“How do you choose which news to include in the prayers?” That’s a common question those of us who take turns writing the weekly prayers get asked. Sometimes, it’s more pointed: “Why did you mention this, but not that?” But there’s neither magic nor malice involved – we are all too human. We gather news, from a variety of media sources, each with its own biases and blindspots, generally far too much news to fit in this small space. Sometimes it seems as if there isn’t any news, or only news of one issue, one country. As if the rest of the world has disappeared for a moment. We hold the news, and the absence of news, to our hearts, to our longings. And then we wait, in prayer, to see how the Spirit will guide us to put voice to God’s prayers for us and with us that week.
Holy one, gather us in your presence,
Seated around the hearthfire of your love,
That we may hear and give voice to the prayers
Of your heart.
Draw into your circle all who are enmeshed in fear and anger, in striking out and striking back, in rigid demands that become unbridgeable barriers to finding a way towards peace. As the war between Israel and Hamas spills over into other countries … as conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate … as Hamas continues to refuse to release the October 6 Israeli hostages … as Hezbollah (Lebanon) forces attack Northern Israel leading to massive evacuations … as we hear with horror that pagers and walkie-talkies filled with explosives were sent into Lebanon (allegedly by Israel) where they detonated with devastating effect ,,, as (for the first time) a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis landed in central Israel … as Israeli special forces raid an alleged missile site in Syria … as the innocent on all sides become more and more traumatized, and the world more and more fearful that the conflict will only escalate…
Gather us into your presence,
Hush us as a mother hushes a frightened child,
Protect and guide us.
Draw into your holy circle all who espouse violence and rile up hatred, those who spread lies and slander, all who trade their souls for political power and economic dominance. Enliven all elections, all governance, with your spirit of compassion, with your commitment to justice, with your longing to uplift those who have the least. As electioneering in the United States spreads false rumors that Haitian immigrants in the town of Springfield, Ohio, have been killing and eating people’s pets … as a Hong Kong man is sentenced to 14 months in jail after pleading guilty to sedition for wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan on it … as Haiti takes the first steps towards (hopefully) holding its first election since 2016 … as Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González asserts that he was “forced” to recognise President Nicolás Maduro as the winner of July’s disputed election before being allowed to seek asylum in Spain … As Peru grapples with the mixed legacy of former President Alberto Fujimori, who died at the age of 86 after serving prison time for corruption and human rights abuses …
Fill those we admire and those we abhor
With your heart’s longing for all to live together
In mutual joy and well-being and honor.
Draw into your healing circle all the whole hurting earth – land, sea, and sky. As droughts in the Amazon Basin leave rivers at an all-time low … As climate change disrupts the economy and almost the entire way of life in Somalia … As the World Health Organization reports that starvation in war-stricken Sudan “is almost everywhere” … As deadly wildfires rage in Portugal … As Storm Boris batters Italy after causing widespread flooding in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria …
Make us one in caring for one another,
One in serving one another,
One in healing the earth.
One in hearing, and sharing, and being your prayers for all peoples.
Holy one, gather us into your presence…into your heart.
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