Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
|
 |
India
Would you like to learn
more about India?
Visit
Lonely
Planet.
|
Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of CandleInvitation |
| |
Good afternoon and welcome to
this sacred place. Thank you for joining us today in prayer and worship.
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 remember the people of India in our prayers. Located in
Southern Asia, the Indian subcontinent was the pride of the British
Empire until the mid-20th century. Guided by Mahatma Gandhi, Indians won
nationhood in 1947. Fundamental concerns in India include an ongoing
dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation,
environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic strife, all
this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output. India
has a growing middle class and has made great strides in engineering and
information technology. The country's space program plans to reach the
moon by 2007.
Let us contemplate the symbol found in the candle of peace, for Christ
is our peace. In Christ, God made all one and broke down the dividing
wall between them, to create out of us a new humanity, thereby making
peace. So Christ came and proclaimed the good news; peace to you who
were afar off, and peace to those nearby. |
| |
| Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2:22 NASB |
| |
Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and
peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. |
| |
|
Prayer for Peace by Harry Fielding,
Queensland, Australia |
| |
Lover of Peace,
At this moment throughout the world there are millions of people who do
not recognize your presence. May your spirit resonate within their
beings and cause them to come to the recognition of your love and your
desire for all humanity to be united in the bond of your spirit.
Our Creator and Sustainer, so often you are hidden from us, not because
you have removed yourself, but because our spiritual eyes are closed.
Grant us, we pray, the capacity to look within ourselves to find your
presence.
May we be strengthened as we discover your presence in our neighbors and
in the very fabric of the world you have created. In our selfishness we
think of the world as "ours," but in our better moments we know that we
are only visitors, living briefly on this planet which preceded us, and
which will continue after we have gone. Help us to treat with respect
all aspects of your creation. In doing this we become united with each
other, with you, and with your world.
We pray for individuals, families, communities, and nations separated
from the presence of strength and peace. May each discover and release
the essence of the living God and become whole. May they truly discover
what it is to be holy and to view the entire universe as sacred.
May we respond in love to the stirrings of your empowering presence
within us, that we may truly be ambassadors of your peace. Amen. |
| |
|
Hymn - Let Us Pray for One Another -
Hymns of the Saints #312 |
| |
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. |
| |
Great God, we praise you for sending the Prince of
Peace. We praise you for families and friends, food and shelter, warmth
and joy. Thank you for your constant care for us. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
We praise you for holy forgiveness and claim its touch for our sins of
commission for our sins of omission. Please have mercy upon us. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
We praise you for all the peoples of the earth, but especially remember
and pray for the people of India this day. May the leaders of India find
the way to relieve religious, ethnic and caste tensions, all burdened by
pervasive poverty. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
We praise you for your goodness in listening to our own cares and
concerns. Bless us, we humbly pray. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
We pray for Christian unity throughout the globe, and ask that you
continue to guide and teach us as we learn to listen to one another and
respect one another. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
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.
|
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
Hear our prayer, O God, and guide us as we strive to be instruments of
your peace in our world. Amen. |
| |
| Sending Forth |
| |
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.
As we leave this house of worship, we go with God's love to comfort us,
God's wisdom to guide us, and God's power to lead us in the paths of
peace. Let us go and become peacemakers in this world. |
| |
| Ministry of Music |
