Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
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Croatia
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Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of CandleInvitation |
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Welcome today to this sacred
place, and thank you for coming to share in worship with us. 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 Croatia in our prayers. Located in
southeastern Europe, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom in
1918. It was known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Although Croatia declared
its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of
sporadic, and often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were
mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under United Nations supervision,
the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slovonia was returned to Croatia
in 1998. War halted the tourist trade and drastically cut industrial
output, including a lucrative ship-building business. Since the war,
Croatia has progressed politically and economically; it applied for
European Union membership in 2003.
As we light our candle, may its flame cause us to open our minds, and
challenge us to new avenues of peace as we worship together. |
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| Scripture Reading: II Corinthians 13:11 IV |
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Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in
peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. |
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Prayer for Peace by Richard Hawks, Lansing,
Michigan |
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Our Eternal God,
We praise you and thank you for this opportunity to come before you in
prayer to speak with you and listen to you. We are here in this Temple
dedicated to the pursuit of peace to both sense and respond to your
presence in ways that reach far beyond these walls.
At this time, we turn to you and pray for peace. We open our hearts to
feel your presence in our pain, struggles, triumphs, and joys. We open
our ears to listen to your voice calling us through diverse peoples,
races, cultures, and languages of our world. We open our eyes to see
your presence in all things and in all people, especially the oppressed
and forgotten. We open our arms to embrace and support those in need of
healing or of sharing their gifts with others.
We pray that your peace will transcend all barriers and not only impact
us here but also reach out to all the earth. May your peace comfort the
disturbed and bring a reassuring presence, trust, and understanding
between individuals, cultures, and nations that are in unrest. May your
peace also disturb the comfortable. Guide and stimulate us out of our
apathy and indecision that we may respond and act in ways that express
our commitment to the cause of peace.
As this candle burns and gives light, we pray that your spirit of peace
will burn within our hearts and give light to all travelers on the
journey toward peace. May we have peace within ourselves as well as our
relationships with each other and with you.
It is in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ that we beseech you at this
time. Amen. |
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Hymn - We’re Singing a Peace Song - Sing
for Peace #19 |
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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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God of all nations and all peoples, by whatever name you
are known, we come before you in praise and thanksgiving. Guide us into
the joy of being, and the desire for joyful peace for all peoples. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We pray particularly for the nation and people of Croatia this day. They
are working so hard to become a country where peace is known. Be with
them and give them strength that they may not tire of the work for
peace. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We pray for the concerns of those gathered here today. Great God, we
would also ask for your guidance as we try to live by your standards of
peace. Forgive our sins of selfishness and pride, we humbly ask. |
| 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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Hear our collective prayers, O God of Peace, that your peace may become
the peace of this world. Amen. |
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| Sending Forth |
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We conclude our service today with Ministry of Music.
You are invited to remain to pray or meditate in the quiet of this place
for as long as you may wish.
May the God of peace be with us as we go forth to be peacemakers in our
world. Amen. |
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| Ministry of Music |
