Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
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Would you like to learn more about Turkmenistan?
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Lonely Planet. |
Turkmenistan
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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 joining us in this service. 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 Turkmenistan in our prayers. Located
in central Asia, Turkmenistan achieved its independence with the
dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The President retains absolute control
over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive
hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this
underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked
out. The country is sparsely populated and its people, the Turkmen, are
only a generation or two removed from being nomads. They place most
esteem on a rural life revolving around their famous, traditionally
patterned carpets, their ceremonies, and hospitality.
We light this candle as a symbol of our commitment to a just and
peaceful world. May the peace of God who has called us here guide our
worship. |
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| Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:9 KJV |
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Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall
be called the children of God. |
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Prayer for Peace by Wallace B. Smith,
Independence, Missouri |
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Eternal God, present in all of life that is significant
and holy, hear us now as we lift our voices in thanksgiving and praise,
in confession, and in supplication.
We give thanks for your word of encouragement that enables us to face
each new day. We also thank you for your word of faithfulness that gives
us hope for the future. And we give thanks for your word of guidance
that directs us as we seek to better understand your ways.
Gracious God, deliver us from the shallowness of our commitments, from
the thousand ways our strivings separate us from each other. And most of
all, deliver us from our fears that alienate us from you.
O God of faith, hear our prayer as we light our flame of peace and love
at this hour and in this sacred place. May the flame here kindled grow
within each heart, that all may sense more fully your spirit in the
warmth of our concern for one another. Refresh us when we grow weary of
opposing injustice and oppression, terrorism and war, and send us forth
from this experience of dialogue and worship strengthened to bind up the
wounds that afflict our world.
Grant us peace, O God - not the peace of slumber, but of quiet
confidence in the triumph of your word. For the sake of all your
creation, we pray. Amen. |
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Hymn - Behold a Broken World, We Pray -
Sing for Peace #21 |
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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 that is, all that ever was, and all that
shall come to be, we praise you. We give thanks for this time of
remembering your goodness, your loving care, your guidance, and your
plan for creation to be at peace. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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Forgive us when we have not remembered and have been guilty of actions
and thoughts that did not promote peace. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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This day, O God, we remember the nation and the people of Turkmenistan.
Be with the peacemakers there, and may we all learn to live in harmony,
one with another. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We would also hold up before you the concerns and the needs of the
people gathered here this day. |
| 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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May your name be praised, O God of all creation. In the name of the
Prince of Peace we pray. Amen. |
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| Sending Forth |
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We conclude our service 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.
As we leave this place of worship, we go with: God’s forgiveness to
change us,
God’s vision to challenge us,
God’s power to enliven us,
God’s hope to uplift us.
Go in God’s peace. |
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| Ministry of Music |
