[God] brought [Abram] outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ~ Genesis 15:5 God of abundance, we know that you are able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, and yet our […]
This Is Our Prayer: For the Sulawesi Earthquake, a Micronesia Plane Crash and Assault Survivors (October 4, 2018)
Holy One, Shape our prayers to the Gospel of Your Son. Teach us to see as you see and to feel as you feel. This is our prayer. This day and each day, we lift up our prayers for each and every person who needs to see you in their lives and to feel your […]
Be Thou My Vision: Prayers for the Nepal Plane Crash, the Skripal Poisoning, and Parkland Walkouts (March 15, 2018)
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that thou art: Thou my best thought both by day and by night, Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. (Irish Traditional, Tune SLANE) O Light of the World, we stumble around in the darkness of this world which […]
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 […]
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 […]
We Thirst for You: Advent Prayers After the Colombia Plane Crash and Tropical Storm Otto (December 28, 2016)
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will […]
Lord, Hear Our Prayer: For EgyptAir Flight MS804, Sri Lanka’s Landslides, and Venezuela’s Hunger (May 19, 2016)
Heavenly Father, we come to you with open but hurt hearts with this week’s news. May the Holy Spirit fill us with strength and compassion towards our neighbors, near and far. We pray for the millions of students who celebrate their graduations. May their learning enrich our world. Lord, hear our prayer. We pray for […]
There Is Nowhere God Is Not: Prayers After the Sinai Plane Crash and the Afghanistan Earthquake (November 5, 2015)
God of love, God of inclusion, God of justice and peace, we come to you with hearts heavy with the things that are happening in our world over which we have no control. Lack of control is scary, feels threatening. And yet, even in the midst of our confusion and frustration, there is a truth […]
The Violence of Love: Prayers After the Germanwings Crash and for Ebola-Hit West Africa (March 26, 2015)
Archbishop Oscar Romero was murdered at the altar in a hospital chapel 25 years ago. He wrote: “We have never preached violence, except the violence of love, which left Christ nailed to a cross, the violence that we must each do to ourselves to overcome our selfishness and such cruel inequalities among us. The violence […]
So Many Treasures Are Hidden: Prayers After MH17 and the Taiwan Plane Crash (July 24, 2014)
So many treasures are hidden Lord: When we gave thanks along with the mother whose 2 sons were saved by the actions of a stranger, Reis Leming, in East Anglia in 1953, we were not to know that one would became a professor in Cambridge, England; the other a professor in MIT. Lord, we […]