World in Prayer

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, June 15, 2017

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
therefore ask the overseer of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.
—Matthew 9.37-38

Harvest  by Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Maybe the harvest is not bringing people to Christ
but gathering the fruits of the Spirit
God has sown in you
for the sake of the world.

Maybe it’s not an act of taking,
but receiving.

The harvest is plentiful
but few are the people who have gathered,
who have received the gifts, the grace,
the love growing in your heart,
and feasted on those fruits
to be strengthened to go out
and heal the wounded,
and be good news for the broken of the world.

The field stretches to the horizon.
There are more trees in this orchard
than stars in heaven.

What grace have you not yet harvested?
Go into that good harvest.
Here is a basket for your labors. Go.
Called together in the Spirit’s embrace, let us pray for the mending of God’s world.

Holy God, Loving God, Steadfast God, Compassionate God, looking at this world which You have created, this world over which You have given us stewardship, it is so easy to become discouraged and disheartened, to forget Your call to harvest Your grace, and to be good news for those who are broken. Sometimes all our tear-clouded eyes can see is the heartache and heartbreak which holds us in its thrall, making it difficult to see anything other than darkness and despair:

*Despair about an unknown blast which went off in eastern China, leaving at least seven people dead and over sixty-five others injured.

*Despair about a suicide car bombing into a hotel restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, where at least nineteen are dead and many others wounded

*Despair about the fire in the Grenfell Tower in London, England, where at least seventeen people have died and dozens of others are in hospitals, many of them in critical condition.

*Despair about the shooting in Virginia, US, at a Congressional baseball game practice, where six people were shot and the gunman was killed.

*Despair about Ohio, US student, Otto Warmbler, released by North Korea after seventeen months in captivity, who is in the hospital suffering from a severe neurological injury.

*Despair about the hundreds of civilian casualties in Raqqa, Syria, due to US-led air strikes.

*Despair about hot car deaths – deaths of children being left alone in vehicles during hot weather – occurring in the US, as three children have died in the last week.

*Despair about the road-rage shooting and killing of 2-year-old Laylah Washington of Memphis, Tennessee, US.

 

Holy God, Loving God, Steadfast God, Compassionate God, looking at this world which You have created, this world which You call us to co-create with You, open our eyes and our hearts to see the harvest of Your grace-filled love which is being made manifest in countless places, through countless people, children of Your own creation.

*The harvest of over one hundred and twenty migrants, who had been abandoned by traffickers without food or water in the Sahara desert, by Niger authorities.

*The harvest of the organization My Stealthy Freedom in Iran, led by Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist who boldly organized #whitewednesdays to protest a law forcing Iranian women to wear head scarves.

*The harvest of the work of 26-year-old Rahmatullah Arman, who, through Teach for Afghanistan, has placed 80 graduates from Afghan universities into twenty-one schools to teach 23,000 students in the hope of reducing the country’s 60% adult illiteracy rate.

*The harvest of the election in Ireland of Leo Varadkar, of Indian descent, as the country’s youngest and first openly-gay prime minister.

 

Holy God, Loving God, Steadfast God, Compassionate God, looking at this world which You have created, this world which You love, we Your people reach out this day. We reach out with grief and gratitude, with worry and wonder, and with tears and triumph. We open ourselves to Your Spirit as it longs to fill us with the gifts of Your grace, to empower us with the strength and courage to speak truth, and to work for justice and the healing of wounds we encounter and cause. May it be so, today and every day.

Amen.

 

 

 

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, May 11, 2017

[Jesus said to the disciples,] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.  And you know the way to where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”    John 14:1-6, ESV

 

God of solace and peace, through Your Son, You spoke to us a word of comfort:  “Let not your hearts be troubled.”  And yet we look around the world and we find many reasons to be troubled.  We see suffering and broken relationships that we know are the result of our sin, and we confess these sins to You. Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

We have allowed this beautiful planet in which You lovingly prepared a place for us to suffer from our neglect and abuse.  Officials in Nepal have announced the highly polluted state of air in the sacred site of Lumbini, the historic birthplace of Buddha.  The future of the Paris, France climate agreement, which has already been ratified by 140 countries, is uncertain in light of comments made by the president of the US that he wants to pull out of the deal.  We strip the earth of natural resources with little concern for its impact on our world or for the safety of those who do the work; this week, at least 42 people have died in an explosion at a coal mine near Azadshahr, Iran.  We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, overusing and abusing the earth for our own purposes.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

We skew the good news, turning “I am the way, the truth, and the life” from an invitation into a threat. We forget Your message of love and inclusion of all, announcing that there is no room in our communities for people who look different from us or act differently than us.  We turn a blind eye to the suffering of children in war-torn areas, like those suffering from a cholera outbreak in Yemen due to a breakdown in infrastructure.  Even as 250 more refugees have drowned this week in shipwrecks off the coast of Libya, we continue to ignore the desperation of refugees who risk everything to escape the fear and pain of life in their home countries.  We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, denying the humanity of people we see as different.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

We ignore the path You’ve left for us to follow, choosing to put our trust in our own power or in the power of earth’s corruptible and fallible human rulers.  Political anger and unrest grow around the world, with two more polarizing elections leading to the victories of Moon Jae-in in South Korea and Emmanuel Macron in France.  Nearly 20 government officials have been convicted and sentenced for negligence and abuse of power in Shenzhen, China after their part in a landfill landslide which resulted in the deaths of 73 people in 2015.  Many of Your children suffer at the hands of those in power, like the hundreds of innocent people who were affected by tear gas used on protesters when the gas seeped into homes, schools, and a hospital in Caracas, Venezuela. We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, placing our hope in earthly powers that can only disappoint us.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

Even as many countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day, we silently watch as families experience estrangement, abandonment, and every form of abuse.  We turn away from the pain of those who have lost their parents or for whom experiences of parenthood have been difficult.  We ignore the isolation felt by people who cannot or choose not to have children.  We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, neglecting to see and respond to the needs of those around us.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

Despite all of the pain in the world, You direct us: “Let not your hearts be troubled.”  For, in the words of Your Son, “In my Father’s house are many rooms.”  Remind us, O God of welcome, that, unlike the overcrowded inns of Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth, there is plenty of room for everyone in Your kingdom.  And unlike the spaces of our world, where people of different colors, shapes, opinions, languages, and abilities are rejected or at best begrudgingly tolerated, in Your kingdom everyone truly belongs.  Fill our hearts with gratitude for this good news, O Lord, and embolden us to be Your hands and voices in the world, that we might build an image of Your all-encompassing house of love and reconciliation here on earth, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.  

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, May 4, 2017

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. – John 10:10b

Never-ending God, we long for abundant life. All too often we settle for what our minds believe we deserve. But that isn’t abundance. Or, as we strive to live abundantly, we do so at the expense of others, or the environment, or even ourselves. In our human economy we see all things as finite. We believe there is just enough to go around, maybe not even enough. But in your divine economy there is enough for all to have full cups, overflowing cups…Help us, O God, to see that reality, to live into that truth!

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Forgive us, O God, when our near-sightedness leads to death and destruction. Comfort the family of Abdullahi Sheikh Abas who was mistaken for an Islamic extremist and killed in Somalia. Be with the families of all who are killed because of misunderstanding, prejudice and hate. Surround the families of the miners in Iran who gave their lives trying to save the lives of their trapped coworkers. Jesus said there was no greater gift than to give our lives for our friends. Yet we long for a world where that gift is rendered unnecessary. Be also with the people of the indigenous tribes of the Amazon, as they face attacks from outsiders. Be also with the activists and government officials in Brazil as they seek to find a way to help protect our neighbors.

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Support the community near Madrid, Spain, where there have been explosions at a chemical plant. Injuries to the workers and to the environment demonstrate the frailty of our search for abundance. Help us to turn our focus to you, O God. Be also with the people of Beijing and Northern China as they suffer under a dust storm, and the people in the Midwest United States as they deal with flooding. Help us, Sustaining God, to see how we can support the abundance of life on the Earth, and not diminish it.

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Jesus came that we might have abundant life. Empower us, O God, to work toward co-creating that abundance with you today, and every day.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, November 3, 2016

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”  Romans 8:38-39, NLT

Recognizing the effects of fear and anxiety in our lives, we look at the world and ask, “Where is God?” More and more situations provoke our worry and wreak havoc on our societies – terrorism, wars and conflicts, natural disasters, persecution, crime and violence, economic uncertainty, unemployment, divisions, illness, death, bereavement, and even social media encounters can trigger fear in us, bringing debilitating anxiety for some and daily worry for many.

As Americans across the USA face the final days of a close presidential race, we pray that the result might bring hope and promise for the country both at home and abroad.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

As severe droughts continue in countries around the world including India, Brazil, Puerto Rico, North Korea, and the USA, we pray for farmers, crops, and cattle, for those who thirst and for those who work tirelessly to bring life-giving water to suffering communities.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

In the aftermath of a fatal bus crash in Baltimore, USA and the fatal shooting of two police officers in Iowa, USA, we pray that the families of those lost may be comforted by the memories of their loved ones and by your loving presence.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

As the death toll in the dispute over the Kashmir region between Pakistan and India reaches nineteen, we pray that tensions can be quashed and a peaceful negotiation can ensue before more lives are disrupted and lost.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

In the wake of another earthquake that rocked central Italy, we pray for those injured and the thousands left homeless, especially those still struggling to rebuild from previous quakes, and for the emergency services personnel who are already stretched thin but are working hard to cope with the aftermath of the quake and continuing aftershocks.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

As the last shelters of “The Jungle” in Calais, France, are dismantled, we pray that the migrants, many of whom are children, will be accommodated and find a safe, welcoming, and warm place to live.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

As millions of displaced people continue to struggle in the wake of Boko Haram’s violence in Nigeria, we pray for the vulnerable women and girls who escaped from the violence of the Boko Haram camps only to be sexually abused by Nigerian officials in camps set up to protect them.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

As men and women around the world risk their lives daily working in dangerous environments and conditions, we pray for the families of the miners in China who died in a gas explosion.
Lord, comfort and protect us in the shroud of your loving arms.

We ask you, Lord, to rid us of our anxieties and help us to cast our fears aside. Let the dark shadows of our souls be borne into your perpetual light, so that we might walk with the courage of your holy guidance and spirit. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016

On Sunday after Sunday in our worship we sing:

            Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
            Whose blood set us free to be people of God.
            Power and riches, wisdom and strength,
            And honor and blessing and glory are his.

 And with these words in mind this day, we pray to the God of Love, the God of relationship, the God of community- Creator, Son, and Living Spirit.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

As the Mosul offensive rages in Syria, we rejoice in the 50 villages which have been freed from the control of ISIL, but we grieve for the millions of refugees who have lost their homes, their families, their livelihoods, and some, their lives, in the search for peace.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

Together, we grieve for the families and friends of the 13 dead and more than two dozen injured in the crash of a tour bus in California, USA. Even as authorities seek for answers, guide them in the path of truth.
          God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

As protests continue at the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, USA, we grieve with the 27 peaceful activists arrested on October 10th, as they supported the Standing Rock Sioux who believe that the pipeline will taint their water supplies and encroach on tribal burial sites. Fill us with the daring and commitment to support and honor indigenous peoples where we are and throughout the world.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

As the people of the United States are in the final days of the presidential campaign, we pray for a nation that is deeply divided. May they act and vote out of love, mercy, and justice rather than out of arrogance or hatred or fear.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

Justice-Seeking God, grant to all of your children in every nation, especially Syria, Burundi, Colombia, Great Britain, Greece, Russia, China, and the USA, leaders and policymakers who can ensure equality and justice through equitable taxes, jobs which pay a living wage, and who refuse to resort to war instead of diplomacy.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

Peace-Bringing God, we pray for the vulnerable in Somalia, Eritrea, Mexico, Venezuela, and throughout your world where violence and corruption destroy and devastate lives.  Forgive us, and call us to account where for the sake of economic advantage in the name of “free trade” we sell arms to governments and groups who abuse their own citizens.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

Justice-Seeking God, help light and truth to illuminate various trade agreements being negotiated in secret such as TTIP and CETA between the US, Canada and Europe which would give international companies the right to sue sovereign governments to advance corporate interests while having the power to force national institutions to purchase their goods and services even when not in the interests of the country and its citizens.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

In our zeal to defend our own positions, to prove ourselves “right”, help us to never lose sight of the reality that each person we encounter is a child of your own making, regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, economic situation, sexuality, or age. May we see in the faces of those around us and across this globe your own face, filled with love and hope, mercy and peace.
            God, our creator, guide us in truth and love.

 Into your hands, God of Grace and Mercy, we entrust all for whom we pray, certain of your loving care and immeasurable grace, shown to us in Jesus the Christ. AMEN

 

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, September 22, 2016

“The Bible says little about the temperature of hell nor the furniture of heaven”. This quote from the great German theologian Reinhold Niebuhr fits in with the story of the rich man and Lazarus where we are made aware of the dangers of being mean with our money and uncharitable to others. This is echoed by the scam artists who have been using Italy’s earthquake disaster for profit by selling T-shirts and claiming the proceeds will go to the victims and their families. We, as human beings must adopt a just and moral outlook to life and realise that bad deeds have consequences and bring regret, and yet also know that God is at our side, protecting us and forgiving us when we show remorse and hold steadfast in our beliefs.
• After a ‘Refugees Welcome Here’ march in London, England, let us pray against the exploitation of thousands of refugees in places such as the Middle East and South Sudan who can be ruthlessly stripped of their life’s savings to risk their lives to escape from war and poverty for a better life. The UN estimates there are over 65 million people worldwide who have had to flee their homes, 34,000 every day, nearly half of which are children. Many are missing and are feared to have fallen victim to human traffickers, sexual abuse or modern slavery.
Merciful Lord, defend and protect those innocents, and let peace override greed and power…
• We pray for those affected by the world’s natural disasters of floods, fires and typhoons: in the U.S., Taiwan, China, Greece and North Korea.
‘For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…’ (2 Corinthians 5.1)
• Let us also pray for the 9 people stabbed at a shopping centre in Minnesota, U.S. in a suggested religious attack. For the 29 people in the U.S. who were injured in an explosion in Manhattan, New York and those affected by the explosion in New Jersey. We pray, too, for the cities of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina, which are reeling from the deaths this week of two black men killed by police, Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott, and ask, Loving God,  that peace and wisdom may prevail, and hearts may be opened.
• We pray for the dozens of aid workers and truck drivers killed by two air strikes near Aleppo, Syria.
• We pray for the 13 dead after a boat capsized north of Bangkok, Thailand and the 43  migrants who perished off the Egyptian coast, with hundreds still missing.
• Let our thoughts turn to the 20 killed in rebel fighting in Central African Republic and those suffering from warfare throughout the continent.
Gracious God, bring comfort to the victims and help turn the hearts that hate…
Help us Lord, to take pride in helping others, to put our trust in you instead of money and put it to good use. We can then be rich in ourselves and our souls if we are generous to those less well-off whether they be family, friend or neighbour, close by or far away. Let us take inspiration from those people; such as the man from Yorkshire, England who ran 75 marathons in 75 days, at the age of 75, raising £75,000 for a special needs school.
Lord, we give thanks and praise to those who inspire us; bless them all.
Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, September 15

O how wondrous
is the foreknowledge of the divine heart
that knew every creature in advance.
For when God looked upon the human face
that he had formed,
he glimpsed all his works,
in that same human form, all summed up.
O how wondrous is the inspiration
that has thus animated the human being.

                        Hildegard of Bingen, “O quam mirabilis”

 Creator God, your love for us is apparent in the wonder and complexity with which we are made.  We are created with endless diversity, each face distinct, each personality unique, and yet we all bear your divine image.  The inspiration with which you breathed us into life is displayed in so many ways:

  • In the perseverance and strength of athletes during the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
  • In the persistence of rescue crews in Bukoba, Tanzania, who searched for survivors of an earthquake, and crews who worked in Taiwan and China to evacuate families and prepare for the arrival of Super Typhoon Meranti;
  • In the devotion of over 1.8 million Muslims who traveled to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the Hajj pilgrimage;
  • In the compassion and courage of first responders in O Porrino, Spain, who worked to rescue victims of a deadly train crash, and in Tongi, Bangladesh, who battled a fire caused by a deadly factory explosion;
  • In the emerging hope for peace in Colombia, where FARC rebels have released a group of child soldiers and have promised to discontinue recruitment of children.

We know, Lord, that you rejoice with us when we embody the love and care for which you created us.  And yet so often we fall short, seeing the gift of diversity as a threat and forgetting the divine image that we all possess.  Fear, suffering, and broken relationships disfigure your divine image and damage your creation in so many ways:

  • In violent hate crimes perpetrated against Muslim mothers in New York, US and Bletchley, UK;
  • In a successful nuclear test in North Korea, which deepens tension among nations and adds to the number of nuclear-capable countries, including Russia, the US, France, China, the UK, Pakistan, India, and Israel;
  • In acts of terrorism designed to spread fear and perpetuate extremism in Minto, Australia; Shikarpur, Pakistan; and around the globe.

Forgive us for abandoning our primary identity as your beloved children.  Bring hope and healing to our broken world.  Give us strength and inspiration to look into the faces of our neighbors and see what you see:  A glimpse of all your works, a glimpse of you.

Amen.

 Note:  Many Christians celebrate the feast of St Hildegard of Bingen on 17 September.  Hildegard was a Benedictine nun and Christian mystic, writer, and composer in 10th century Germany.

 

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, September 8, 2016

Remember, O God.
Remember how you, O God, were determined to kill the Israelites
whom you had brought out of Egypt,
because they had turned against you and worshiped other gods.
Remember how Moses called you to account?
How he reminded you that you had made promises of faithfulness
to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel?
Remember…that you remembered. And changed your mind.
And abandoned the disaster you had planned to bring on your people,
and let them live.
(Exodus 32:7-14)

Remind us too, O God, of all the promises of faithfulness we have made to one another.
Let the memories of the promises – of kinship, of friendship, of business relationships, of mutual responsibility, of national and international peace –
let those memories outweigh all the ways we have turned against one another.

Let it be the memories of the promises of faithfulness, that sway the decisions of leaders and peoples:

  • In Syria, where the opposition has suggested a transition plan toward free elections
  • In Hong Kong, where youth protest leaders won seats on the Legislative Council – only to have China respond by warnings that anyone who speaks in favor of Hong Kong independence will be punished
  • In South Sudan, that has agreed to allow more peace keepers into the country
  • In Ethiopia, as political violence continues to delay the distribution of aid to four million people hit by drought and floods
  • In Kenya, where the new Community Land Bill establishes a means for impoverished nomadic communities to acquire titles to their ancestral lands – a process that experts hope will help end land conflicts, boost development and improve investor relations
  • In Colombia, after the FARC rebel group postponed its meeting to ratify a peace agreement with the government for another week
  • In Gabon, where President Ali Bongo’s narrow election victory has stirred up fears of violence

Let it be the memories of the longing for faithfulness, that color our prayers for those who have died:

  • For Mother Teresa of Calcutta, declared a saint this week in a canonization Mass held by Pope Francis in the Vatican
  • For Phyllis Schlafly, who died this week after decades of being one of the most prominent leaders of the conservative Christian anti-feminist movement in the United States
  • For all whom we remember this weekend, on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. – the terrorists, the innocent, the rescuers, the lives that touched so many nations

Make us into your own image, O God.
Make us creatures of memory – not of memories of betrayals and distrust,
but, like you,  of faithfulness promised from age to age.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, August 18, 2016

World News in Prayer for Thursday, August 18, 2016

 Isaiah 58:9, 10
          Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and God will say,
          Here I am…If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted
          then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom be like the noonday.

 Lord of all languages, we pray with and for people all over this world…

  • for the laborers being exploited by businesses in China, India, North Korea, South Sudan and Sudan, especially the children forced to work long hours in order that we may buy less expensive goods.
  • for the citizens of Syria, where more than 250,000 have lost their lives in the ongoing civil war, where 11 million have been forced from their homes, where 4.5 million have become refugees fleeing their country, and where attacks on medical facilities are occurring every 17 hours.
  • for the citizens of Yemen, where the civil war has cost more than $14 billion, has killed more than 6,500 people, and has displaced 2.5 million more.
  • for the 65 victims of a deadly maritime disaster in Jianli, China, due to the capsizing of a river cruise ship.
  • for the people of Thailand, where a deadly wave of bomb blasts has occurred over the past several days in response to voters approving a new draft constitution.

Then we shall call and the Lord will answer; we shall cry for help and God will say, Here I am.

 Holy One, your Spirit speaks in creation, calling us to listen, and so we pray…

  • for the people of Louisiana, US, where severe flooding has been responsible for the deaths of at least 11 people, where more than 30,000 people have been rescued from rapidly-rising flood waters, where more than 8,000 people remain in shelters, and where more than 40,000 homes have been damaged.
  • for the more than 1,000 firefighters who are fighting numerous wildfires in the state of California, US, including a fire burning north of San Francisco, where more than 4,000 people have been evacuated, including the patients of one hospital, and where over 175 homes have been lost.

Then we shall call and the Lord will answer; we shall cry for help and God will say, Here I am.

 Brother Christ, you reached out to heal the bent-over woman, seeing her need, seeing her as a person of worth. Open our eyes to see the needs of women and girls throughout the world, and so we pray…

  • for the victims of the major human-trafficking ring shut down in Maryland, US, where girls as young as 15 were being forced into prostitution.
  • for the 218 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, kidnapped by Boko Haram, who remain captives – many of whom have been forcibly married to fighters, have borne children, and are living in dreadful conditions.
  • for Prime Minister Theresa May as she leads the United Kingdom to negotiate the complicated BREXIT.
  • for the many young women competing in the Olympic Games in Brazil, that they may serve as role models for girls and women around the world, offering the promise that girls and women can do anything.
  • for Pope Francis’ visit, as part of his Fridays of Mercy, to former sex slaves living in a housing center in Rome, Italy: Women trafficked from Romania, Albania, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Italy, and victims of severe abuse, which the Pope called “a crime against humanity”.

Then we shall call and the Lord will answer; we shall cry for help and God will say, Here I am.

 Divine Truth, you reveal yourself to us in so many ways. Open our eyes to see and our hearts to rejoice in prayer…

  • for the rare 4th century mosaic uncovered in Cyprus by a seven-person crew headed by archaeologist Fryni Hadjichristofi.
  • for the dedicated teachers in early childhood education who are making such a significant difference in the lives of poor children.
  • for 29-year-old Malaika, head nurse at Syria’s Aleppo Children’s Hospital, one of only a handful of health workers remaining in that besieged city, who continues to rescue the smallest of the small, even at the risk of her own life.

Then we shall call and the Lord will answer; we shall cry for help and God will say, Here I am.

 Open our eyes to both the beauty and the ugliness in our world, Loving God. Open our ears to the cries of our sisters and brothers in every place. Open our hands to do your work in the world. Open our hearts to feel the pain and joy, the discouragement and hope of all who long for freedom and peace and justice. Open us, today and every day, we pray.

Amen and Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, July 14, 2016

There is a terrifying passage in ‘I and Thou’ by the Jewish mystic Martin Buber in which God says ‘I have sunk my hearing in the deafness of mortals’.  If this should be even partly true what a tremendous responsibility it places upon us to listen, to listen to each other with our whole attention, with our hearts, but what a difficult thing to do. ~ Elizabeth Bassett in “Beyond the Blue Mountains: Wisdom and Compassion on Living and Dying” (p. 93)

Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations… Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and digestion… My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. ~ Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The news recently has been a cataloged of ever greater misery, tragedy, horror, and violence depicting the broken relationships between groups and nations. Hurt breeds resentment and violence arising from a sense of frustrated helplessness. This makes the truth of the essential need to truly listen to each other haunting. Challenge and inspire me. I can only hope to do this through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to enable me to fulfill, however falteringly, the command of the risen Christ, “Follow me!”

LET GOD…be Parent…speak…liberate me from my prisons…direct my path…infuse me with grace and love.

How do we reconcile God’s grace and love with our world where at least 80 are dead in Nice (pron. Neece), France as a result of a rampage driver, weaponry, and a hate-filled heart? Who did this? Why? What matter does it make? Hate and violence and death… Death and violence and hate…

  • The killings between black and white, police and citizens in the U.S.A. and in Kenya;
  • Bombings and murder of Christians and other minority faiths in Iraq;
  • The seizing of Christian villages by Kurds;
  • The bombings and warfare in South Sudan;
  • The territorial advancement by China onto militarized coral reefs and artificial islands in the South China Sea as platforms for their nuclear arms;
  • Over a thousand people have ‘disappeared’ without trace and 40,000 have been arrested and tortured in the last 3 years in Egypt according to Amnesty International;
  • Hunger and lack of food in Venezuela that is being tackled by the army because it is so pervasive.

Lord, help us to persevere in the face of so many discouragements to do whatever little bit of good we can wherever we are. Together these small acts form channels for your love and grace to be freed to transform our brokenness and overwhelm evil. Lord hear us and bless us.

With a new government and a second female Prime Minister installed in the UK, we pray for the challenges to be faced together, from people of very differing viewpoints and convictions, so that the good of the country – as well as bridge-building to repair shaken if not broken relationships with other groups and countries – can be undertaken in honesty and integrity.

We pray that all those, everywhere, may listen to each other before leaping into superficial response and action. Our heavy use of social media often makes this a default position rather than pausing, reflecting, and even daring to take time to pray… We continue to pray for the often bitter and divisive presidential electoral campaign in the U.S.A. So often at times like this we seem to revert to appealing to the lowest common denominator instead of offering a vision of the best… Forgive us when we get seduced by the attractiveness of power – thinking it glamorous rather than often seedy and corrupting.

Remind us, O God:

Good is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death. Victory is ours, through him who loves us…Child of God, known by name, and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. ~ Archbishop Desmond Tutu in “An African Prayer Book”

LET ME…be son or daughter…listen…walk out of my prisons through opened doors…follow your guidance…open up my being to your grace and love…Study and imitate…the perfect sonship of Jesus the Christ…the universal brother…or all other sons and daughters.

Amen.