Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
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Germany
Would you like to learn
more about Germany?
Visit
Lonely
Planet. |
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 Germany in our prayers. Located in
Central Europe, Germany remains a key member of the continent's
economic, political, and defense organizations. Europe's strongest
economic and industrial power, Germany is also the most populous
European country outside Russia. Divided into two German states since
World War Two, the decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War
allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then Germany has expended
considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western
standards. Today's united Germany has its problems, but the social
dislocation which was widely forecast has been minimal. Although the
euphoria of reunification has subsided, and there is some resentment and
disaffection from both sides, Germany is working towards true unity.
We light this candle as a symbol of joy. May the joyful promise of your
presence, O God, make us rejoice in our hope of salvation. |
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| Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:8-11 NRSV |
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For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery
and wrongdoing. I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will
make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known
among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples: all who see
them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my
God; for God has clothed me with the robe of righteousness, as a
bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself
with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a
garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will
cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. |
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Prayer for Peace by Peter Judd, Kansas City,
Missouri |
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Lord God
Creator of all
Giver of all gifts
Lover of all:
We pray to you on behalf of our troubled world,
fraught with
conflict, injustice, and misunderstanding.
The peace that we seek often seems so unreachable,
so far from
possibility.
We yearn for things to be different than they are--for the
old world to become
new.
We acknowledge our own participation in the difficulties of
your times, and so
we pledge our intent and resources
to the cause of
peace
May we accept your presence in our lives that calls us to be
peacemakers.
May we unite with others to make our world a better place to live.
We pray in the name of Christ our Lord. 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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O God, we thank you for all the blessings in our lives:
for friends, families, and the everyday blessings of warm homes, food,
and other necessities of life which we often take for granted. Help us
to remember those who do not have the necessities of life. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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O God, we thank you for your unfailing love in the joyful as well as in
the troubled times of our lives. We would not forget the people of
Germany. May they also experience the joy of your love in their lives. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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O God, we confess our shortcomings before you. We know we often fail to
live up to our potential. Search our hearts and make us aware of our
rebellion, our selfishness, our pride, our unwillingness to forgive, our
envy, our misplaced priorities. In your great compassion for our
weakness, we pray you will forgive our sins and give us the power to
overcome them. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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O God, we pray for those among us who are in physical or emotional
distress and pain. Be with them and bless them by the power of your Holy
Spirit. |
| 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 God, we invite your presence to dwell among us and to guide us into
peaceful ways. May we truly be peacemakers in our world. Amen. |
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| Sending Forth |
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We conclude our service for 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 forth in peace and joy. Thanks be to God! |
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| Ministry of Music |
