Daily Prayer for Peace  | |
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Daily Prayer for Peace
Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
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Costa Rica
Would you like to learn more about Costa Rica?
Visit
Lonely
Planet. |
Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of CandleInvitation |
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Welcome, and thank you for
sharing your gift of presence with us in worship. Each day in this
Temple, dedicated to the pursuit of peace, we pray to God for peace in
our world. In addition, each day we pray for a different country.
Today we will hold up the people of Costa Rica in our prayers. Costa
Rica is located in Central America, between Nicaragua and Panama. Costa
Rica has the unique label of “the only country which doesn’t have an
army;” its army was dismantled in the constitution of 1949, which also
gave women and blacks the vote. This constitution was the result of
civil war during the 1940s. During recent years, Costa Rica has
experienced other upheavals: Hurricane César in 1996 and Hurricane Mitch
in 1998, murmurings of government corruption, disagreements as to how
the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will impact the
country’s farmers and affect efforts to alleviate the country’s poverty.
The current president, Oscar Arias, received the Nobel Peace Prize in
1987 for his attempts to spread Costa Rica’s example of peace to the
rest of Central America.
As we remember Costa Rica this day, let us also remember other places
where severe conditions make living and earning a livelihood difficult.
As we meet together, let the God of all people guide our worship so that
we may be able to say, "Yes, Lord, it is good to meet with you.
Enlighten us and teach us, we pray." |
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| Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:9 IV |
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Jesus said, "Those things, which you have
both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God
of peace shall be with you." |
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Prayer for Peace by Howard J. Booth, Lamoni,
Iowa |
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God,
We pray for peace in distant lands as well as our own. For we know in
our most solemn moments that our hopes and dreams are not unlike the
hopes and dreams of persons in lands afar. God of all nations, we pray
for peace in every land.
We acknowledge brokenness in our world today. It raises its ugliness in
the distance between nations and peoples, as we choose up sides.
Grant us a growing determination to withstand impatience over unresolved
conflicts.
Push us until we ache for peace, until we are willing to pursue it
without reservation.
Grant us the ability and will to love even enemies until such love shall
beget love.
May Christ's love be so rooted in our lives that prejudices and
suspicions of humanity will be swallowed up in acts of sisterhood and
brotherhood. May we be numbered among the peacemakers, that we may be a
blessing to the world. Amen. |
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Hymn - We Are Called to Be Peacemakers -
Sing for Peace #23 |
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Prayers of the People
Please join us now, praying the Prayers of the People. During the
moments of silence, you are invited to pray silently or meditate. |
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We praise you, God of all nations, for your mercy is
vast, and your greatness beyond our comprehension. In peace we pray to
you, Lord God, and dare to ask your blessing for all people in their
daily life and work; for our families, friends, and neighbors, and for
those who are alone. We especially pray for your people in Costa Rica
this day. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We remember, and ask your guidance, for all who sorrow, fear, or have
special needs. May we follow your example and minister in your stead. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We confess our shortcomings. Forgive us, we pray, and may we go from
here strengthened in body and mind for the task before us to be your
peacemakers in our world. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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Please use this space to pray for any
current concern or event in our community, city, state, nation or world
that you feel needs to be held up to God for prayerful consideration.
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| The People Pray in Silence |
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We remember the concerns and needs of those gathered here. Lord, hear
our prayers, and send your Holy Spirit to be with us as we seek to know
and do your will. Amen. |
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| Sending Forth |
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We conclude our service with Ministry of Music. Please
feel free to remain to pray or meditate in the quiet of this place for
as long as you may wish.
Now may the God of peace guide us into those paths of righteousness
which lead to peace. Let us go forth and be the peacemakers and
peacekeepers we are called to be. Amen. |
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| Ministry of Music |
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