioritizing children, adolescents, and families as this public health crisis continues to unfold. We call on the Holy Spirit to guide our discerning as neighborhoods, towns, schools and workplaces find new resources to turn around this epidemic. We lift the tens of thousands who have experienced loss of loved ones. Lord have mercy.

Shed your mercy on the grieving families and their community in Louisville, Kentucky, United States as an attempted break-in at a church and murder of two people raises the alarm of violence so often fueled by hate. Forgive us for our sins Lord.

We weep, we grieve, we shake our heads and we come together once again. The world watches as a young man’s ashes are laid to rest twenty years after a hate crime ended his life. Again we despair, we groan and grieve as eleven worshipers at The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA are murdered and six are injured. Guide us in these dark days where fear and hatred seem so common. Will this violence end? Help us to continue our resolve for peace making amid such hate and deadly force. In this time of mourning may we comfort each other as you have comforted us. In the days to follow may we commit to the words of Micah, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Help us to take those steps no matter how hard it seems and how impossible the way.

And as this day becomes night let us remember your tender power amidst all the little things: the birds in migration, the little ones yet to be reunited with their families, the least of these, the forgotten, the unnamed, the isolated and imprisoned, those on the road and in hiding, the many suffering – we pray for these and call to You. Hear our prayers.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, August 23, 2018

God of compassion

God of green earth and snow
God of darkness
And illumination
God of new things
And of things torn apart
God of waters and maker of dry land
God of tender souls clinging
God in this moment and across all sunrises and the universe

Help us to understand our place in this troubled world, this vast and complex mystery. We ask for a deepening of our caring for our neighbor.

Be with the people of Kerala, India, with nearly 800,000 living in 4,000 emergency relief camps. Sustain them as monsoons continue to cause massive flooding, landslides, and strain resources. Be with rescue teams as they move people to safety. Support community leaders as they discern where to turn their attention in this catastrophe – to straining dams, deforested areas, impassable roads and railways. Comfort those who mourn the over 350 dead and missing.

Bring comfort to the people of Ghazni, Afghanistan, under siege as war continues. Be with those fleeing, those in harm’s way and those unable to leave. Have mercy on the suffering and be with those who have lost over 400 loved ones. Comfort those in the Shia neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi who mourn the 34 people killed in a suicide bomb attack in front of the education center in Kabul. Bring relief to the injured and those who mourn as a cease-fire offer receives further rocket launches, killings and abductions.

Come Holy Spirit, walk the streets of Pacaraima, Brazil, as residents are attacking migrant encampments of people fleeing Venezuela. Open the borders of our hearts to recognition of the universal need for a home.

Care for your people in Indonesia and especially on the quaking island of Lombok. Landslides, unstable and stressed buildings, people moved to living in tents, so much loss in this catastrophe. We ask for your compassion for those who mourn for the dead, 436 and rising. Sustain the hearts and hands of those who rescue and tend.

Teach us to love in powerful ways, in earnest ways that speak out against malice, prejudice and injustice. Bring wisdom, right action and compassion during the unprecedented worldwide displacement of over 68.5 million people. Protect and sustain the 44,000 people newly displaced today and each day around the world. Open the hearts of those who want to deny refugees a place of safety – in the US, for example, where President Trump’s administration is rumored to be considering a second sharp reduction in the number of refugees who can be resettled in the country.

Be with the people of Assam, India, as their leaders sort citizens from non-citizens. Help us to grow in humanity, called insaniyat in Hindi.

Sustain the teams who courageously work at the wildfire front lines day and night, with nearly 2 million acres burning in the US and 2,500 hectares in Canada, with yet more fires around the world, from The Great Dividing Range, Australia, to the coast of Greece. Comfort those who flee waiting to return uncertain of what they will find. Bring strength to those involved in the longer-term care, as overwhelming anxiety and grief is sorted and sense made of loss. Protect the wildlife. Protect us all from the consequences of the ashes spreading through the atmosphere, even to places distant from the fires themselves.

Holy Spirit come beside us. May we speak words that offer dignity and R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Inspire us even in these times of dread to make a joyful noise and walk in your light.

God of Love
God of fields and harvests
Of clouds, rivers and forests
God of night
And of broad noonday
God of the broken, sick and near death
God of the healed
God in this moment and across all sunsets and the universe
We call to you with these prayers for the people.

Amen.