Israel – Page 3

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)

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, December 11, 2014

World in Prayer, Dec. 11th

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that would obstruct your mercy, that willingly we might bear your redeeming love to all the world.

We long for this stirring, O God, as we look around our world in this holy season of Advent, as we see the darkness into which we long for your light of justice and hope to shine.

In the United States, where both black and white have been deeply affected by the deaths of young black men at the hands of the police.

We pray for them all.

In the death of Palestinian cabinet minister, Ziad Abu Ain, in a clash with Israeli troops during a rally on the West Bank.

We pray for them all.

In the legal confrontation between big Pharma and the government of India over the push for the restructuring of India’s drug patent laws, which would be at the expense of the poor.

We pray for them all.

In the economic report that there are an estimated 2.4 billion people worldwide living on less than $2 per day, even as the wealth of the wealthy grows exponentially.

We pray for them all.

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.

We long for this stirring, O God, as we look into the darkness of these winter nights and seek for the light of justice.

In the revelations about the use by of extreme interrogation techniques- torture-

by the American CIA, in spite of supposed adherence to the Geneva Convention against torture.

Our hearts are heavy as we pray.

In the extremities of weather across the globe, with people suffering the effects of storms in the Philippines and the eastern United States and California.

Our hearts are heavy as we pray.

In the continued arrests of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.

Our hearts are heavy as we pray.

In the report released in Brazil about the systematic murder and torture in the 20^th century by the military dictatorship.

Our hearts are heavy as we pray.

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.

We long for this stirring, O God, as we look into the darkness, and seek for the light of hope.

In the just-concluded meeting of officials from 158 countries in Vienna, Austria, where they set the goal of working toward a world free of nuclear weapons.

We pray with hopeful hearts.

In Lima, Peru, where diplomats from 196 countries are gathered for talks on climate change, with the possibility of a historic agreement on combating global warming.

We pray with hopeful hearts.

Gather all of these concerns into your loving, compassionate, eminently just arms, O God, for they are too heavy for us to bear alone. We rest in your promise to be with us always, and we long for the coming again of the Prince of Peace, the Mighty Counsellor, the Immanuel.

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. Let it be so. Amen

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014

Oh. Dear. God.
No. Not again.
I thought I knew what I was going to write for tonight’s prayers.
And then I turned on the computer,
and read that in the United States, yet another unarmed Black man had been shot, dead, by a police officer.
Jesus.

I am speechless, beyond shock.
Everything I could have said, has already been said better,
by someone else.

Let me say it one more time: Black lives matter.
Black innocent lives matter.
Black criminals’ lives matter.
No more killing. No more police trained or mis-trained or untrained or unintentionally slanted
against our people. Any of our people.
Black lives matter.

We are told to voice our prayers to God as directly, as unrestrainedly, as in the Psalms. To ask, exactly, specifically, for what we want.
We are told that when two or more of us are gathered in his name, Jesus will be among us.

Jesus, pray with us. Hear us.

I want…I want…I want something that only exists in science fiction movies. The ones where the aliens arrive and, horrified by all the violence by humans, impose a force field that prevents any weapon from firing. No guns. No grenades. No bombs. Something that will make every single person who is tempted to use a weapon out of fear, or anger, or betrayal, for revenge, for power, out of assurance that theirs is the right way or the only way or the God-declared way, in rebellion, in grief, in madness, in despair…something that will make every single person pause and feel everything their would-be victim will experience, and every bit of grief their victim’s family and friends and nation would feel. I want an end to violence from Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, threatening to kill a British-born U.S. hostage; from whichever group is responsible for the car bomb targeting a United Nations convoy that ended up killing three Somali security personnel; from the Islamic militants who attacked a quarry in the northeastern part of Kenya and executed 36 innocent workers; from whoever set fire to a classroom in an Arab-Jewish school in Jerusalem, Israel, leaving anti-Arab slogans behind; and on and on and on. I want it to stop. Now.

Jesus, pray with us. Hear us.

I want to believe…oh, how I want to believe…that when Pope Francis and 11 leaders representing the Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox, Anglican, Buddhist and Hindu faiths met this week at the Vatican, in Rome, and signed a declaration committing to work together to eradicate slavery worldwide by 2020… I want to believe that this will really make a difference. I want to believe that by 2020, slavery will no longer exist in Mauritania, Uzbekstan, Haiti, Qatar, or India – the countries where modern-day slavery is most prevalent. the estimated nearly 36 million people are currently caught in some form of modern slavery will be freed. I want to believe that there will be a path back to wholeness for every single one of the estimated 36 million persons born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, trapped in debt bondage, or exploited for forced labor. I want to believe that there will be a path back to wholeness for ex-gang members in El Salvador; for children forced to serve as soldiers in Central African Republic and Liberia; for the patients who have been brutalized and raped in Federico Mora (Mental) Hospital in Guatemala. I want to believe that there will be a path back to whole even for the abusers, the tyrants, the enslavers.

Jesus, pray with us. Hear us.

I want…I want…I want to trust that in your time, Jesus – no, in OUR time – that we will be able to say, “All lives matter” without anyone feeling belittled or unheard, because all lives will be valued. I want us to go confidently forth in compassion, in love.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, August 7, 2014

God of grace and God of mercy, be among us.

So much evil is done in your name, O God. So much that is not favorable in your sight is done in your name. We know that you are love; we know you loathe the ugliness humans create.

God of grace and God of mercy, be among us.

Be among the horrors of ethnic cleansing caused by the Islamist State in Iraq. Be among the children as they starve and women as they are sold and the dead as they are buried under rocks. Be among the victims of exile: Shabaks, Turkmens, Yazidis, Christians, Shiites, and Sunnis.

God of grace and God of mercy, be among us.

Be among the increasing tensions between Russia and the United States, European Union, and Australia. Be among Russian citizens as their government imposes a food ban that may affect their access to meat, milk, and produce.

God of grace and God of mercy, be among us.

Be among the potential cease fire agreements formed between Israel and Gaza. Be among the 1,875 killed in Gaza, of which the United Nations claims at least 85% are civilian and 415 were children. Be among the 64 Israeli soldiers and 3 civilians killed in Israel. Be among those who grieve them.

God of grace and God of mercy, be among us.

Be among the conversations between US President Obama and 40 African leaders at their summit in Washington, DC. Be among the Ebola virus outbreak in Western Africa: the victims, their health care providers, their transporters, and their families.

God of grace and God of mercy, be among us.

As we see in communities near and far that “different” can lead to death, be among us. As we see streets crowded with those whose homes and places of worship and hospitals and families have been destroyed, be among us.

God of grace and God of mercy, be among us. Bring us peace.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, July 17, 2014

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light,
Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.

Even as we sing, even as we pray, Precious Lord, our thoughts turn to those for whom ‘home’ has become an uncertain and unsafe place, for whom ‘home’ is but a hope-filled dream. For those of us who know this place of safety and comfort, our minds strain to comprehend what its loss means to so many, and so we turn our thoughts and hearts and hope to them this day.

To all those in the path of Typhon Rammasun in the Pacific- the people of the Philippines who have already experienced its devastation and the people of coastal China, where its track is headed.