A CHRISTMAS BLESSING by Christine Valters Paintner online Abbess at AbbeyoftheArts.com Reproduced with permission This blessing dances at the doorway of light and dark, knows both as sacred: fertile womb space, miracle of blooming. This blessing breathes through those moments of labor when you too birth the holy into this fragile, luminous, hurting world as Mary […]
Prayers for France
Attacks and their aftermath, heatwaves, floods and storms, strikes and protest, and unsettled elections all appear in the prayers for France. Refugees and children at the Calais camp are remembered, along with justice for those harmed by people in trusted positions, and thanks is given for the climate agreement signed in Paris.
Somewhere, Right Now: Prayers for Kyiv, Refugees in Poland, and Famine in Somalia (December 8, 2022)
Ancient of Days, Somewhere in Kiev, Ukraine, a man plays his guitar with his old, faithful pup howling along, even though they sing in darkness. Somewhere in Krakow, Poland, a grandmother folds shirts, presses trousers, routines to calm her anxious heart, even as the unexpected guests in their small home yearn to return to their […]
We Bring Our Hearts’ Cries to You: Prayers for Ukraine, Turkey’s Mine Explosion, and Uganda’s Ebola (October 20, 2022)
Dearest Creator of all that is and ever will be. Guardian of Light. Giver of Breath. Judge of all deeds, seen and unseen. Infuse us with your love, gratitude, and peace. Let us feel safe in a world thriving in chaos and fear. Help us to raise our children without prejudice. Teach us to teach […]
The Lord’s Prayer for a Hurting World: Violence Against Women, Floods, and Global Drought (September 22, 2022)
Writer’s note: I have no idea where this version of the Lord’s Prayer came from, so I apologise for not giving credit where credit is due. I know I’ve amended it over the years, but it is something that draws me back time and again. So I am using it as a framework for this […]
Not a Spirit of Fear: A Prayer After the Attack on Salman Rushdie, and for Refugees (August 18, 2022)
Holy One, In these times, with the world news heavily upon us, we reflect upon words from 2 Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (New Living Translation) Ten years ago, speaking in New York (U.S.), Indian-born British-American novelist Salman Rushdie said that […]
O God, Why Are You Silent: Prayers for Ukraine, Rafah, Wildfires, and Pakistan’s Floods (August 11, 2022)
Writers note: As I faced writing these prayers, all that kept resonating through my mind was the hymn, “O God, Why Are You Silent” written by Marty Haugen and found in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship. The words of the first two verses resound in my breaking heart (it can be sung to any 7676D hymn […]
We Bring You Everything: A Prayer for the Lambeth Conference and a Scorched Planet (August 4, 2022)
Writer’s note: I am one of half dozen members of our small World in Prayer Team who needed a break. But then I read last week’s posting and realised I could not be party to this important ministry faltering – albeit temporarily. I find myself with nothing, yet also too much, to pray for – […]
Teach Us to Listen: Prayers for Yemen, Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Ketanji Brown Jackson (April 7, 2022)
The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens – wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. ~ Isaiah 50:4 Lord of all learning and growth, we pray that you would teach us […]
We Breathe Your Peace: A Prayer at the Russia Ukraine Border and for Petropolis (February 17, 2022)
Oh God, you lean into us. We lean into you. A flow of relationship that has no end. We are grateful. We are invited to pray without ceasing. This is not a burden but a freeing gift, an invitation to stay present to our constant dance with you. As we pray in each moment our […]
Prayers at the Year’s End: Myanmar, a Sudan Mine Collapse, and Brazil’s Floods (December 30, 2021)
Holy One, you are author of Creation. You have made both light and darkness holy. We know you in the shining spaces and in the uncertain places of night. We ask that your Holy Spirit descend upon all the forgotten or disregarded corners of this vast world. Infuse them with your abiding peace and everlasting […]
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