Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Prayers of the People; Bethany Church UCC, Randolph, VT

“is it not better to live in revolution than to live in dead times?   Are we not little and low out of good nature now, when, if our companions were noble, or the crisis fit for heroes, we should be great also?” – from Emerson’s journals

Dear God,
we pray to you now in the name of your grace and mercy; let it be known by us, your people.

We pray for those who have lost loved ones, recent and past; we think of these people now, and how their lives led us to know love.

We pray for those who live and continue to suffer and heal from these losses…
…including Marine Scott Olsen, who suffered brain damage after taking part in a protest in Oakland, California on Friday night, and for those unable to find work or unable to find enough work to get by,
for those who live in countries whose goverments face critical challenges, for those living in countries whose governments tell them what to do, and for those whose relationship with nature has been challenged, by floods, fires, and weather we could not anticipate.

We pray that we may not suffer, and we pray that the leaders of this country and of all countries
make decisions that promote the most good for the benefit of all, that systems of injustice be seen
and recognized and made right: in Syria, Somalia, Libya, Israel, Palestine, Haiti, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Zimbabwe.

We pray for our local representatives, those who speak for us in Montpelier and in Washington,
and we pray for the President, and both parties and all parties and both houses of Congress:
God, please deliver to these people new peace and calm, that conversations may continue.

We pray that we may ever imagine the glorious reunions that will someday take place in your presence, when we will meet again, and will all at our best and most good.

And we pray that on our best days we may clearly see about us the crises fit only for heroes;
we pray that we may find within ourselves all the bravery and strength we need.                                                                                              




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