Here and Now, Lord
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Prayer of Intercession
Prayers of the People
Here and now, Lord,
we place before You simply some
of the six billion people
with whom we share this world.
Although we may never meet them,
nor even know their names,
we place them in Your loving care.
Hold them.
Guide them.
Be with them.
May they be full of Your love,
and share it with those they meet,
as we, once more, commit ourselves
to do the same.
Amen.
— Copyright © Stephen Davies/CAFOD
http://www.cafod.org.uk/ Used by permission.
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O Holy Spirit,
You hovered over the deep at the dawn of creation.
You fashioned time and space itself in the initial magnificent flaring forth.
You breathed life into all beings
and You continue to dwell and work in all creation to sustain that life.
Be with us now at this critical moment of our history.
Open our ears to the cry of the earth,
suffering the effects of human exploitation and unbridled consumption.
Open our ears to the cries of our brothers and sisters
living in the midst of extreme poverty and hunger.
Give us a deeper awareness that we are part of all that You have made,
that we are intimately connected to all that has been,
all that is and all that will be.
Grant us a spirit of awe and wonder
as we contemplate the marvels of your creation,
recognizing and giving thanks for Your presence within and around us.
Give us a deep respect for all life
and help us to renew our commitment to foster life wherever we are.
Give us the courage to denounce all that disfigures Your creation
and to commit fully to caring for our earthly home
and for all the created beings we share it with.
May we live lives characterized by compassion and service
and may we embody Your love in our relationships with one another
and with all Creation.
Amen.
— Copyright © Sr Gemma Corbett/CAFOD
http://www.cafod.org.uk/ Used by permission.
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Let us pray.
Creator of proteins, carbohydrates and fat,
Maker of minerals and vitamins,
putting molecules together in ways
that taste good and build healthy cells,
transform our world,
so that every man, woman and child has enough to eat,
so they can grow strong bodies, and active minds.
Spoken or sung response
God of justice and hope
when people’s right to eat has been thwarted by the demand for increasing profits,
stir up prophets with the courage to challenge and convert.
When the hungry are not considered important because they cannot pay,
inspire Your followers to treat each person as someone you love,
created in Your image,
reflecting the face of your Beloved.
When children are left depleted and listless,
compel movements towards a renewed compassion,
which pushes power to care for the least,
and judges those whose wealth consumes without concern for others.
Spoken or sung response
God who changes hearts and stomachs,
we pray for those who are consumed by their consumption,
whose lives are defined by what they buy,
and who find their worth in what they have.
Turn all people toward the treasures which do not rot and decay,
the love which shines more gloriously than gold,
the giving which fulfills and makes mysteriously whole,
the arms open wide enough to embrace life not bought or sold.
Spoken or sung response
(The prayers of the congregation are invited.
The prayer concludes with the Lord’s Prayer.)
—Rev. Terry Mac Arther, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva, from an Ash Wednesday Liturgy (2011) written for the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.
http://www.e-alliance.ch/ Click here for a printer-friendly PDF version
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Restorative God, we thank you for foods of comfort,
foods that tell the story of who we are and where we have come from;
food that we share with our ancestors and kin.
May these foods and stories nourish us when we are starving for justice…
when we are starving for a sense of belonging and community…
when the journey seems too far and too long and we starve for respite and relief…
Be like fried dumplin’, stew peas, and sadza to us.
Restore our souls.
Refrain (“Ameni,” More Voices 219)
Resourceful God, we thank you for the gift of abundance;
and for the ability to see something in what others see as nothing.
Just as our ancestors turned table crumbs into main dishes,
help us to turn our fears into moments of great courage…
our weakness into signs of Your strength…
and our despair into places for Your hope.
We trust in Your promise of abundance.
Give us the imagination of our ancestors to transform and challenge
those who would count us as last and least.
Refrain
Satisfying God,
our bellies are full with your love, grace, and abundance.
Yet we are still hungry for justice.
Restore us. Satisfy us. Feed us. Sustain us.
As You have in our past,
as You are in our present,
as You will in our future.
Amen.
— from Gathering at the Table: A Worship Resource for African Canadian Heritage Month, prepared by members of The Journeys of Black Peoples in The United Church of Canada, Toronto cluster, and available on the website of the United Church of Canada.
http://www.united-church.ca/ © 2008 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca. Any copy must include this notice.
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