World in Prayer

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs., May 17, 2018

“Let us hear of joy and gladness,
that the body you have broken may rejoice”
                     -Psalm 51:8, adapted

We are your body, O God. Wonderfully made, and full of promise. We are your body, O God, broken, yet full of promise.

We are too often broken in our relationships with one another. Quick to believe the worst of others, quick to spread suspicion and allegations, quick to be manipulated into anger, fear, distrust.

This week, USA Today released the first analysis of the 3517 Facebook ads placed in the U.S. by a Russian organization leading up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. The overwhelming majority were designed to inflame race-related tensions, stir up distrust of immigrants and Muslims, or deepen religious divisions. These and similar efforts – they succeeded.

Spirit of compassion,
forgive.
Spirit of wisdom,
make us whole.

We are often too quick to break the covenants – spoken and unspoken – between nations.

Only a few days after agreeing to talks between North and South Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reneged on the deal, claiming that drills between the South Korean and U.S. air forces are a rehearsal for an invasion of the North.

Spirit of compassion,
forgive.
Spirit of wisdom,
make us whole.

Our ability to understand is too often broken by our allegiances, our preconceptions, our maneuvering for power. Wounds get passed on, taken for granted, for generation after generation. Injustices overlaid with religious overtones and political interests keep compounding.

This week, just one day before Ramadan (the Muslim holy period of fasting, praying and helping others in need) began, the U.S. embassy in Israel officially relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On the same day, Israeli forces shot and killed 60 Palestinian protesters along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, injuring hundreds more. The Israeli government alleges terrorists wanted to use the protests as cover to cross into its territory and carry out attacks, and that the use of force was justified and unavoidable. Palestinians are crying foul, saying that Israel is attacking civilians. Many Western governments are accusing Israel of human rights violations. Some evangelical Christian groups are triumphantly proclaiming that relocating the embassy to Jerusalem is a sign that Christ is about to return. Anti-Semitism is increasing in many countries; anti-Muslim sentiment is also growing.

Meanwhile, in both Israel and Palestine, thousands and thousands are living in fear. Hundreds on both sides are mourning loved ones they have lost.

Even so, You, O God, know that we are wonderfully made, and full of promise.

Spirit of compassion,
forgive.
Spirit of wisdom,
make us whole.

“Let us hear of joy and gladness,
that the body you have broken may rejoice”

In all times and all ways, let us hear of joy and gladness, O God. Remind us of the joy with which you created us. Remind us of the love in which you hold us. Remind us of the path on which you lead us. Teach us that there is a way out of these abysses. Remind us that all our brokennesses will be made whole.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, March 8, 2018

Holy One,

When we want to linger in shadows, you expose us to light.

When we want to slump into a corner, you lift us up in your presence.

When we think our words, our actions, our lives have no effect, you remind us that we are leading people in surprising and unexpected ways.

So we pray to you, Shepherd of our souls. Gather our words, hold our hearts, guide our feet, and show us the next right step to take, as we pray for the world.

We pray for those people and places damaged during the anti-Muslim rioting in Sri Lanka, where tensions have exploded between the nation’s Muslim minority and Buddhist majority.

We pray for the survivors of school shootings, who look on while gun bills are debated in legislatures in Florida and throughout the USA.

We pray for an end to the continued fighting in Syria, as the boundaries between troops and civilians remain blurred and dangerous.

We pray for a grace-filled sense of stability in Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo, their people who have known too much conflict and struggle with violence and starvation everyday.

We pray for a justice and clarity in Israel as its people experience increased government tensions, and while a corruption investigation of their prime minister, Netanyahu takes place.

We pray for purpose and compassion in Pakistan and for those working to change school systems and bring about education reforms, despite the required uphill climb.

We pray also for our own lives, our own communities, our own nations.

Bring your peace where there is despair, your love where there is fear, your grace where there is shame, your joy where there is apathy. Lead us on. Show us where to go.

In your Holy Name, we pray.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, February 15th, 2018

It seems very odd, Lord, that people call for January to be a month to try being vegan when Lent was a period, 40 days, in the time before world trade hit our food markets when it was a necessity.   We pray for those to whom being vegan is not a life style choice but a necessity forced on refugees, rough sleepers and displaced people.  We think especially of those in the Cape provinces of South Africa where drought is forcing extreme measures as water may run out in a matter of weeks.

It seems very odd, Lord, that people think shooting in a school will solve their problems rather than ask you.  We pray for all those dealing with the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, USA, for those who grieve, those who are injured and those treating trauma, giving thanks for all who cope as the incident unfolds.

It seems very odd, Lord, that people rake over old scandals rather than seek your moral code for how to live together as a society.  We pray for the people of Haiti and other countries where foreign aid workers have inflicted life style problems to the detriment of those they were sent to help.  We pray for the Governments of both donor and recipient countries especially those who, lacking perspective, trash all that has been achieved.

It seems very odd that prescription drugs are sold illegally for uses they can’t possibly treat, promote household chemicals as cures for fatal illnesses, while others poach endangered species and prey on people for body parts.

We pray:

for the women of Pakistan, trying to open bank accounts but whose spinal fluid was abusively taken.

for the churches of Limpopo province, South Africa, where insecticide was used on their congregations.

for those who are willing to pay, and those who take their money to poach, for the short terms gains from shark finning, rhino and elephant poaching.

We ask that things seen as of little media interest in the face of –

  • the political crises in South Africa and Israel;
  • the collapsing health care in Gaza, Syria and Jordan;
  • the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh;
  • the banking investigation in Australia

may be recognised as the major events they are for the future of our whole world.

We pray for those killed and injured in the tragedy of incidents and life-affecting disasters –

  • in the plane crash in Moscow, Russia;
  • in the helicopter crash at the Grand Canyon, USA;
  • in the bus crash in Hong Kong;
  • in the train crash in central Austria;
  • in fighting and air strikes in Syria,

and may all those involved in rescue and emergency aid operations be recognised for the vital work and care they administer.

Lord, it might seem odd to us that we do so little: a smile here, a hug there, a donation, a prayer. Help us not to forget that the small thing we do today enables another to do a bigger thing tomorrow until all becomes part of your vast generosity.  Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, December 21, 2017

“Let it be with me according to your word.”

–Mary, on learning that she was to bear the son of God (Luke 1:38)

Let it be with us, according to Your word.
Let the hungry be filled with good things.
Let the lowly be lifted up.
Let the mighty be cast down.
Let your promise of mercy take root throughout all humankind.

Let it be with us according to Your word, for the least among us

  • In the United States, castigated by a United Nations poverty and human rights investigation for having one of the highest rates of income inequality in the developed world, with low-income residents often being marginalized with little support from the government and few opportunities to climb out of poverty. The same report said that the massive tax reform bill just passed will turn the U.S. into “the World Champion of Extreme Inequality.”
  • In Benin, where a two-year pilot project funded by the World Bank virtually stopped child slavery in the central commune of Za-Kpota. Just giving each family $6 per month provided them with enough income that they no longer needed to sell their children to labor in Nigerian mines, and instead were able to keep them home and send them to school.
  • In Tanzania, after President John Magufuli pardoned singer Nguza Viking and his son Johnson Nguza for raping 10 primary school girls, aged between six and eight, in 2003. The pardon has been denounced by Human Rights Watch and Equality Now as promoting a culture of human rights violations in which young victims of sexual violence are being punished while perpetrators are going free.
  • Children affected by wars in the Middle East, especially those displaced in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. A five-year grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will bring a local version of “Sesame Street” to an estimated 9.4 million children, teaching reading, language, and other skills.

Let it be with us according to Your word, for the mighty among us

  • Following the election in Catalonia, Spain, where the separatist parties won a slim, smaller majority in the new Assembly.
  • As the new leader of South Africa’s governing African National Congress, Cyril Ramaphosa, pledges to fight corruption and pursue a policy of “radical economic transformation”.
  • In Honduras, where a chaotic presidential election in Honduras—involving unexplained computer malfunctions and possible vote rigging—has ended with the country’s electoral commission proclaiming the incumbent president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, the winner.
  • After U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – an act immediately and overwhelmingly condemned by the United Nations General Assembly.

Let it be with us according to Your word, for all who are sorrow-filled and all who are joyful.

Show us your mercy, that we all may proclaim,
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

World News This Week in Prayer- December 14, 2017

Holy One,
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” (John 1)

“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1)

We know this to be true: You speak to us and our spirits vibrate with your call. You breathe upon our lives and we breathe in your peace. You sing and our feet pick up the tune. You turn the world upside down, and our hearts are lifted high. Your light pierces the dark, your justice overturns the powerful, your grace shatters the illusion of our own grandeur; in so many moments, surprising and unexpected, we have witnessed the way you transform the world.
And yet, still we struggle when we turn to pray for the world. We struggle to remember these moments of your glory. We struggle to trust in your work. We struggle to magnify your peace and justice, your mercy and righteousness. When the world wants to drown us with despair, we struggle to let our hearts blaze with hope and joy.
We need your Word. We need your Word as proclaimed by John the Baptist in his fiery speeches about your Light. We need your Word in Mary as she sings forth the prophetically profound Magnificat. We need these words and your Word to realign our priorities, to refocus our gaze, to redirect us towards the dance of your Spirit in the world around us.
As we turn to pray for the world, we know we see with Your eyes. We need to look with Your eyes at the Democratic Republic of Congo to see the nearly half a million children who face starvation. We need to look with Your eyes at the entrenched Israeli/Palestinean conflict to see the civilians injured in recent weeks by mobs and rockets in the occupied Palestinian territories. We need to look with Your eyes at our current political partisan divides to see the hundreds of men and women who have had the courage to claim their experience of sexual assault in the United States and beyond. We need to look with Your eyes at Zimbabwe and Kenya, to witness the citizens involved in the tenuous transition of political power. We need to look with Your eyes at the refugees who remain in limbo in Greece, Syria, Turkey, Germany, Myanmar, Jordan, Israel, and the countries of Central America.
We need to look with Your eyes and hold these prayers in our hearts, because we believe that you are God with Us, Emmanuel, and all of those lifted up in prayer are your beloved children.
In you, we live and move and have our being. In you, we pray our prayers for the world. In you, we remember who and whose we are.
Thanks be to you, the Word Made Flesh.
Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs., Nov. 2, 2017`

Once again, dear God, once again we come to you in grief and anger. Once again terror has struck at the heart of New York City, U.S. Once again, we know the weeping of Rachel that is heard across Your creation. Once again, what You declared to be good has fallen short of Your glory. Once again the world village of sorrow grows larger and smaller at the same time. Once again the people of the United States join hands with Rohingya villagers in Myanmar, a family of grief united with Boston (U.S.) and Barcelona (Spain), Paris (France) and Orlando (U.S.), Israel and Egypt, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Once again tears mix with tears without concern for race, creed, loyalties. Once again we taste true communion in our remembrance of Christ’s own innocent death. Once again we know Good Friday, and Easter feels far away. Once again we know the power of hatred testing the power of love. Once again we seek for Good News. Once again we hear the tempter’s offer of shortcuts, if only we would bow.

Once again, Holy God, hear our cry, heal our spirits, touch our hurt, forgive our hatred, guide our steps, strengthen, strengthen, strengthen our every breath to be God-breathed. Amen.

 

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, September 28, 2017

Ex 31:16 “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.”(NIV) 

Creator God, you give us every good and perfect gift. We celebrate the equinox so easily, the turning of the world and change of seasons, the seedtime and the harvest; our unique place in the solar system giving us truths that would not be easily discovered on other planets. We enjoy so much of this beauty – forgive us that we ignore your many other gifts.

You gave us the Sabbath to observe as a day of rest and to celebrate it for future generations, a good and perfect gift that we don’t see as such. The burden we place on future generations is to work, continuously, with no space for the holy. We think “the work ethic” means we must work all 168 hours of a week; we think we must take our e-devices everywhere, even on holiday, even in the bath, for fear that we are weighed in the balance and found wanting by our employers. When we are self-employed it becomes even worse, unable to take time for ourselves and our family just in case we miss out on a contract, the perfect job. Lord, who is my neighbour; when will we love ourselves that we can love our neighbour? Will it be when we take a Sabbath’s rest to keep it holy and learn to love ourselves?

And then, we see the news of the war of words between nations, especially between the US and North Korea, and cry “give it a rest”. When we hear that, against Israeli canvassing, Interpol has voted to admit the State of Palestine to membership, along with the Solomon Islands – Lord, who is my neighbour; when will we love ourselves that we can love our neighbour? Will it be when we take a Sabbath’s rest and regain a more objective perspective?

Even within nations there is no rest: The Iraqis refusing to even discuss Monday’s referendum about Kurdish independence; the Spanish arresting all those officials who would run the coming referendum, disrupting any idea of Catalan independence. Lord, who is my neighbour; when will we love ourselves that we can love our neighbor? Will it be when we celebrate our diversity as your people on earth?

We see the recurring devastation of Caribbean islands by storms, and the country of Mexico by earthquakes, and know there can be no rest until water, food and shelter are provided and the lost are found. As people flee the eruptions of Mount Agung on Bali, and Monaro on Vanuatu, Lord, who is my neighbour; when will we love ourselves that we can love our neighbour? Will it be when we learn to share the labour and give each other respite care?

We fail to recognise that freedom of speech means other ethnicities within our own country can use it.  When we see the ethnic cleansing and displacement of such as the Rohingya, then, Lord, who is my neighbour; when will we love ourselves that we can love our neighbour?  Will it be when we recognise the rights of other ethnicities?

When the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts announces 6 new member countries – Syria, Aruba, Azerbaijan and the State of Palestine as full members and Albania and Niger as associate members – and recognizes Arabic as another official language – then we celebrate, these are our neighbours. We see women in Saudi Arabia are finally allowed to drive, then we celebrate; when all refugees are finally resettled from Australia’s Manus Island Processing Center in Papua, New Guinea, then we can know these are our neighbours; when the great green wall across sub-Saharan Africa finally brings drought relief to the countries around Lake Chad, then all these are our neighbours and for future generations we can celebrate.

“… to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant … “ These are not your hopeful thoughts or wishful comments, Lord, these are your commands – that we learn to live together in covenant with you and our neighbour.   May it be so.

 

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, June 29, 2017

Your glorious cause, O God
Engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known
Wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray
Your kingdom come.
– Let Your Kingdom Come, by Bob Kauflin

Holy and almighty God, in the face of suffering and trials, we turn inward, grasping to maintain the fleeting illusion of control over the world around us. We know that we are powerless to stop the hands of time, to hold onto that which we desire, or even to keep ourselves alive and well.  Whether we admit it or not, our lives are in your hands, O God.  And so we beg you to teach us to pray with our minds, our hearts, our spirits, and our lives: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done. 

In the face of a travel ban to the US for people from six primarily Muslim countries that is preventing refugees from escaping persecution and keeping families apart: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the face of an escalating refugee crisis in Europe, in which Italy has threatened to close ports and block rescue ships from docking: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the face of continued racial injustice in the US, where criminal justice reform is so desperately needed: In the lives of those in need: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the face of the deaths of dozens of people who were deserted by human traffickers in Niger without food or water: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the face of sex abuse accusations against a high-ranking Vatican official: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the face of a corruption scandal that has engulfed a large number of Brazil’s national government officials: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the face of the deaths of newborn babies in Gaza City, Palestine, who are denied exit permits for treatment in Israel: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the lives of those in need: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the lives of those we love: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the life of your church: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

In the life of our world: your kingdom come, O Lord, and your will be done.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs., Feb. 9, 2017

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. -Luke 10:27

“it is
written in the law.” heart
& soul. love. neighbor.

even if they aren’t nice. another
chance to hear that answer.      
–From luke poem by Brian G. Gilmore

Even as the lawyer questioned Jesus, gracious and loving and welcoming God, we come before you asking that same question: “Who is my neighbor?” And even as the answer was not easy for that man to hear, so it is not easy for many of us, as we look around our world with eyes and hearts filled with fear, thinking of the suicide bomber at the Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul, Afghanistan, who killed 20 and wounded more than 40; thinking of the more than 13,000 civilians who have been hanged by the Syrian government for daring to oppose the government; thinking of the move by the Israeli government to legalize thousands of settler homes on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, displacing the residents already there and presenting an obstacle to the peace process; thinking of the countless immigrants and refugees struggling to reach places of safety and hope.

Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.

Even as some within our world, within our societies, deny the reality of the changing climate, and deny the need to protect the environment, our call to love our neighbor means that we pray today for the Standing Rock Tribe in North Dakota, U.S., as the U.S. Army is about to give permission for the Dakota Access pipeline, despite protests in which nearly 700 have been arrested. We pray for the Saiga antelope in Mongolia, which is being wiped out by an uncontrolled virus that threatens the entire antelope population. We pray for those affected by the tornadoes which have swept through Louisiana, U.S., causing widespread damage in New Orleans East, injuring 20 and severely damaging more than 60 homes and businesses. We pray for those buried by the avalanche in North Nuristan Province in Afghanistan, where at least 120 are dead and scores more are missing, even as rescue workers try valiantly to save the survivors.

Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.

With that long-ago lawyer, we can so easily lose sight of the reality of our connectedness to one another, even those with whom we differ, even those whom we never see. And so, today, we pray for all those in the United States concerned about women’s health and reproductive rights; we pray for the healthcare workers in Caracas, Venezuela, who are protesting to demand government action for improved health care in that country, as hospitals are in crisis, medications and equipment are scarce, staffing is insufficient, and people are suffering; we pray for the people of Somalia, as they face a contentious presidential election on the rocky road to democracy.

Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.

But even into those places where we hide in our fear and confusion, you come, Divine Light, filling our awareness with hope. And so we pray in thanksgiving for the people of Colombia as their government begins peace talks with rebels in a bid to end a five-decade conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. We pray in thanksgiving for Australia, as they mark 50 years without executions. And we pray with thanksgiving for the doctors and researchers who are pioneering the use of lasers in removing brain cancer.

Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.

All of these people and places that fill our prayers we entrust into your gracious and loving hands, God of welcome and inclusion – even as we are ever mindful that we do not love you with our whole heart, soul, strength, and mind, nor do we love our neighbors as ourselves.

This, we confess; for this, we ask forgiveness, living in the assurance of your grace.
Amen and amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, January 19, 2017

At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of the extremist.  … But as I continue to think about the matter I gradually gained a bit of satisfaction from being considered an extremist.  Was not Jesus an extremist in love – “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.”  Was not Amos an extremist for justice – “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”  Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ – “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”  Was not Martin Luther an extremist – “here I stand; I can do none other so help me God.”  Was not John Bunyan an extremist – “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.”  Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist – “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.”  Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist – “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.”  So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist we will be.  Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love?  Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice – or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?

– Martin Luther King Jr, “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” (1963)

God of honor and power, mercy and grace, we give You thanks for the witness of Martin Luther King, Jr., who worked all his life to bring true justice and love to our world.  He reminded us that You know our hearts, O Creator, and You know our love of extremes.  We have filled this world You love with extremes and extremism: Extremism in religion, extremism in the language we use to describe and categorize Your children, and extremism in political and social positions.  Yet Dr. King reminds us that we are all extremists, that we all have passions and perspectives to defend and express.  Help us to be aware of our extremisms, Lord, and fill our hearts with the right kinds of extremism.

Make us extremists for love, O God.  Give us the capacity for the radical kind of love displayed by Your Son and his true followers.  Make our hearts overflow with love for all of Your children, and equip us to work for those who most need to see and feel Your love.

  • Renew our compassion for the refugees who risk their lives to cross the dangerous Mediterranean Sea in hope of a better life. As we hear news of another set of capsized boats off the coast of Libya that have left over 180 people dead or missing, may we push beyond the calluses of repetition and feel Your holy anger at the loss of these beloved mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters.
  • Increase our dedication to bringing peace to war-torn places around the world. Inspire us to use our time, our talents, and our treasures to transform the lives of people who live in fear and insecurity every day.  As we hear news of an error by the Nigerian Air Force that resulted in the deaths of 100 people in a refugee camp, may we be filled with resolve to work for real and meaningful change to the circumstances of Your suffering children.
  • Rekindle our commitment to remembering the humanity and value of every life. As we hear news that the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 has been suspended may we pause to remember Your call to love the unloved, to remember the forgotten, and to serve the least and lost.
  • Stir our hearts toward peace and reconciliation. As many churches around the world observe a week of Prayer for Christian Unity, may we seek ways to overcome cultural and theological barriers that prevent us from seeing the humanity of our neighbors.  As we hear news of dozens of bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers in the US and England, may we be strengthened in our commitment to fight prejudice of all kinds, so that all people might live in peace and safety.

Make us extremists for justice, O God.  Give us eyes to see beyond our own comfort and our own commitments.  Shatter our illusions that what we are accustomed to is what ought to be, and make us Your hands, feet, and voice in the world as we work, march, and speak out on behalf of the oppressed.

  • Deepen our reliance on Your just and righteous rule for our lives. As the US faces the inauguration of a new president who has promised to turn his policies inward, and as the UK continues to feel the political and economic consequences of its Brexit decision, may we recall the fleeting and imperfect nature of the princes of this world, and may we put our trust in Your everlasting and righteous rule over our lives and our world.
  • Focus our minds on the work for justice to which You call each of us. As news of scandal and corruption plague the leaders of this world in places like the US, South Korea, The Gambia, and Russia, may we commit ourselves fully to meaningful action in our own contexts.
  • Give us patience and wisdom as we tackle the complicated and messy conflicts of our world. As the two-state solution in Israel-Palestine comes under increasing scrutiny and as skepticism increases, may we find the strength and tenacity to lean into difficult situations and resist the temptation to over-simplify.  May we be extremists for peace as we work toward true reconciliation that can only come from You.
  • Reawaken our dedication to justice for those who are marginalized. As we hear news of a school shooting/suicide in Monterrey, Mexico, by a 15-year-old student suffering from depression, may we commit ourselves anew to advocating for programs and funding to help those with mental illness.

Make us extremists for the good news of Your Son, O God.  Remind us that this news is only good when we shed our extremism for hate and reject our extremism for the preservation of injustice.  Make us Your messengers of extreme love and extreme justice in the world.  Give us strength to support each other as we live Your call to action through prayer and protest,  marching and meditation, and in aiding the distressed and oppressed.  May our hearts, overflowing with the love You give us and committed to the justice You bring, shine Your light into all the world, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.