Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
Libya
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more—visit
Lonely
Planet. |
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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 Libya in our prayers. Located in
northern Africa, water-poor, oil-rich Libya has the highest per capita
income of continental Africa. The largest water development project ever
devised, the Great Man-Made River Project, will bring water from
aquifers under the Sahara to the coastal cities. Since 1969 this former
Italian colony, independent since 1951, has been socialist. In 2003,
Libya repudiated weapons of mass destruction, and the following year was
visited by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. There has recently been
something of a revival of the arts in Libya, especially in the field of
painting, and private galleries are springing up to provide a showcase
for new talent. The tradition of folk culture is still alive and well,
with troupes performing music and dance at frequent festivals, both in
Libya and abroad.
Recognized this week in January is the Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity. It is another way in which Christians around the world remember
one another in prayer.
As we light the Candle of Peace, let us reflect on the absence of peace
and its effect on our world. (silence) Now let us worship together as we
seek new ways to pursue peace and dedicate ourselves to ongoing peace. |
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| Reading: Luke 6:27-28 |
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But I tell you who hear me: Love your
enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray
for those who mistreat you. Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend
to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be
great. You’ll rightly be called children of the Most High, since God is
good even to the ungrateful and the wicked. |
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Prayer for Peace by Donald Brown, Pueblo,
Colorado |
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Our Gracious and Loving God,
Come now, O God, and meet us in this sacred space. Come and touch our
hearts and minds again with the power of your love. Remind us that all
things are possible through you and through our faith in you. Restore
our spirits once more and instill in us again the hope of peace, a
vision of a world where your name is truly honored, where all men and
women are brothers and sisters, where poverty, disease, and war are
vanquished and peace and unity binds all peoples as one family.
Gracious God, lift the heaviness from our hearts, the weariness from our
minds, and the tears from our eyes. Make us whole again and send us out
into the world with the strength of your spirit upon us. For when we
recognize that you are the redeeming source of love that binds all
creation, and the One to whom the future belongs, then we know the
victory has already been won. Peace is possible, and to that possibility
we commit all that we are, and all that we have, to bring it to reality.
We will be your instruments of peace.
In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen. |
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Hymn - Instruments of Your Peace -
Sing a New Song #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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It is a most wonderful feeling to hear "make yourself at
home." It is beyond human telling when it is God who welcomes us with
these heartwarming words, "Make yourself at home." |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We thank you, God, for your presence here with us and your gracious love
for us. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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Let the counsel, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" call us to
a specific response to the ministry of the Lord Jesus in our lives. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We look forward to the day when all peoples are free from injustice and
persecution. Help us to be instruments of change; to offer hope to those
who are less fortunate; to offer comfort and aid to those who are
helpless, and to work in our homes and communities to further the cause
of equality. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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This day we pray for the country of Libya. May the people and their
leaders learn to know and teach peace. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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Let us pray for Christian Unity this day. Wherever Christians are in
this world, we pray for guidance to share your love and forgiveness with
those we meet. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We pray for the concerns and needs gathered in this place. Help us to
listen closely to your guidance. |
| 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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Gracious God, our words seldom truly express our heart's desires. There
is a feeling that just beyond our words lies a truer expression of our
prayers. Hear that prayer, O God, and help us to discipline our hearts
and our minds that our prayers come ever closer to expressing your will.
Amen. |
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| Sending Forth |
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We will 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.
Just as the woman in the crowd was healed when she touched the hem of
Jesus' garment, may people be healed as they touch you. May you be
healed as you touch them. Go and heal, in Jesus' name. |
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| Postlude |
