Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
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Israel
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Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of CandleInvitation |
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We welcome you today to this quiet, sacred place.
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 Israel in our prayers. Located in
the Middle East, Jewish leaders proclaimed the State of Israel
independent in 1948. Since then, six Arab-Israeli wars have torn at this
ancient land, the holy land of several major religions, without ending
the deep tensions between the two sides. Hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian Arabs have fled to neighboring states, while Jewish
immigrants have settled in Israel. To secure peace, Israel in 1982 ended
its 15-year occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, returning it to Egypt. A
Palestinian rebellion that began in 1987, took hundreds of lives before
peace negotiations resulted in a 1993 accord that granted Palestinian
self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Jericho. The
Israeli military withdrew from all West Bank cities by 1997—and also
left southern Lebanon in 2000. However, peace talks stalled, a second
rebellion started in September 2000, and most of the West Bank was
reoccupied by 2002. Peace seems to be a far off dream.
As we gaze upon our lighted candle, let us think upon other times and
places where God’s truth has burst forth as the way from darkness into
light. |
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| Scripture Reading: Isaiah 58:6-12 adapted |
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Is not this what I require of you, to loose
the fetters of injustice, to untie the knots of the yoke, and set free
those who have been crushed? Is it not sharing your food with the
hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked
when you meet them and never evading a duty to your kinsfolk? If you
cease to pervert justice, to point the accusing finger and lay false
charges, if you feed the hungry from your own plenty and satisfy the
needs of the wretched, then your light will rise like dawn out of
darkness and your dusk be like noonday. The Lord will be your guide
continually and will give you strength of limb. You will be like a
well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. You shall be
called Rebuilder of broken walls, Restorer of houses in ruins. |
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Prayer for Peace by Roxann Rice, Independence,
Missouri |
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Our Father, we thank you for your ever-present vigil in
our lives.
As you walk with us this day, our spirits are stirred, for there are
persons in this world who are in need of your love and protection.
It is during this time that peace becomes our cry--peace instead of
war--peace instead of suffering--peace instead of doubt.
We consider the cause of peace and where it must begin-- here, Father,
within us as you reside. Resolve the personal turmoil among your
children.
Guide us, O God, find that peace within us--that which you have called
for us to seek since the beginning.
Now, we hear you and remember to watch. That stay of peace within us is
our prayer. Bring to us that higher understanding. Amen. |
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Hymn - How Can Creation's Voice Be Still -
Hymns of the Saints #300 |
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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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When the Psalmist exclaimed about God, "Thou art greatly
to be praised" he was talking from experience. Out of our experience,
let us talk with God. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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New encounters with God bring fresh awareness of God's call to move into
new ways of living. Leaving is never easy but especially difficult when
where we are has been beneficial. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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The people of Israel work and play, eat and sleep, dream of peace as
they long for freedom from threats of violence. Watch over them in this
their time of need, we ask. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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This is also the First Day of Passover. Be with those who remember this
day as holy, and teach them of your peace and how to become peacemakers. |
| 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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God, sometimes our human problems seem to create impossible barriers.
Our souls wilt, our spirits droop. Help us to be a Barnabus for each
other. May the word of encouragement and the sustaining prayer be our
gifts to you today. Amen. |
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| Sending Forth |
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We conclude our service today with Ministry of Music. We
invite you to remain in the quiet of this place to pray or meditate for
as long as you may wish.
Go now, in peace, in love and in understanding of what it means to be a
peacemaker. Amen |
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| Ministry of Music |
