Afghanistan

Invitation

We gather from different places and circumstances, yet we all come longing for peace in our lives, in our relationships and in our world.  Welcome to this time of worship and prayer.

Each day in this Temple dedicated to the pursuit of peace, we pray for peace and uphold one of the nations of the world.

Today we remember the people of Afghanistan in our prayers. Located in Central Asia, Afghanistan is a multiethnic society, and the Afghan people display pride in their culture, nation, ancestry and religion.  Since the late 1970s, Afghanistan has experienced a continuous state of war, including major occupations in the form of the 1979 Soviet war, a Taliban instigated civil war in the late 1990s and the October 2001 US-led military operations that overthrew the Taliban government.  Despite the new constitution extending equality to women, obstacles of violence, poverty and illiteracy remain.  Many nations and organizations are partnering with Afghan leaders in discussing appropriate methods of transition surrounding the withdrawal of international troops from the region.

We seek the fullness of God’s shalom for the people of Afghanistan and all nations.  As we unite in worship and prayer, let us be renewed in our response to God’s call in our lives as we strive to be people of justice and peace.

Scripture Reading
—Isaiah 2:4, adapted

The Lord shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples.  They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Prayer for Peace
— A Fellow Servant

Almighty God,

In the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, we gather in this sacred space to consecrate our lives to the building of your peaceable kingdom. We do so fully aware that we live in a time of diminishing peace and increasing war.

We come therefore with a sense of urgency for the sake of our Mother Earth, and her beautiful nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples. We understand that ultimately there can be no lasting peace between nations until peace is within them, the Divine peace that passes all understanding.

Grace us then with your promised comforter, the peace of your Holy Spirit. Fill us with a new and heightened sense of your presence. Breathe on us, and make us instruments of your peace.

Give us courage to tear down the walls which fear has erected to separate us from you and from one another. Empower us to bridge the schisms of ethnic, racial, and cultural divisions so that we may bind up the brokenhearted and tell the Good News to all.

We have heard the cries and the voices of the hungry and homeless, the alien and refugee, the sick and suffering, and sense a desire to be living, breathing testaments of your Gospel. Teach us to learn of your ways and serve those in need.

May we ever labor and pray faithfully that your kingdom will come, your will be done, until the lion and lamb lie down together and the little child will lead them. Amen.

Hymn
O Day of Peace - Sing for Peace #22

Prayers of the People
Please join us now, praying the “Prayers of the People. During the moments of quiet, you are invited to pray silently or meditate.

Great God of all nations and peoples, we come before you with praise and thanksgiving, for you are our refuge in times of trial and our joy in times of celebration. 

The People Pray in Silence

We seek your forgiveness when we fall short of being the persons you created us to be.  Heal our brokenness, and guide us in righteous relationship with you, with one another and with your world.

The People Pray in Silence

We pray the people of Afghanistan will know the fullness of your peace as they continue to struggle with poverty and war and all its devastating consequences, especially for women and children.  Touch the hearts and minds of political leaders so they might work to find alternatives to violence and bring an end to a war that drags on.

The People Pray in Silence

Open our hearts to the needs of those who suffer from poverty, violence and oppression in our local communities and within our global community.  Give us the courage and compassion to reach out in loving and compassionate service for the well-being of all persons.

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

O God of Peace, may your truth radiate from this place as we seek to be your people of peace in the world.  Amen.

Sending Forth

Our service concludes with ministry of music, and you are invited to remain in the quiet of this place and pray or meditate as long as you wish.

May God’s spirit of love and peace strengthen and guide us as we go forth to serve in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Ministry of Music