Israel – Page 3

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 10^th century Germany.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, July 21, 2016

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.”
― Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, 1986 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and author who fought for peace, human rights and simple human decency, died July 2 in New York at the age of 87.
And because of that, tonight I must write very personally.

This is my heritage. Not only did many of my family die in the Holocaust, but this is my heritage: my awareness that anywhere, everywhere, there is the possibility that friend could turn on friend, neighbor on neighbor, colleague on colleague. That fear could feed on fear, hatred on hatred, tormentor on victim. That good people everywhere could disbelieve, and turn aside, and protect their own – until a maelstrom of evil has wrought unspeakable horror.

And this too is my heritage: the commitment embodied by Elie Wiesel to never forget the Holocaust – and to turn that memory into making sure it never happens again. Not to the Jews, not to Nicaragua’s Miskito Indians, Argentina’s “disappeared”, Cambodian refugees, the Kurds, South African apartheid victims, not to famine victims in Africa – to name just a few of the oppressed for whom he advocated – not to anyone.

It is that commitment that fueled my prayers when I started World in Prayer 15 years ago.
It is that commitment that fuels my prayers today, as I invite you to join me in praying for:

Growing evidence, including research released this past week by Duke University Medical Center (U.S.), that trauma not only affects those who experience it, but changes the genes of their descendants.
The attempted military coup in Turkey, and the Turkish government’s “cleansing” countermeasures that have affected more than 50,000 people — judges, civil servants, military, police and others – and most recently included banning travel by all academics.
The death this week of 90-year-old Abdul Sattar Edhi, founder and lifelong leader of a vast public welfare organization in Pakistan, that provided birth to death care to millions through hospitals, homeless shelters, rehab centers, orphanages and ambulances. No one who needed services was ever turned away, regardless of creed, cast, sect or ability to pay.
People in the United Kingdom, where there has been a wave of racist and xenophobic incidents, who have taken to wearing safety pins as a symbol of solidarity with immigrants, a symbol that the wearer is a “safe” person for immigrants to be around.
Israel, which opened a major crossing point between Israel and Gaza this week to allow the transfer of vehicles carrying goods–for the first time in nine years.
A group of Black Lives Matters activists in the United States that chose to hold a barbecue with police, instead of holding a protest demonstration
The 2016 World AIDS conference, held in Durban, South Africa, and described by a friend as the “swirl, conversation, discovery, protest, new networking etc. of 18,000 HIV/AIDS workers from the global effort to stop the epidemic. Commitment, imagination, love, significant, engaged conflicts and disagreement… It’s huge good news and testament to human spirit, resourcefulness and goodwill.”
Zimbabwe, where the war veterans association, which has played a key and sometimes violent role in supporting the now 90-year-old President Robert Mugabe, has released a statement withdrawing its backing for him, and accusing him of dictatorial tendencies, egocentrism and misrule.
Researchers from Ethiopia and Sweden who jointly discovered that the odor of a live chicken – yes, a chicken! – “significantly reduced” the number of mosquitoes near sleeping test subjects, which may lead to a completely different approach to preventing malaria.
Those in every nation who espouse hatred, violence, oppression; the lone-wolf attackers; the militantly self-righteous and power hungry; the xenophobics; the fear-mongerers and the fearful – all the people we would rather get rid of, than view with sympathy.
Today’s young people everywhere, making choices as to who they will be, how they will live, how deeply they dare love the world and everyone in it.

That commitment fuels my prayers every time I celebrate the Eucharist, remembering, in the Christian tradition, that God so loved the world, that he sent his son to live and die among us. Giving thanks, each time I celebrate the Eucharist, for Jesus Christ, for the Elie Wiesels and the Abdul Sattar Edhis, and for so many people of so many faiths who in their own traditions know and embody and teach the ever-living love of God.

“We tell these stories because perhaps we know that not to listen, not to want to know, would lead you to indifference, and indifference is never an answer. Whoever hates, hates everybody. Whoever kills, kills more than his victims.” – Elie Wiesel

Let us pray:

God, make us story-tellers and memory bearers.
Where there is evil, let us speak out.
Where there is pain, let us heal.
Where there is indifference, give us strength to care.
Where we are divided, draw us together.
Wherever we are, whoever we are, let us love.

–Andee Zetterbaum, founder, World in Prayer

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, June 23, 2016

Violent protests, burning and looting in Pretoria, South Africa, over mayoral election…

Foreign supporters of ISIS have taken over Sirte, Libya, murdering, torturing, crucifying Muslims and Christians…

Russian fighters are dropping cluster bombs in Syria, indiscriminately endangering and killing civilians and children as well as fighters…

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Violence and hatred is being stirred up in elections and referendum debates in the USA¸ the UK, and so many countries around the world…

Singers are being targeted and killed in Pakistan, Canada, and the USA…

Rape, as ever, is being used against women and children in Australia, South Korea, India, and too many other countries to mention…

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

The Australian government has passed a law preventing medical personnel caring for refugee immigrants imprisoned on Nauru from discussing or disclosing the physical and mental problems they are encountering even among children. Inhumane conditions and procedures are routine including removal of medicine and medical equipment from the refugees.

But there are peace talks between FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army) and the Colombian government after more than 50 years of brutal civil war.

We celebrate the courage and determination being shown by primarily Democratic members of the House of Representatives in the United States demanding the chance to vote on legislation for increased gun control. The horror of the lives lost needlessly through the ready access to guns massively outweighs any deaths from terrorism. Lord, help us to realize that lives are more important than weapons. May justice and peace prevail over self-interest and self-absorption in the pseudo-machismo so often associated with powerful weapons. Teach us to be men and women as you envisage and created us to be, without the need for force and fear perpetrated on others often innocent or vulnerable.

Lord, may justice and peace and right living in harmony with one another become not merely a wish but a reality, now.

In the UK people are being urged and inspired to reject hate and work together for a better community, building on what unites rather than divides us thereby providing a legacy of the murdered M.P. Jo Cox.

We give thanks for the generous giving of over a £1.5 million (approx..$2 million USD) in memory of Jo Cox to help those lonely and marginalized in the UK, Syria, and to provide humanitarian aid which will change lives.

Lord, bless and magnify this life-giving expression of love and care and all such efforts wherever they exist.

My heart breaks when I read and see the news and sometimes I can’t bear it and howl from the depths of my being in pain, anger, and disbelief at what we humans can do to each other.

Open our eyes Lord, open our ears so that we hear not just with our physical sense but from all that you have given us, to the cries and pleas of our brothers and sisters. Shake us from our blind complacency that what is convenient and cheap for us often comes at extremely high cost to others working for pence in conditions that would never be tolerated in our own countries.

Remind us that we are all inextricably bound to one another wherever we live on this planet – when crops cannot accommodate the changes in temperatures and oceans continue to be polluted and ravished for whatever we think would make our lives or tables more comfortable.

Lord, open our eyes to our sinfulness – all that separates us from you and your heart and will.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

We give thanks for the peacemakers, whether it is on the big scale like Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, or all those working quietly in their own communities on small projects to bring disparate and hostile and often fearful groups together. We give thanks for imaginative projects like the Israel Clown School bringing together Jewish and Muslim youngsters. Help us to think outside the box, so that peace, justice, love, and hope can reign on earth as it is in heaven.

As we go forward into another week, O God, we cast our cares, sorrows, concerns, joys, and thanksgiving at your feet. You are our rock and our deliverer; our shield, and resting place; the light which shines on and in our darkness. Remind us, as Michael Stancliffe expressed so simply, yet profoundly, in Symbols and Dances, “…before speaking, there must be silence, and that what we say and how we say it, will come out of what we have learned in silence, about God, about ourselves, and about those whom we are trying to help.”

God of all, creator, redeemer, provoking, and empowering Holy Spirit, you invite each one of us to discover our own meaning and reality in you when you say: “I am the Way. Walk me. / I am the Truth. Sing me. / I am the Life. Live me.”

AMEN.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs., March 31, 2016

Lord, in the strength of grace
With a glad heart and free … Charles Wesley

Today, in the grace of being Easter people, we pray for those who are supported by your grace alone in the turmoil and oppression of war, terror, famine, drought, prejudice, bigotry.

We pray for all in Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba. On Wednesday, a US official said that the Pentagon plans to transfer about a dozen (of the remaining 91) inmates to at least two countries.
We, Easter people, pray.

We pray for members of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli, defying threats by rival factions that it was not welcome in the capital, which effectively means that Libya has three governments.
We, Easter people, pray.

We pray for Pakistan’s Christian community following the Easter bombing in Lahore. The government is reported to have no plans to amend the country’s blasphemy law, after protests in Islamabad supported it.
We, Easter people, pray.

We pray for the more than 10,000 Afghan interpreters who have never received the promised visas for safe passage to the US when their jobs were complete.
We, Easter people, pray.

We pray for the people of Myanmar, where a new president has been sworn in, while fighting continues in the northern Shan province and perhaps as many as 50% of the rural population are landless.
We, Easter people, pray.

We pray for the people of Palestine who have once again marked Land Day on 30th March – the anniversary of the Israeli expropriation of land in 1976.
We, Easter people, pray.

We pray for the people in the steel working areas of Wales and England, in need of a government who will protect them.
We, Easter people, pray.

We pray … Lord, there is too much to hold in our minds … those killed and injured in a bridge collapse in Calcutta, India … those caught by tornadoes in Oklahoma, US … workers endangered building stadiums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in Qatar … Japanese whaling … You, Lord, take all our concerns and hold and answer them.

As we live in the grace of being Easter people, knowing we are saved and cherished, we pray for more than we can know – for your whole world.
Amen

World News This Week In Prayer – Thursday, January 14, 2016

Your love is steadfast, O Lord, but how fickle we are. We are never satisfied. In our dissatisfaction we destroy that which we do not understand and devastate that which satisfies as if there is never enough. Our prayers are prayers of contrast as we recognize political, financial and economic pressures are very different across continents and countries.

Along with the United States of America seeking a solution to refugee crises, we hear of bomb attacks in Istanbul and Diyarbakir, Turkey and in Jakarta, Indonesia; we are not surprised as people struggle to leave these areas.

In severe winter weather in the Middle East, aid agencies are struggling to bring relief to the besieged town of Madaya as well as the villages of Kefraya and Fouaa in Syria, and we read that Israel cuts supplies of natural gas to Gaza.

As people gather to enjoy the World Cup skiing events taking place in Flachau, Austria, we pray for those from France and the Ukraine killed and caught up in the avalanche in Les Deux Alpes, France.

Heavy rain is causing Australia’s Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre to fill, a rare event causing the desert to bloom, and we pause with concern for the people of Flint, Michigan in the U.S.A. who have been affected by lead in water.

In Britain the Environment Agency has been ordered to prioritize protecting homes, even when this means loss of livelihood to farmers through flooding farm land. In Tanzania the government started demolishing up to 15,000 homes to clear a valley near Dar es Salaam, where many of those who work in the Kariakoo market live, to allow free flow of water.

We contrast the release of 10 American service members by Iran with the 600 days the Chibok girls have been kidnapped in Nigeria.

We give thanks West Africa has been declared Ebola-free even as we pray for South Sudan struggling with a severe malaria outbreak. We recognize that both these illnesses remain endemic in Africa.

We offer our prayers for ourselves; giving thanks for the wonders of medical science in healing and for the gifts of faith in dying; for the grace of finding somewhere to seek aid, to rest and be sheltered.

We exist both wondering at the beauty of our world and fearing it’s power. We pray, failing to compare and contrast the wide range of solutions to the problems of each country and often dooming ourselves to repeat mistakes. “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart!” Ps 36:7, 10. Faithful God: this is our prayer for our world.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, November 19

Violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering. – Parker Palmer

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. – Hebrews 13:2

“Do not be afraid,” the messenger from God said to Mary. “Do not be afraid,” the messenger from God said to Joseph. And time after time throughout the scriptures, the message of God to God’s people has been the same – “Do not be afraid”…and yet we are. We look around us at this world in upheaval and we are afraid – of weather and war, of terrorists and refugees, of everything and everyone unfamiliar to us, convincing ourselves and each other that if only we keep “them” out, if only we fight harder or make war more diligently or create ever more deadly weapons, we will be safe.

Oh God of Love and Hope and Healing, how much you must despair when we, your children, behave as if we had never heard your words of truth and comfort: Do not be afraid. And so we come to you, the Source, the Hope, the Love, the Truth, falling to our knees, even as we pray for your children – our sisters and brothers in so many places.

Out of our fear-stained hope, we pray for those killed in suicide bombings this week in Paris, France, in Nigeria, and in Baghdad, Iraq.

Out of our fear-seared hope, we pray for those at the mercy of recent atrocities in Syria, Palestine and Israel; in the Central African Republic; in Pakistan and Myanmar and inner-city America; and in other places too numerous to name.

Out of our fear-marked hope, we pray for those affected by the recent earthquakes in Japan and Kansas in the United States.

Out of our tear-stained hope, we pray for open hearts and minds and doors and arms, that all those who have had to leave the homelands they love might find welcome and hospitality and loving care in far-away places, with people they do not know, but who will love them in your name and for your sake.

God of Love and Hope and Healing, in our fear we turn to you. Open our ears to hear your words of truth and comfort: Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

And so, as the days shorten, as the darkness surrounds us and Fear threatens to keep us in its thrall, we pray, Gracious God, that your light might surround and fill us and all your children, in every corner of the globe, creating within each of us a space of welcome and acceptance and hope. Amen and amen.

The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you. The night is quiet. Let the quietness of God’s peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace. – A New Zealand Prayer Book

World News This Week in Prayer, Thursday, October 15 2015

WORLD NEWS IN PRAYER THURSDAY, October 15 2015

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”          –Isaiah 40:31

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not is us. If we confess our sins, the One who is faithful and just will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”         -1 John 1: 8-9

“Lord, for our world; when we disown and doubt you,
loveless in strength, and comfortless in pain;
hungry and helpless, lost indeed without you,
Lord of the world, we pray that Christ may reign.”
                    –Bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith excerpt from
                    “Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided”

The news is full of incidents of violence from Afghanistan to Turkey, Colombia to Israel and The West Bank, India to Syria, not just in war but also against women, the disabled, and different faith groups; anything that is ‘other’ from those who have power. This violence shows the depths to which we sink in our humanity. Though made in the image of God, humanity too often lives devoid of his compassion, love, insight and will. So often we rush to judgement on others but ignore the beam in our own eye and life.

Creator and Redeemer of all, we bring the brokenness of this, your world and all its people to you: the homeless, the refugee, those imprisoned and tortured, those without a voice; the powerless and powerful; those without food, medicine, water, or basic shelter and those of us with an obscenity of plenty; all who are suffering in body, mind or spirit; those nearing death, and those who have died.

ALL: Lord have mercy… (silence)

Christ our Savior, sometimes we feel unable to walk with you. We grow faint and exhausted with life. The news of violence, corruption and greed overwhelms and drains us. Sometimes we want to give up. But we do not despair. Instead we join together and give thanks that you do not condemn us, but invite us to come to You seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

ALL: Lord have mercy… (silence)

God of grace, we may not wish to follow in your steps or be open to your lead. We separate ourselves from your support and healing. Forgive us for all we have done or left undone, all we have said or left unsaid. You call forth eagles to bend wings in adoration. But there are times in life when we are unable to appreciate the gift of your creation in this world or in ourselves.

ALL: Lord have mercy… (silence)

In the silence of our hearts, we bring to the foot of the cross anything weighing heavily on us today: whether it be personal or for the world – we bring it and we leave it there. (silence)

Spirit of God, when we are weary and tired, unable to soar in the sky of life, we can look only to you for healing, and to be free to be ourselves as created by You, and for your world to be as you would have it be – your will done on earth as it is in heaven.

ALL: Lord, hear our prayer and let it be so. AMEN.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, August 6, 2015

Today is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima, and three days later over Nagasaki. At a ceremony to mark the anniversary, which included Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, said “Seventy years on I want to re-emphasize the necessity of world peace.” The Church of England published this prayer.

Today, as the United States congress debates a nuclear deal with Iran we remember how many times the world has been embroiled in a “war to end all wars” and we recognize that negotiation and diplomacy might end war in our time but undoubtedly not forever.

Today we hear that up to 200 migrants, crossing the Mediterranean Sea in an overloaded fishing boat, drowned when it overturned. Fleeing murder, violence, war, and trying to find a better life, this sea is rapidly becoming a mass graveyard not a route to mass peace and contentment.

Today, it is highly likely that wreckage now washing up on Reunion Island is from missing Flight MH370. What must be in the minds of the grieving relatives, especially those who think they are, once again, being misled? Are they expecting only news of violence, terror, and the backlash of war.

Today we hear a fence is being erected around Hungary. As if the Berlin Wall had not fallen; as if the Israeli wall of separation hasn’t taught us enough.

Today there are terror attacks in Gaza, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia; the world is obsessed with violence. Today, whatever the day, the good news never makes the headlines, only the evil that is done.

Today we hear that a deep el nino event might be building – but does this make headlines? Something of the glory and might of a powerful earth event returning to the Pacific.

Today we hear that, possibly, the “world’s biggest coal mine” in Queensland is put on hold following a court case. So that of the glory of the Australian barrier reef is retained.

Today and in the week ahead the Perseid meteor shower displays something of the glory of the heavens.

Today a little more of the interaction between the San Andreas and San Jacinto earthquake causing faults have been understood, displaying a little more of the glory of the interconnectedness of our world.

Today – the world is full of glory; full of violence; ever-changing and forever our world.

Ever-changing God, you have seen our constant obsessions – the reveling in violence and the demand for a war to end all wars – bringing peace in our time. You have seen how we yet seek to understand more of the environment of our planet beneath our feet and above our heads. All the wonder and the glory we see revealed are only reflections of your glory; all the violence we see is but a shadow of what your might would do if you unleashed it on earth. May we tremble at your glory and fall before your might so that our world and all that is in it will know peace in our time – even if just for today.

Amen.

World News in Prayer, Thursday 12th March 2015

World News in Prayer for March 12, 2015

For God so loved the world…

Gracious and holy one, God of all creation, God of all people everywhere,

it is so easy, as we journey through this season of Lent, to get lost in the wilderness of pain and sorrow we see in the world around us. Our sight scans across the globe and we readily fixate on the ugliness: the expressions of hatred and prejudice, the violence of wars, the brokenness of relationships at the personal and national and global levels. Our gaze locks on Hungary, Greece, India, Israel, Iraq, the United States, Syria, Somalia, Sierra Leone-– all places in which the darkness has taken hold, places in which the light of truth and justice seems but a flickering candle threatened by the winds of hopelessness.

And yet, the words of John’s Gospel remind us that you look at us and our world always with eyes of love.

For God so loved the world…

And so, God of love and justice and truth, God of hope and beauty and creativity, as

we lift our gaze to the reality of your love enacted on the cross of the Christ, we hear your call to look around us with the light of wonder in our eyes to behold the goodness which is abounding in our world, the goodness which your love will not let remain in darkness, but which you call into the light.

Looking with newly-opened eyes, we see and rejoice in:

The rescue of Baby Lilly in Utah in the United States, found after fourteen hours in a wrecked automobile in the river, alive in spite of the death of her mother.
The daring of Rima Karaki, a TV presenter in Lebanon, in ending an interview with Islamist Sheikh, Hani Sibai, after he spoke to her disrespectfully and demeaningly, even after she had donned a veil out of respect for him.
The condemnation by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights of the murders of albino citizens in Malawi, Tanzania.
The green toilet being developed by Oxfam and the University of the West of England and being tested in Britain which uses urine to generate electricity, so it can be used in refugee camps to provide both sanitation and light.
The nation of Brazil opening their doors to nearly 2,000 refugees of the war in Syria.
The overwhelming response to the documentary, India’s Daughter, the story of the rape and murder of medical student, Jyoti Singh, by five young men, which is changing opinions about sexual violence against women in India and throughout the world.

And so, the words of John remind us that you look at us and our world always with eyes of love.

For God so loved the world…

Now, may the peace of the Lord Christ go with you; may God guide you through the wilderness and protect you through the storm; may God bring you home rejoicing at the wonders you have seen and experienced and known, today and every day as you stand in the light of God’s love. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, December 18, 2014

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. – John 13:34

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11:29

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. – John 12:46

The news this week has left me crying with the bereaved relatives and friends of 137 school-children and 5 teachers in Pakistan, “ENOUGH!”

In Gumsuri village, northern Nigeria, 33 people were murdered by Boko Haram and another 200 taken captive.
51 people are confirmed dead and more than 50 are still missing after a mud-slide in Java, Indonesia.
The worst drought in over 80 years is stalking huge areas around Sao Paulo, Brazil. Heavy rainstorms have temporarily broken the drought in California, USA but have not refilled the vastly depleted water table.
Australia is recovering from the siege in a Sydney cafe which resulted in 2 deaths and others injured and is now looking to improve its gun-controls.
Tugs and ships are being used as floating arsenals for private security firms fighting pirates in several areas of the world. The ships are often registered to countries which have no record of control or management of such items causing major concerns over security and accountability.
Greece is in turmoil, and is seemingly unable to appoint a new government leading to more chaos and insecurity.
The Russian ruble has gone into free-fall leaving ordinary Russians to pay the price.
Five people have died in Japan following heavy snowfall and vast tidal surges caused by unexpectedly low barometric pressure.
The fighting and political manipulation continues in Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, the West Bank, Israel, Afghanistan, Somalia and so many other countries…
And we all live in the same small world, inter-connected, needing and being needed by each other. When will we stand together like the people of Pakistan and say, “Enough!” Where now, India, which has been antagonistic towards Pakistan since its inception, is now tweeting in the thousands messages of support under the hashtag IndiawithPakistan. A bereaved parent in Peshawar, Pakistan said “the smallest coffins are the heaviest ones to lift.”
The USA has dropped its decades long isolation policy against its near neighbor Cuba. At the same time as admitting that the torture and rendition policies used after 9/11 were ineffective in producing intelligence. Something that history made clear long ago. Other countries including the United Kingdom, Jordan, Egypt, Poland and others all were involved too although now desperately trying to shed responsibility or blame.
A young boy is being shunned in his village in China because he was born with HIV – a common reaction to those with this disease in China.

Lord, have mercy and forgive us our cruelty and lack of love for each other especially when we encounter differences.

Thankfully we hear of people celebrating differences and difficulties transforming them into challenges. The nativity plays put on by children with multiple health and learning disabilities, goes to the truth and heart of Advent and Christmas. Christ comes for us all, black, white, brown, yellow, male, female, transgender, able-bodied and those with life-limiting conditions whether of body or mind. So often, the worst things that happen are done by those who are deformed in their soul, but Christ is born for each one of them too.

These prayers from different faith traditions have helped me refocus on God, our hope and source of life.

Bahá’í – Be a breath of life unto the body of humankind a dew upon the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
Christian – Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Blessed be the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the Children of God.
Confucian – First there must be order and harmony within your own heart. Only then can there be peace and harmony in the world.
Hindu – Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. God’s peace, peace, peace to all.
Jain – Peace and universal love is the essence of all the teachings. Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me.
Jewish – Oh come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we will beat our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks.
Muslim – Praise be to the Lord of the Universe. Who has created us and made us into tribes and nations that we may know each other, not despise each other.
Native African – For you are one who does not hesitate to respond to our call, you are the cornerstone of peace.
Native American – Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect and to be kind to one another that we may grow with peace in mind.
Sikh – Know that we find God when we love, and only that victory endures in consequence of which no one is defeated.
Zoroastrian – We pray to God that understanding will triumph over ignorance, that generosity will triumph over indifference, that trust will triumph over contempt, and that truth will triumph over falsehood

God of Advent, / among refugees and outcasts / you breathed your first breaths. / In the cry of a newborn child you proclaimed / Emmanuel, God-with-us. / Come, God of the margins, / breathe into us the spirit of longing for your Kingdom. / Come this Advent to make us dream of / and work for / a better world of justice and freedom. / Come Lord, come. / Amen. (Dave Broom, Iona Community)