Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
|
 |
Colombia
Would you like to learn more about Colombia?
Visit Lonely
Planet.
|
Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of CandleInvitation |
| |
We greet you in the name of the
Prince of Peace who call us to worship. Thank you for joining us today.
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 lift up the people of Columbia in our prayers. Located in
South America, Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from
the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830. A 40-year insurgent campaign to
overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, supported
in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly
and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the
movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to
overthrow the government. The Colombian Government has stepped up
efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now
has a presence in every one of its municipalities. However, neighboring
countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.
Community of Christ now holds a recognized presence in Colombia.
Blessed is the name of our God who is mindful of us as we worship in
faith and joy. |
| |
| Scripture Reading: Romans 8:28 INT |
| |
We know that God makes everything work
together for the good of those who love God and have been called
according to God’s purpose. |
| |
|
Prayer for Peace by Wallace B. Smith,
Independence, Missouri |
| |
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. |
| |
|
Hymn - Lord of All Hopefulness -
Hymns of the Saints #185 |
| |
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. |
| |
Creator of sunrises, mountains, and seas, we praise you
and come before you with gratitude in our hearts. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
Keep us alert for ways to practice peace. Open our eyes to new solutions
for old problems. Forgive us when we become discouraged by daily
challenges rather than seeing them as opportunities. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
As we consider the years that the people of Columbia have lived under
the yoke of war, we cry, "How long, God, must your creation live without
peace?" Bless the leaders and the people of this nation as they seek
ways of peace, we pray. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
| |
We pray for those gathered here today. Bless us with the assurance of
your presence, making lighter the burdens which we bear. |
| 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 |
| |
God of all nations, we offer our hearts and minds and bodies to you to
be peacemakers in this world. Please bless our efforts to have attitudes
of peace, may our words be words of peace, and our works be works of
peace. We pray in Jesus’ precious name. 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.
May the God who is peace, the God who is hope, and the God who is love,
guide us and bless us as we go forth to serve the Divine purpose created
in us. Amen. |
| |
| Ministry of Music |
