Daily Prayer for Peace  | |
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Daily Prayer for Peace
Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
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Ukraine
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more about Ukraine?
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Lonely
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Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of CandleInvitation |
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Welcome today to this 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 Ukraine in our prayers. Ukraine, a
former part of Russia, is located on the Black Sea. Following World War
I, the country had a chance to gain its independence, but civil war
broke out, and Ukraine eventually became part of the USSR in 1922. Under
Stalin, Ukraine faced famine, war, and purges that cost the lives of
over half the male and a quarter of the female population of Ukraine.
The 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the slow official response provoked
widespread discontent; in 1991, the Communist Party of Ukraine was
banned, and in December 1991 the population voted overwhelmingly for
independence. Things began to look brighter for Ukraine at the beginning
of the 21st century. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was closed in
2000, and the last Soviet nuclear missile silo destroyed in 2001. The
economy started a period of sustained growth, and in 2002 the government
decided to apply for NATO membership.
We come from the cares of the world to pray for peace, therefore let us
truly be with each other. We come from the darkness of our dwelling
places to pray for light, therefore let us truly remember the ways of
the righteous. |
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| Scripture Reading: Romans 12:1-5 INT |
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Sisters and brothers, I beg you through the mercy of
God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Don’t conform yourselves to
this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you
can judge what God’s will is – what is good, pleasing and perfect. In
light of the grace I have from God, I urge each of you not to exaggerate
your own importance. Each of you must judge yourself soberly by the
standard of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body
with many members – and these members don’t have the same function – so
all of us, in union with Christ, form one body. And as members of that
one body, we belong to each other. |
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Prayer for Peace by Linda Schaal, Bath,
Michigan |
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Lord, teach me to forgive myself, and free my mind to hear your
voice. Move me to ask for forgiveness when I have offended someone. Open
my eyes to the forgiveness I must give to those who have offended me.
Give me the courage to reach out to those in need of a friend. Make me a
good listener to strangers who may need just an encouraging word, or an
arm around their shoulder for comfort. Allow me to shake the hand of a
person who may be different from me without fear and say, "Welcome."
Help me to listen to the small cries of children who are hungry or
thirsty. Grant me hearing from my heart rather than my ears. Stir me to
ask, "What can I do to help that child?" when I hear on the news about
starving children. Give me the understanding to know that the problem is
not too big, one child at a time. Let me be the one to enthusiastically
sell others on their ability to help one child, so together we can make
a difference for a whole community.
I know, Lord, that peace is not possible without You as the overseer.
Nor is peace possible if the basic needs of people remain unfulfilled.
Thank You, Lord, for giving us the vision of peace. With the help of
your Holy Spirit may we have the commitment needed for that peace.
In Jesus' most holy name we pray. Amen. |
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Hymn - O, May Thy Church Build Bridges
- Hymns of the Saints #431 |
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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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O God, the people are hungry for your Word. Fill us with grace to
make your Word alive this day. Help us to live by that grace, we pray,
as we humbly confess our sins and ask forgiveness. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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O God, your people are hungry for food. Help us to become better
stewards, so that all may benefit from the abundance you have provided.
Give us the will to share with those who do not have enough. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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O God, your people are hungry for healing. You created us to be whole
persons, but many of us are broken. Your people are sick, lonely, in
jail, oppressed. Fill us with the power to heal each other and to be
healed. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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O God, your people are hungry for justice. Help those in authority, in
all countries and all institutions, to govern wisely for the benefit of
all. With others across the world, we especially ask this on behalf of
our brothers and sisters in Ukraine on this day. Fill all leaders with
compassion, we pray. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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O God, your people are hungry for peace. Teach all persons that there is
more to bind nations together than to drive them apart, and that there
is no place in your realm for war and intolerance. Fill us with
understanding 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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O, Great God, we come to honor you, and ask to be your instruments of
peace. 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.
As we answer the call to be peacemakers and peacekeepers in our world,
the God of Peace will be with us. Go in peace and be peacemakers, for
all our sakes. Amen. |
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| Ministry of Music |
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