Loving God,
We know that our world is often uncertain.
Many nations have recently faced elections, such as British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick in Canada, and Japan, where the Liberal Democratic Party, which has held power almost continually since 1955, lost its single-party majority at Sunday’s election.
We also know that in some places, elections are tense, such as in Oregon and Washington in the United States, where two ballot boxes were set on fire in a questionable attack on democracy and where a comedian made a comment in poor taste aimed at Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, we know the many in our world in deep pain and distress, even when the situations seem so far removed from us.
We pray for the over 50 Palestinians killed during an overnight Israeli attack on residential areas. We also lift up the 50,000 more who have been evacuated from Northern Gaza as Israel attempts to eradicate “pocks of Hamas militants.”
We pray for situations that feel so hopeless.
We pray for Palestinians, who will not have access to aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after Israel banned it.
For Spain, which faced its deadliest flood disaster in decades, resulting in the deaths of over 95 and dozens more missing.
And Sudan as it continues to face massacres and extreme gender-based violence affecting over 400 women between the ages of 8-75. In the ace of these atrocities, we pray for the many women who have been violated and are so humiliated and traumatized that they have considered ending their own lives.
Eternal One, may you bring justice, send aid, and provide comfort and peace to those most affected.
Yet, even amid heartbreak, uncertainty, and distress, we still see glimmers of grace.
We see Indigenous peoples offering hospitality to non-Indigenous guests and settlers.
Like Jack Rivers, an Indigenous man in Manitoulin Islands, Ontario, Canada, who is encouraging overseas tourists to visit the Great North and help it recover its tourism post-Covid by offering walks around the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.
And like the Dakota-led nonprofit Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, which seeks to raise the visibility of Indigenous peoples in Minnesota (U.S.A.) through self-guided tours of sacred areas.
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for positive changes.
For youth who are choosing healthy lifestyles as, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States acknowledges that teen smoking is at a 25-year all-time low.
And for initiatives seeking to flip the script on climate change, such as the Netherlands’ “Tile Whipping” competition that replaces pavement with greenery.
Or New York’s (U.S.A.) installation of 6 gigawatts of distributed solar – enough to power more than 1 million homes and businesses one year ahead of the goal set out by the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Or like the Cop16 meetings in Cali, Columbia, where world leaders address biodiversity issues, Indigenous peoples, and local communities. This is the most extensive participation recorded for this type of meeting, with over 20,000 delegates.
Life is a mix of both pain and pleasure, difficulties and delights.
We give thanks to our Great God, who holds all of these moments – both terrifying and treasured, and allows us to partake in the daring justice required to do God’s will on this earth.
Amen.
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