Loving Creator,
You are the One who holds the whole world in Your hands.
And so, we pray today for areas in our city, nation, and world in need of Your healing and presence.
For Palestine where over 58,000 have been killed so far, with the latest Israeli strike killing at least 32.
We pray for people who feel persecuted and marginalized including many Gazans and Jewish people alike who have faced discrimination, hatred, and accusations of antisemitism in various parts of Canada, U.S. and UK.
For places in our world affected by political strife including: South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Sudan (where the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been accused of killing almost 300 people in village raids), for Syria, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.
We also continue to lift up ongoing tensions in the United States and all countries affected by trade wars and tariffs.
To our Mother who cradles the world in her arms,
We pray for the over 14 million children globally who did not receive a single vaccine in 2024 according to a recent UN report. We pray for areas where children suffer from poverty, starvation, wars, and natural disasters. And for places including those close to home where children are forced to navigate parental addictions and mental wellness struggles, family conflict, and bullying.
We pray for our mother earth as she faces the continued impacts of climate change. We uplift those living in Western Canada and France where wildfires continue to rage resulting in the Marseille Airport having to close.
We also uplift areas in the USA which are currently experiencing flash flooding – Texas, New York, and New Jersey.
We also take this moment to give thanks for the wonders of creation especially during this summer season when many of us are able to spend more time outdoors connecting with wildlife.
We give thanks this week for Moo Deng – the world’s most beloved pygmy hippo who turned 1 in Thailand. And for the fact that pine martens are breeding for the first time in Southwest England in over 100 years.
We also express our gratitude for the ways animals serve and help us. For Rocky, the heroic dog in India who alerted a village to an oncoming landslide saving dozens. For a tiny chihuahua who helped rescued its owner who fell into a Glacier in Switzerland, and for the Philadelphia Phillies new service dog – an instant celebrity who will go on to support a veteran after training camp (USA).
We also share our amazement of a magpie in Western Australia who roused a woman who had fallen from a two-storey window and rendered unconscious so she could call her husband for help. In a compassionate twist to the story, this was the same magpie this woman had rescued and helped many years earlier and affectionately named “Jellybean.”
Father of Mercy, we pray for individuals and nations which are suffering. We pray for India as they mourn the loss of Fauja Singh – the world’s oldest marathoner who was killed in a hit-and-run at 114 years old. We give thanks for the way he inspired many of us that, even at the age of 100, dreams (like running his first marathon) can still be achieved.
We also pray for ongoing funding for medical care and aid especially for the most vulnerable. We pray that the USA will renew funding for AIDS so that there will not be an increase in AIDS and HIV deaths as the UN predicts without securing the funding.
Mother, Father, Creator, and Redeemer of the whole world: You have all of us – all our countries and nations in the palm of Your hand. Help us also to gently hold one another with Your love.
Amen.
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