Yemen

World News This Week in Prayer – February 18, 2021

I have decided to stick with love… Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King

Oh Lord, your house is built with understanding and compassion – it is our quiet center. If only we could grasp its power. In small agitations and overwhelming calamities, during times of lament and great injustices help us to turn toward Love.

We pray for the people of Myanmar as the military coup places tanks in the major cities shutting down free speech and the internet. We see photos of monks wearing surgical masks, silently holding signs. The world is watching as journalists are incarcerated and the State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi is held incommunicado. We continue to pray for the Rohingya people who have suffered genocide, displacement, and many horrors. Help us to stick with love.

Create in us a yearning for justice as we read and watch and digest the impeachment trial proceedings and their conclusion in the United States this past weekend. Help us to understand the power of our words. We continue to pray for the police officers who defended the US capitol at great cost. Support their families and communities as we continue to discern what happened.

We hear of heightened extrajudicial killings taking place in the Philippines during the pandemic as reported by Human Rights Watch. We pray for our elected leaders around the world.

The U.S.A. news heralds the release of Joe Ligon, 82-years old, sentenced as a juvenile in 1953 at the age of 15 to life imprisonment. “I like to be free,” he said. His attorney worked for his full release without parole after serving 68 years. Lord we ask you to protect those who defend justice. Walk with those who transition from incarceration to community. Sustain those who prepare the way of re-entry with compassion and forethought. Protect our children of color. Help us to dismantle racism and white supremacy that is pervasive in our institutions and world. Open our eyes to the over 2,121,600 men, women and youth imprisoned in the USA – the highest in the world.[i]

Lord you witness families, states and countries divided even as a pandemic ravages and has killed 2,418,543 people[ii] across 192 nations. How much suffering can we endured? We see persons of color, women as essential workers, the impoverished, those with disabilities and the imprisoned carrying a disproportionate burden. We pray especially for the people and healthcare workers of Mexico and Yemen where the death per case diagnosed with COVID-19 ratios are the highest in the world.

Sometimes it feels like we are in this alone, powerless, cowering in some place without direction. In these moments bring your understanding. Forgive us for the things we should have done, might have done, the “if only” we toss about. Help us to consider the times when we remained silent, the places in our heart where we indeed nurtured hatred. Justice is hard work, awkward and sometimes painful. We stray, we recommit, we reconsider, we vow. It does feel like sacrifice. We feel the pressure of time. We ask ourselves how long? Return us to the quiet center that we may discern your will to work among the most vulnerable and those that need our collective voice in the world.

We are glad of heart as the Great Backyard Bird Count took place this past weekend around the world. We observe the ancient great migrations, journeys that transcend borders and boundaries and hemispheres! We take delight in our bird feeders, yet we are witnessing extinctions, habitat destruction, and the attack of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act itself.

As we entered Lent in worship on this past Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of our physical needs our need for heat and electricity, shelter and food, safety and access to rescue services. We are reminded of our vulnerabilities in conflict, pandemic, and climate disruption. And we are so very aware of how much we have lost this past year, given up, or had taken away from us — Lord have mercy. We are also compelled to look at what we cling to needlessly, harbor at great cost and burden. Help us, Dear God, to let go of what is no longer of use to us, to hold close the treasure of one another, and in all things to stick with love.

Amen.

[i] https://www.statista.com/statistics/262961/countries-with-the-most-prisoners/
[ii] https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 21 January 2021

This opening Litany of Praise is from the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity 2021 taken from the ecumenical service published by CTBI prepared by the The Monastic Community of Grandchamp. Switzerland.

Congregation: You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
Reader 1: We sing your praise in the midst of the world and among all peoples,
Reader 2: We sing your praise in the midst of creation and among all creatures.
Congregation: You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
Reader 1: We sing your praise among suffering and tears,
Reader 2: We sing your praise among promises and achievements.
Congregation: You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
Reader 1: We sing your praise in the places of conflict and misunderstanding;
Reader 2: We sing your praise in the places of encounter and reconciliation.
Congregation: You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
Reader 1: We sing your praise in the midst of rifts and divisions,
Reader 2: We sing your praise in the midst of life and death, the birth of a new heaven and a new earth.
Congregation: You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!

Prayers for the World in Prayer community

Lord, do you really want us to do that? You mean sing your praise?! Really Lord, sometimes I don’t understand you. You know (don’t you?) that I try to do what Jesus said and prayed about. Especially his prayer that his followers would be one! And, anyway, what I really want to talk to you about is –
Why has Israel attacked the Gaza strip again?
Why has Indonesia seen so many natural disasters in one week, earthquake and flooding on 2 separate islands, as well as the loss of an aircraft?
And what about Syria – rain floods the many refugee camps, displaced people desperately search for food, and there may be ISIS “sleeper cells” waiting to take advantage of these disasters?

Lord, rend the heavens and answer.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

Why is unrest over youth unemployment and Covid-19 restrictions in Tunisia suddenly escalating?
Why are there the Covid-19 surges in the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka as well as the tennis players ill or in quarantine in Australia to the detriment of Australians stranded abroad?
As we read that since the New Year daily Covid-19 deaths around the world, at least the minority of countries which announce them, has been running at 10,000+, what about the elite athletes still training for Olympics which might yet have to be cancelled?

Lord, rend the heavens and answer.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

Well, then, Lord, where is the international will to deal with the long-lasting situations in Yemen and Somalia?
What about the spill of untreated sewage in Puget Sound, USA affecting the Suquamish shellfish programme, following in the unusual winds causing power outages? What about the wildfires in Chile, Nepal and New Zealand? What about the disastrous ground blizzard in Japan and storms across Great Britain and North West Europe?
It’s the 20^th January as I write, and by law the inauguration of the incoming President of the USA: renew the vision of caring, equality for all, love for each other with malice to none and care for all.
As the joint United Nations / African Union peace-keeping mission has ended in Sudan, where is there hope?

You give generously to all, Lord. Rend the heavens and answer.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Okay, Lord, there is good news – of the roll out of vaccines, of rescues from avalanches and landslides, of trapped miners found in China, of foodbanks still having food to operate and people willing to do it, that Egypt and Qatar have ‘agreed to resume diplomatic relations’ and much more that the media don’t bother to report.

I will attempt to sing your praises, forever more. May it be so. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 7 January 2021

Editor’s note: World In Prayer needs a few more writers and editors! Our team consists of 12-15 volunteers, from several different countries and continents. Each week, one person writes the prayers in response to international news. A second person then edits and posts the prayers online. Because we rotate who writes and edits, you would end up serving approximately once every five or six weeks.

Due to life changes, some of our team members need to cut back. So, we’re looking for people who deeply care about our world, see God’s hand at work throughout all creation and all persons, and are inspired to help write and produce these prayers. If you are interested, please send an email to worldinprayer@aol.com.

Though I may speak with bravest fire,
And have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love; my words are vain;
as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be giv’n by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin. [i]

Our shining Child,
Out of the Nativity you call to all nations, all peoples.

Yet nations build walls, lay mines and militarize their borders. Watchtowers are built and billions in electronic surveillance deployed. O little town of Bethlehem, a beloved carol, is today a town suffering, partitioned. Help us to reconcile these injustices as land is taken, houses destroyed and people’s movement severely restricted. Walls comprise a growing Border Industrial Complex in 2021. We pray for the peoples in Israel where six walls exist; in Morocco, Iran and India each having three walls; South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Lithuania each with two walls, and all countries who violate human rights in this new and growing apartheid.[ii] We pray mightily for the peoples of Syria nearly surrounded as five nations have put up walls for a people utterly displaced and ravaged. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.

We pray for those who seek asylum and are “neither here, nor there.” We pray for those who have traveled unbelievable distances and through unimaginable harms to be turned away, silenced, detained and imprisoned. Be with us in this complex suffering. It feels so upside down. We pray for those from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador the so called Northern Triangle where so many have fled due to record levels of violence, torture and death. Our spirits long as we hear how severe the terror must be for parents to send their children alone to flee.[iii] They cross into Mexico and the US. We pray for the Rohingya in Myanmar escaping genocide and now displaced in Bangladesh. Guard them. Sustain them. We pray for the leaders in all of these countries.

We pray for those who grow, harvest and transport food that we may take for granted in these times where shelves are stocked and gas seems plenty, … and in these same times where COVID and famine and war keep house together in Yemen[iv] and now South Sudan, Burkina Faso and northeastern Nigeria, and where 16 other countries are entering famine where children are the first to silently suffer and die. Though I may give all I possess.

We pray where reports of war, political instability, civil war, humanitarian strife and years of occupation are endured. We call out in prayer for peace in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, Somalia, Venezuela, Mali, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Republic of Congo, the US and Iran relations, the India and Pakistan conflict, North Korea, between Israel and Palestine, the terrorizing by the Boko Haram in Nigeria, the criminal violence in Mexico, the enmity of Turkey and Kurdish troops, Egypt, and Ukraine. Lord have mercy.

The news of the world is on our radios, TV, laptops, phones, newspapers and word of mouth. We hear of protests in streets. We hear of the breaking of curfews and mass gatherings as during a rave in France. We hear of rage and violence in the US, including the shocking invasion of the US Capitol by reactionary factions, who have been goaded on for months by the words of elected officials. Help us to remember and live out the truth that, in the words of U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black, “…words matter, and the power of life and death is in the tongue.” The news tolls of the police shooting of Andre Hill in Columbus, Ohio, USA as Casey Goodson, Jr. was being laid to rest after a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed him at the doorstep of his Columbus home earlier this month. We grieve and are angered, we march, we lay flowers and light candles. Help us to discern right action lest – My words are vain; as sounding brass.

The news tolls the deaths from COVID19, the overflow in hospitals, surge upon surge. We pray for the teams that know no border at the bedside, vaccine clinic, lab or as first responders. We are hopeful for the multitude of COVID vaccines coming to communities. We call for equity in vaccine distribution as developing nations manifest such a great need. May the wealthy countries dig deeper to stave off further crisis. Unify us in this time of horrendous loss of life and the devastation that has reached in some way into each of our homes and neighborhoods and circles the globe. Protect those in severe economic insecurity from further debt and eviction. Help us to universalize health care access. We pray in gratitude as increased access to women’s health care in Argentina is manifested. Comfort the grieving in every nation, in every town and village. Our spirits long.

We pray for the journalist teams that film, write and publish with risk of death as they give voice and document the injustices around the world. Help us to listen as they lift these tentative voices to the world’s stage. Help each of us to find our voice, and remind those of us with public platforms of our deep responsibility to speak the truth in love. Magnify the Good News. May it stream through all of these spaces – guide every deed.

Help us to honor the multitude of indigenous peoples[v] who keep the land and guard it’s teachings. We pray that the pressures of extraction that degrade rivers, displace tribes and communities, and cultivate institutional racism can be acknowledged for what they are – social and environmental and climate injustices – as they have been through the ages. The marginalized are among us and in the news daily. These transgressions trample our relationship to you, your kin-dom, and all of creation. Help us to hear and heed their warnings. Repair these wrongs. Reconcile us to right action. Come spirit.

Bring us to a new accounting and clarity in these opening days of 2021. Forgive us for the deeds done that cannot be undone, the sins and trespasses and willfulness that did not serve. Open our hearts to inward love, to one and other, nation-to-nation in a new way – in the Good News you gave to the world–of Christ’s birth, his baptism, journey to the cross and resurrection. Help us to forgive one another as we are sheltered and made whole by this great love. Help us to repair, restore and amend what is ours to do. Lord in your great compassion hear us.

Come, spirit, come, our hearts control,
Our spirits long to be made whole,
Let inward love guide every deed;
By this we worship and are freed.[vi]

Amen.

[ii] https://www.tni.org/en/walledworld

[iii] https://www.wola.org/analysis/children-fleeing-violence-central-america-face-dangers-mexico/

[iv] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/opinion/sunday/2020-worst-year-famine.html

[v] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_indigenous_peoples

[vi] Hopson

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, December 31, 2020

As I come to write this I am frazzled, angry and baffled at the illogical, selfish behavior of some close to me who with their medical expertise and knowledge should know better and take precautions in the face of the surging pandemic. They are not alone – sadly. Lockdowns, illness, suffering, death, separation, and lack of contact and physical touch are wearing people down mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Holy One, let us hear afresh your words of life: “I AM FOR YOU.”

Lies, partial truths, fudging the issues at best are all swirling around in briefings, media outlets of all kinds, and thoughtlessly spread without a moment’s pause for reflection and discernment. The resultant increase in confusion, fear, distrust, and sometimes total frustration leading to ignoring of basic safety measures, disturb and devalue the essence of Christmas.

Light has come into the darkness and confusion. Love is born. The infant baby is not merely cute but the embodiment of eternal truth, justice, and joy for then, for now, for all time and all creation including each person and all that is created.

Holy One, let us hear afresh your words of life: “I AM FOR YOU.”

As another year dawns, may we take a moment

to recognize where the light appeared in our life this year (because it did);
to recognize who was the light and for you (for there was more than one person);
to acknowledge how you were the light for someone else in need (because you were)
to recognize where and how you experienced love this year (because you did);
to recognize who showed you the love (for there was more than one person);
to acknowledge how you expressed love to someone who felt unloved (because you did).

Holy One, let us live each day your words of life: “I AM FOR YOU.”

This year has been a maelstrom and living on a knife-edge with threats to all areas of life and society as we knew it, regardless of the country we live in, has shaken us to the core. The separation and loss of security in so many areas all at once has removed a lot of what we foolishly thought to be important or even essential, like status, material goods, and illusory social media popularity. We rejoice in the rediscovery of what we so often took for granted like love, family friends, a home, health, enough to eat and drink and be able to pay our bills, and the healing power of nature in all its forms has been a revelation for so many.

Jesus, Word of God, by you all things were made and love displayed say: “I AM FOR YOU.”

Spirit of God, rescue us from despair and give us hope, trusting in your promise of making all things new. And start with me, with us, with our communities, our leaders whether religious, political, business, fiscal, social, educational or health.

We look forward to the possibilities of protection now 3 vaccines are approved for use to combat the pandemic in different countries. We pray for a fair distribution so that all nations, regardless of their economic wealth, can help protect their people. We pray for patience so that we can all battle through this prolonged crisis knowing that we are all in it together or else we will all suffer even more horrors than 2020 has brought. the way the virus is mutating similarly in different continents simultaneously underlines that we are all one body.

Holy One, let us hear afresh your words of new life options: “I AM FOR YOU.”

The continuing saga of disasters flow endlessly: the earthquake in Croatia, mudslides in Norway and Japan devastating communities; floods, gales and snow in the UK, disappearances in Turkey, Belarus, Russia, droughts, starvation, oppression in Yemen, Syria, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya and so many parts of your world – our hearts ache with all those suffering. Be close to those in fear today, let them know they are not alone as you are with them. When it is too much to bear, let them hear you whisper, “Peace be still. I am with you closer than your next breath.” Give them the courage to keep on going on, trusting in your ever faithful love and mercy.

Strengthen all who work for peace where they are – often at the risk of their own lives.

You are the way. Help us to walk You.
You are Truth. Help us speak You.
You are Life. Help us breath you.
You are Love. Enfold and infill us to share you.
Each day. Each moment. Today and whatever this coming year brings.
We are Yours and you still say: “I AM FOR YOU.”

World News This Week in Prayer – Thurs., October 8, 2020

Editor’s note: World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated internationally on 5 October each year since 1994, commemorating the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers, which establishes standards for teacher rights and responsibilities, as well as teacher preparation and support. This year’s theme, “Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimaging the Future,” acknowledges the additional challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for teachers worldwide and seeks to remind us that we must support teachers, protect the right to education, and celebrate the accomplishments of teachers in responding to this current crisis and building the resilience needed to shape the future of education in our world.

A reading from the Psalms, chapter 86, verse 11: “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.”

And a reading from the Letter to the Colossians, chapter 3 verses 16 to 17: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Wise Teacher, you call us to learn to live in right relationship with one another. Political tensions deepen in places like Kyrgyzstan, where the contested and potentially corrupted results of a recent election have led to violence and unrest, and the United States, where similar violence and unrest have followed in the wake of disordered and inconsistent pandemic responses and racial inequalities.

Teach us to guard our hearts, to use our political and social power on behalf of the powerless and vulnerable, and to treat each other as the beloved children of God that they are.

Just Teacher, you call us to learn to live in right relationship with your creation. Storm Alex has proven deadly in the face of heavy rains and flash floods in south-eastern France and north-western Italy, yet so many of us refuse to acknowledge the ways our behavior affects the climate of this world we call home. The Pacific waters along the shore of Kamchatka, Russia, are so polluted that the water is discolored and dead sea life washes onto shore every day, but so many of us fail to connect our well-being and our very survival with good stewardship of the environment.

Teach us to tend your garden in the way you intend for us, with selflessness, love, and deep gratitude.

Loving Teacher, you call us to learn to live in right relationship with you. Open our eyes to see you in the faces of those who suffer, including mentally-ill children in Nigeria who are being discovered after years of abuse and neglect by their parents, the hundreds of Myanmar children who have been driven into illegal work in the seafood industry after the closure of migrant learning centers in the southern province of Ranong, and the impoverished millions who face starvation as the human-made famine in Yemen enters its fifth year.

Teach us to number our days, to understand who we are to whom we belong, so that we might apply our hearts, hands, and voices with wisdom.

Patient Teacher, you call us to learn, to teach, and to grow in our faith in you and in our love for others. Teach us respect and honor you, fill our hearts with the word of Christ, form us so that whatever we do, in word or deed, we might do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

World New This Week in Prayer – Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020

“No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.”
~ Teresa of Ávila

Dear God,

We are living in a world that is in deep need of your healing power. As we strive to be your hands and feet in a world which is staggering from hurt, pain, loss of life, loss of home, tiredness, and weakness, we need you, God, to hold us up when we have such little strength. You know more than anyone what our bodies look like right at this moment. You know the pain we are going through personally, the pain we feel for our neighbors around the world, the pain we feel for our family and friends who we cannot help. You know, God, what we are going through, and so we ask that as we do your work to show compassion, to reveal love, to help our neighbors, that you will also help us as we need to be filled with your peace just as we reveal your peace to others.

God, as we learn to be your body in the world, we ask for your presence in a world which is being ravaged by natural disasters. We pray for our friends, our family members, and our neighbors in California, Oregon, and Washington, U.S., where fires are devastating the homes, businesses, and lives of all these people. We pray that you might send a healing balm to quench this burning earth.

As a particularly harsh hurricane season continues, we pray for all of our people around the world who are in the path of so many hurricanes that are about to hit as well as those that are yet to come. We pray, God, that as we find ways to assist our neighbors that are in their paths, may they prove to hurt fewer of your beloved people, and may you be a shield of protection to them.

We pray for all of our friends and communities in Israel where so many feel unheard, and where injustices continue to hurt so many. We pray that peace may abound someday and all will be treated with dignity and love regardless of who they are. As violence continues in so many parts of the world, we pray that there are fewer casualties. May we find our own peaceful ways of fighting for justice for the poor and those without privilege.

As Covid-19 continues to ravage our world, with 29 million people around the world having been diagnosed and the global death toll being about 925,000, we see a world which is continually breaking. As we recognize that the numbers are likely much higher than this, we also recognize that so many other pieces of our lives have been devastated by this virus. As poverty increases and illness of all kinds continue to become worse due to loss of jobs and lack of healthcare, we also recognize the aid that is not going to countries that desperately need it. We pray for our neighbors in Yemen where aid cuts have devastated our neighbors there. As malnutrition doubles there, may you be with your beloved people who are in great need of food and supplies.

God, help us to be the hands and feet. Although it may seem that there is little we can do to make a difference, help us to start now.. Teach us to find ways to nurture and help those who need your healing. Grant us the wisdom to find a way to be your body in a broken and hurting world. While we may feel we can never do enough, help us to do what we can with what little time we have on this earth. Although we recognize we will never be perfect, teach us that by even doing the smallest of acts, we are spreading your love to your dearest children who need it most.

In your name we pray,
Amen.

World News in Prayer – August 6, 2020

Dear Lord, help us to hear these voices.

I pray today that my knees and back hold up. I pray that my mom and children are ok in our two-bedroom apartment while I work at a hotel and clean 15 rooms each day. I pray that my paycheck will be enough, that my car holds up, that someone cares about me enough to say “hello” to give a smile.

There are approximately 926,960 maids and housekeeping cleaners in the U.S. Sometimes cleaners are assigned 30 rooms in a day.

Across the barrier of our indifference awaken us to the other, help us to understand the burdens they carry, oh Christ, by your grace. May we understand the equity built into a living wage, the costs of health care and child care, housing and food, transportation, and school supplies.

I was a child soldier in Liberia, but first I was a schoolboy. I still pray for my grandparents. The soldiers arrived and took me away. I was taught to fight. Smoking drugs would energize us. The war is over, long over and many of us are trying to get off of drugs. I pray that I can leave this sad life. What price must I pay for my country’s war. I pray that I am not abandoned and shunned. I pray that God will protect me and hear my voice.

The UN investigates and reports on child soldiers. The top-ranking countries are Afghanistan, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. Children as young as eight are used as combatants, guards, human shields, porters, messengers, spies, cooks, and/or for sexual purposes. Girl soldiers are often used as “wives” and sexually abused by their commanders and other soldiers. Iraq’s Kurdish and Yezidi children were recruited. Myanmar children are forcibly recruited into the National Army. In Nigeria girls, ages 7 and 8 were used as suicide bombers. In Somalia over 900 children were recruited and posted at checkpoints. Two factions in South Sudan have taken over 17,000 children. In Syria, warring sides have recruited children as young as seven, half are under age 15. They have been exploited in propaganda videos. In Yemen, where we pray that those suffering from starvation will be cared for, boys are recruited to fight on all sides.

Across the world where these horrendous injustices continue against the most vulnerable, their childhood swept away, torn from their families, oh Christ by your grace we call out against war and these atrocities. Help us to take right action. Help us to speak out against militarization. We pray for those suffering and the loss to their families.

Will my land flood and be silted over taking away our livelihood? I feel there is nothing to do but wait and watch. I pray we will be safe and not lose everything. The wind is picking up and the rain has already been falling.

River flooding in population-dense countries includes India, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, and Cambodia.

Oh, Christ in your mercy, protect these countries from what seems to be inevitable flooding and a cycle of loss and destitution. We pray for those in harm’s way around the world. Give us the ability to work together to share resources and contribute knowledge to reduce this suffering. Be with the emergency transport, the health care workers, the utility crews, the engineers, and their teams as they design and plan and understand the rivers that bring life and death.

We are the over 1,700 health care workers who have died of COVID 19. We did our work, loved our work, trained many years, endured long hours, cried and spoke out and then we too became sick. We were not indifferent or complacent. We pray this pandemic will end that the billions of people under this veil of suffering will find comfort that leaders will come together in reason and generosity of heart and mind.

Medscape publishes the names of workers around the world. We name these few in remembrance of so many. Onyenachi Obasi, 51 Nurse, National Health Service, Barking and Dagenham, London, England. Morteza Vojdan, age unknown, General Practitioner, Mashhad, Iran. Patricia Wilke, 63, Pharmacist, Winslow, Arizona. Valeriu Pripa, 59, Head of Radiological Imaging Department, Chisinau, Moldova. Rosalinda “Rose” Pulido, 46, Oncologist, San Juan de Dios Hospital, Pasay City Philippines. Freddy Pow Hing, 59, Interventional Cardiologist, Hospital IESS Duran, Duran, Ecuador. Anonymous, 62, Organ Transplantation, Wuhan, China. Oh Christ, in your compassion and mercy give us the will to endure, care, and remember.

We’re still in shock; we’re still refusing to believe that something happened. We still think it’s like a dream or something. It was terrifying. It was horrible.

Residents of Beruit, Lebanon are reeling after an explosion of ammonium nitrate leveled the port injuring at least 50,00 people and leaving at least 137 dead. Residents have been working together to clear the rubble and investigations seeking to determine responsibility are underway as residents grieve and begin to rebuild from the devastation.

I am a tree, a forest, a bird, a butterfly, a bumblebee and a bat I have no human voice, my habitat is shrinking and yet I cling to beautiful nature. Hear my song, the wind moving in the fir, the singing wetland, the happy buzz and light wings. Receive our offerings.

Oh Lord, we have trespassed on our own earth, we have stolen and killed, sprayed and paved over, and cut down without thought to 7 generations. Forgive us. Approximately 30,000 species per year — about three per hour — are being driven to extinction. Where is our mindfulness? Nearly 80 percent of species diversity of our world is destroyed because of habitat loss — approximately 5,760 acres per day or 240 acres per hour. Christ in your mercy awaken us to our stewardship. Help us to live and step lightly.

Oh Lord, call us to your table of life. Remind us of the mighty work we need to do to care for each and all. Rest us at night and renew us for this day that is before us.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, July 23, 2020

Ever-creating God, Your glory fills the skies, from the transient sparkle of the fleeting meteor to the unexpected spectacle of Comet Neowise; your glory fills the earth from mountain height to ocean depth. We praise you.

As difficult as it is to find words to express how much your glory thrills and excites us it is even more difficult to turn and face the problems of humanity.

We pray for the war-torn, hungry and pandemic hit country of Yemen; we can barely remember how this situation came about and cannot understand how it is allowed to continue.

We pray for East Africa countries into the Horn of Africa and India and Pakistan as huge locust swarms move across the land. May our desire to act against their destructive force be planned sensibly, taking into account the needs of other wildlife so that the regions’ bio-diversity can be maintained.

We pray for the areas affected by earthquake this week, notably the Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States, with the possibilities of tsunami and repeated aftershocks. We pray for the countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and eastern states of India hit by the worst monsoon flooding for many years. Reports that rare one-horned rhinos have drowned seem to news agencies worse than the many human deaths.

So many disasters, Lord, when our instinct to rush to aid those affected are impeded by multi-national lockdowns and closed borders. As Australia, Hong Kong and China re-impose restrictions of movement, we give thanks that research for treatments and vaccines progresses.

Life continues, and for those who have planned new jobs, or moving homes, we pray it goes smoothly. For those forced into unplanned life changes by war, politically-caused famine, and environmental disasters, we pray they may find safe, secure refuges of warmth, shelter, food, and drink. We pray for all known to us suddenly overtaken by an unwanted trauma.

And finally, we pray for ourselves. As we self-isolate, mourn, or rejoice and party, Lord, you know our lives and we place them in your safe and secure hands knowing that our names are engraved upon your palms. (Is 49:16) Amen.

World News in Prayer – Thursday, May 7, 2020

Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer,
we come to you in prayer today,
longing to see and sense your presence in these uncertain times.
We pray for your world,
as we seek to understand
and find a way to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Bring comfort to those who grieve,
remembering especially those in India who died
or are suffering due to the Styrene gas leak;
peace to those who are anxious,
caution to those who needlessly risk their health,
hope for all who are struggling
economically,
socially,
mentally,
physically,
and in any manner
because of this pandemic.

Lord of Lords, even as countries like
Peru, the US, and the UK
see a continued rise in cases,
other countries like
Germany, New Zealand and Australia
are lessening the restrictions on their residents.

Guide the leaders in government
and health officials
as they make exceedingly difficult decisions
in the days and weeks to come.

We give you thanks for the blessings we have seen,
for the rapid response of a lighting manufacturer
to create personal protective hoods for medical staff in Southampton, UK,
and offering the design free of charge online;
for time with family,
for the opportunity to reevaluate our choices
and how we allocate the precious resource of time.

We pray for the farmers and people of Africa, Healer of the World,
as they are experiencing a second,
larger surge of locusts.
As the insects rise to plague levels,
they are causing widespread destruction in
Kenya,
Yemen,
Somalia,
Ethiopia,
and other nearby countries.

In the United States we pray for justice
following the killing of Ahmaud Arbery,
a 25 year-old black man out for a run in his neighborhood.
May this tragedy bring a swift end
to the racism and discrimination
which plagues us all in every country of your world.

Also in the United States,
this weekend is a celebration of mothers
and mothering figures in our lives;
many students are completing their studies
under strange circumstances.

Therefore, O God, we offer these prayers:

We come to you today, O God,
honoring the mothers in our lives:
those who give us life,
who nurture us, care for us, love us and guide us.

We pray, Holy One, for women who can not,
or choose not to have children of their own,
women for whom this remembrance sparks pain, grief, and loss.

Comforter of the hurting, we pray for children
who have not known the love of a mother,
the nurture of a loving parent,
and women who have struggled to provide the care their children need.

God of the loving heart, we know
the care and love of mothering
extends beyond the boundaries of blood;
beyond the boundaries of biology;
beyond the boundaries of age;
beyond the boundaries of gender.

Your care and love, Eternal Giver of Life,
extends beyond the boundaries of space and time;
beyond the boundaries of creed and doctrine;
beyond all boundaries the human mind can imagine.

We join our hearts and minds in prayer,
Comfort of sufferers and Companion of the lonely,
seeking your peace and mercy,
your presence and comfort,
for those of us who grieve;
for the sick and hurting
and those who care for them;
for the poor and the oppressed,
and for the advocates who speak for them.

We celebrate with those who have recently or will soon graduate
from high-school, college, and all schools;
that they might feel you at work in their lives;
that they might stay safe
during this time of celebration;
that they might find joy in their future.

We pray for those for whom schooling is difficult,
who are working toward their GED or other exams;
who are struggling with trouble at home;
who must join the work-force too early just to survive.

Guide us, we pray, so that we may do your will,
today and every day.

Form us into a healthy, vital, growing followers of Jesus,
joined in purpose and vision;
united in our search for a deeper relationship with you,
Mighty God,
empowered by our salvation through Christ,
and guided by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

AMEN

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, April 30, 2020

Dear Lord,

Sometimes we feel so alone and unprepared and exhausted.

Sometimes we feel forgotten and stepped upon.

Lord, remind us to breathe,
to look outward
and
to look inward.

Lord, remind us that in praying we are doing your will.

Help us to examine ourselves and to prepare for each day, knowing you are leading us, speaking to us and TOUCHING us with great love.

We are steeped in news, stories that make us weep and grow deeply sad, reminding us of so many vulnerabilities and so much human loss. Help us to set down our fears and burdens, to find sleep, to have healing dreams that connect us powerfully to you and all of your creation.

May we know what it means when our hearts are inscribed by the Holy Spirit. Guide us. Awaken us. Refresh us. Comfort us. May we come face to face with the unbidden stranger and understand this great wondrous mysterious love.

For those who work in fire and rescue, emergency rooms and intensive care units with the ventilators and monitors, the beeping and lights, before them a feverish human completely dependent on their ministrations, God we ask for your compassion. Sustain those who give of the mind, body and spirit to care, to heal and restore. We grieve as we hear of more deaths and even suicides as the stress and risk of being on the front line accumulates. Shelter these intelligent, deeply caring souls in your eternal time. We grieve with families, the newly diagnosed, those passed, and those struggling to heal and find a new normal. So many directions to look. God have mercy. We hold the dead in a moment of silence…

For the firefighters in the Ukraine, battling forest fires around Chernobyl. where radioactive ash and smoke is ascending and spreading beyond borders. Lord have mercy on us. Forgive us for these seemingly unending man-made calamities.

For those who donate their money and talents, volunteering in all manner of ways, in shelters, at food banks, tending neighbors, providing care to children of essential workers; for summer camps turned to respite sites and places to quarantine and receive a warm meal. A little goes such a long way. A tear can be wiped or watched to fall. Help us to be present in those moments. Lord, have compassion for our desire to do everything we can. Love us when we feel we can’t do enough or figure things out fast enough.

Help us to remember those who are forgotten, the “not newsworthy,” the “last year’s news,” those in the “wrong” country. Break down our prejudices and hatred, shake apart our sinfulness and false righteousness that have nothing to do with compassion and good will.

Be with tribal peoples who are disproportionately suffering from this plague. School us in matching resources to need. Cause swift action to help, versus to deny and degrade. Be with the Dine’ (the Navajo peoples of the U.S. Southwest). Be with all tribes and aboriginal peoples as they bury their dead, seek testing and shelter in place.

May our masks speak of our love and care – to be a symbol of openheartedness. Teach our eyes to smile, our eyebrows to lift in welcome and show those funny awkward distant embraces as we wrap our arms around ourselves when we see another. Cause us to wave and yell hello from windows.

Oh Lord, we ask that you breath your Pentecostal fire in us–now–in this moment. Help us take up our “plowshares” to address the emergency in our most fragile nations. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports this week that COVID-19 is eminent in over thirty so-called crisis countries unless we take swift action. Take us away from the podiums of falsehood. Direct us to the faces of those already suffering from war, displacement, those sheltered in dense refugee camps, those who lack water and sanitation, and those near famine. The IRC, with the Imperial College and the World Health Organization, have determined that if help is not forthcoming soon in those countries, 3 million deaths and 1 billion infections are likely.

We lay before you then, these our gravest fears. Burn through our dread and inaction. Create in us awareness and right action. We lift up our mighty resource of prayer to tend to the sorrows of Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Burkina Faso and Venezuela, of refugee camps in Greece, of the peoples in Afghanistan.

Remind us that a virus can cause suffering and
that we can remove suffering in so very many ways.

May we do your will and see your kin-dom on earth as it is in heaven.
We pray, we work, we give and we shelter.
In your name.

Amen.