Prayers for Russia

War with Ukraine dominates what has been prayed here for Russia, together with ceasefire talks, sanctions and strained relations with neighboring countries. Other prayers hold protesters and journalists at risk, nuclear tension, wildfires in Siberia, and the care of creation in the far north.

Lazy, Hazy Days: Prayers for Families Separated, the Tham Luang Cave and the Saddleworth Moor Fires (June 28, 2018)

Dear Lord, In the Northern Hemisphere, we expectantly “roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer…”* but there is a parent and grandparent duty. We plan exciting activities for little ones in our care, for camps and vacations and community programs. In this season of school year endings we watch and wait for exam […]

We Are Your Body, Broken: Prayers After the Gaza Border Killings and the Jerusalem Embassy Move (May 17, 2018)

“Let us hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice” -Psalm 51:8, adapted We are your body, O God. Wonderfully made, and full of promise. We are your body, O God, broken, yet full of promise. We are too often broken in our relationships with one another. Quick to […]

Entertain Angels Unaware: Remembering Barbara Bush and Winnie Mandela, and Praying for Our Leaders (April 19, 2018)

We call ourselves to remember, dear God, that you are one. We call you to hear our prayer as we struggle for focus. Our world, your world, changes so drastically. We pray for the immediate survivors of the deaths of the famous, like Barbara Bush in the United States and Winnie Mandela in the Republic […]

Shalom Be With You: Prayers for Douma, Parkland and the Muenster Attack (April 12, 2018)

[Jesus] stood among them and said to them, ‘Shalom be with you.’ ~ Luke 24:36 God of creation and creativity, you’ve given us the gift of language and communication so that we might speak of and learn about you, however feeble our understanding might be. We often take the gift of words for granted, forgetting […]

At the Foot of the Cross: Prayers for Families and Friends From Kemerovo to Eastern Ghouta (March 29, 2018)

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. ~ Ps 22:27 Lord, when we think of Mary at the foot of the cross supported by family and friends it is a week for families to cling together. As […]

It Seems Very Odd, Lord: Prayers for Cape Town’s Drought, Parkland, and a Week of Crashes (February 15, 2018)

It seems very odd, Lord, that people call for January to be a month to try being vegan when Lent was a period, 40 days, in the time before world trade hit our food markets when it was a necessity. We pray for those to whom being vegan is not a life style choice […]

Come, Holy Spirit: Prayers for Cyclone Mora, the Kabul Bombing, and Cholera in Yemen (June 1, 2017)

God, our creator, we thank you for you spoke the world into being for good and send your empowering Spirit on all. Forgive us when it is easy to look at all the events which the news media highlights and think nothing ever changes. Yet as the world turns and we move into astronomical […]

May Your Mind Be in Us: Prayers After the Mocoa Landslide, Peru’s Floods, and Syria’s Gas Attack (April 6, 2017)

The Scottish theologian, William Barclay, suggested using ‘the mind of God’ instead of ‘the Word’ for Jesus. And so John 1:1, 2-5, 14 reads In the beginning was the mind of God,… 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was […]

Extremists for Love: Prayers on Martin Luther King Day for Refugees, Nigeria, and Flight MH370 (January 19, 2017)

At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of the extremist. … But as I continue to think about the matter I gradually gained a bit of satisfaction from being considered an extremist. Was not Jesus an extremist in love – “Love your enemies, bless them that […]

The Real Work of Christmas: A Prayer at the End of 2016 for Syria’s Ceasefire (December 29, 2016)

Abba God, following the examples of the shepherds, wise men, Simeon and Anna and millions before us, we worship and adore you, giving thanks and praise. As the turbulence that was 2016 draws to a close, we pause on the cusp of what was, what is and what is to be… There is so much […]