Call to Worship
(Voice 1):
|
We gather
together here today to pray for peace. As we gather to pray for
peace, we reflect on what we are being called to do in order to
be peacemakers in our world. Prayer is not a substitute for
action, but challenges and prepares us for action. In the book, Compassion:
A Reflection on the Christian Life, Donald McNeill, Douglas
Morrison and Henri Nouwen share the following reflection:
"If the emphasis on prayer were an escape from direct
engagement with the many needs and pains of our world, then it
would not be a real discipline of the compassionate life. Prayer
challenges us to be fully aware of the world in which we live,
and to present it with all its needs and pains to God. It is this
compassionate prayer that calls for compassionate action. The
disciple is called to follow the Lord not only into the desert
and onto the mountain to pray but also into the valley of tears,
where help is needed, and onto the cross, where humanity is in
agony. Prayer and action, therefore, can never be seen as
contradictory or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows
into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates
into questionable manipulation….In prayer we meet Christ,
and in him all human suffering. In service, we meet people, and
in them, the suffering Christ."
|
| (1 minute silence) |
| Voice 2: |
Let us pray: O God,
for too long the world
has called us to war,
and our dead lie sprawled
across the bleeding centuries.
But you
break the bow and shatter the spear,
calling us to sow the seeds of peace
in the midst of despair.
In tenderness,
may we take the tiniest sprouts
and plant them
where they can safely grow
into blossoms of hope. AMEN
(from Hymnal: A Worship Book)
|
| (2 minute silence) |
| Voice 1: | We pray for a peaceful resolution to
the escalating conflict in Kosova. |
| (1 minute silence) |
| Voice 2: | We pray for real peace for all
peoples in Israel. |
| (1 minute silence) |
| Voice 3: | We pray for an end to the suffering
in Iraq. |
| (1 minute silence) |
| Voice 1: | Yesterday, in Indonesia, six
students were killed and others injured by police bullets. We
grieve with the people of Indonesia and pray for a peaceful
solution to the social conflict there. |
| (1 minute silence) |
| Voice 2: | We pray that the killing of the
bishop in Guatemala will not undermine the fragile peace there. |
| (1 minute silence) |
| Voice 3: | Let us pray together: |
| All: | Listening God,
you hear our prayers before we speak,
yet welcome our praying;
therefore we come with confidence
to lay our requests before you. |
| Leader (Voice 3): | We pray for the whole
people of God, for faithfulness and strength to persevere in
righteousness. |
| People: | Lord, hear our prayer. |
| Leader: | We pray for the nations of the world,
for all leaders
and for those who make policy decisions.
We pray for the commonwealth of our global community. |
| People: | Lord, hear our prayer |
| Leader: | We pray for those who are overcome by
violence,
for victims of injustice or oppression,
and for those in poverty or pain.
We pray for all who need healing and peace. |
| People: | Lord, hear our prayer. |
| Leader: | We pray for those who endure trials,
for those who are dying,
and for those who mourn.
We pray for all who need comfort and hope. |
| People: | Lord hear our prayer. |
| Leader: | You have heard the prayers of your
people, O God.
We rest in the comfort of your care,
as we pray in Jesus’ name. |
| All: | Amen |
| Leader (Voice 1): | Jesus taught us to speak of
hope as the coming of God’s kingdom |
| All: | We believe that God is at work in our world
turning hopeless and evil situations into good.
We believe that goodness and justice and love
will triumph in the end
and that tyranny and oppression cannot last forever.
One day all tears will be wiped away;
the lamb will lie down with the lion,
and justice will roll down like a mighty stream.
This is our faith.
This is our hope.
This is our call.
(The above litanies were modified from Hymnal: A Worship
Book)
We will be listening to a spoken hymn. The hymn is entitled
"O God of Every Nation" and was written by William W.
Reid: |
| Voice 1: | O God of every nation,
Of every race and land,
Redeem your whole creation
With your almighty hand;
Where hate and fear divide us,
And bitter threats are hurled,
In love and mercy guide us,
And heal our strife-torn world |
| Voice 2: | From search for wealth and power
And scorn of truth and right,
From trust in bombs that shower
Destruction through the night,
From pride of race and station
And blindness to your way,
Deliver every nation,
Eternal God, we pray. |
| Voice 3: |
Lord, strengthen all who labor
That all may find release
From fear of rattling saber,
From dread of war’s increase;
When hope and courage falter,
Lord, let your voice be heard;
With faith that none can alter,
Your servants under gird. |
| All: |
Keep bright in us the vision
Of days when war shall cease,
When hatred and division
Give way to love and peace,
Till dawns the morning glorious
When truth and justice reign,
And Christ shall rule victorious
O’er all the world’s domain.
|