“I waited patiently for the Lord. He lifted me out of the mud and mire, he set my feet upon a rock. He put a new song in my mouth.” (Psalm 40:1-3) God, awaken us to a new year. Awaken us also to a new spirit, a new will, even a new way. As we […]
Bad Deeds Have Consequences: Prayers After the Aleppo Aid Convoy Strike and Police Shootings (September 22, 2016)
“The Bible says little about the temperature of hell nor the furniture of heaven”. This quote from the great German theologian Reinhold Niebuhr fits in with the story of the rich man and Lazarus where we are made aware of the dangers of being mean with our money and uncharitable to others. This is echoed […]
Where Are You: A Prayer for a Capsized Boat off Libya and for the One Life That Matters (May 26, 2016)
Hello? God? Are you there? Like Thomas before me, I believe. But, I need you to help my unbelief. I spend so much of my time looking forward to completing the task at hand. Yet, when it’s done the joy is short-lived. Swallowed up by the pressure of the next task to be completed; lost […]
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Prayers for Syrian Refugees Lost at Sea and for Flint’s Water (April 21, 2016)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… Revelation 21:1 There are days and times, Holy God, when our wish for a new earth is almost overwhelming; days and times when, as we look around this old earth, we can see only […]
Today the World Is Full of Glory: A Prayer on the 70th Anniversary of Hiroshima (August 6, 2015)
Today is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima, and three days later over Nagasaki. At a ceremony to mark the anniversary, which included Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, said “Seventy years on I want to re-emphasize the necessity of world peace.” The Church of England […]
Sustained by God’s Love: Prayers for the Yangtze River Ship Disaster and the Accra Fire (June 4, 2015)
Assured of God’s grace and sustained by God’s love, let us open our hearts and minds as we pray together. Ever present God, with thanksgiving and praise we honor you for the gift of life. Your love strengthens us in times of despair, your wisdom speaks to us in times of uncertainty, and your Spirit […]
Lift Up the Light of Your Countenance: For Migrants Drowned Near Italy and for Yemen (April 16, 2015)
Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see better times!” Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD. – Psalm 4:6 In this season of resurrection, lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O Lord, that we may see your risen Son, Jesus Christ, who walks with us, […]
Two Thirds of Our Planet: A Prayer for an Interlinked World and the Missing at Sea (May 22, 2014)
Two thirds of our planet are covered by sea. Two thirds of our planet are still unexplored. (Hans Hass) Lord, you are so immense, intelligent and intangible, that we think you are incomprehensible, impenetrable, inscrutable. Somehow that gives us the idea that you cannot know or understand us, our environment, our planet. We act […]
We Doubt and We Believe: A Prayer After the Korean Ferry Disaster and the Nigerian Kidnappings (April 24, 2014)
O Lord, we doubt and we believe. Help us to hold both our doubt and our belief lightly so we may be astonished and overjoyed when we see you, wounded and whole, living in our world. We doubt we will see peace: in Syria, in Ukraine, between Israelis and Palestinians, even sometimes within our own […]
A Good Friday Vigil: Prayers for the Korean Ferry, South Sudan, Forgiveness, and New Beginnings (April 17, 2014)
I write this during the long vigil between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. The time when those who follow the ancient traditions of the Christian church year stay up and keep watch with Jesus, as he prays in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We have, once again, been present as he washes the disciples’ […]