Prayers for Personal and Corporate Worship
National Service of Mourning in Remembrance of those who have died in Palestine and Israel
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Bethlehem Prayer
O Mystery as grand as the universe O Mighty Force of all creation, O Power beyond all our power, You have come to us as an infant. Vulnerable, fragile, beautiful. You have come to us in the midst of poverty, powerlessness and longing. Come again, O Promiser of Peace. Come again, to the city of your birth mired in fear, oppression and injustice. Come again, where bullet holes still pock the walls of Sanctuary. Come again, where Children dream of homes they have never seen. Come again, where a single key or the number 194 cry out again of forced journey to Bethlehem. Be born again in the camps. Be born again in stables and homes. Be born again in many cities and languages. Be born again among nations. Be born again in places of injustice. Be born again a promise of hope, a sign of love and joy to the world. Be born again in our hearts, that we too might be called Makers of peace and Children of God. Amen The Right Rev. David Giuliano, Moderator of The United Church of Canada Advent worship resources are available on the United Church website: http://www.united-church.ca/worship Notes:
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A Prayer for CourageGod,
You ask for our courage to protect the powerless but we prefer to remain safe, preserving ourselves for future challenges. You ask us to speak out for justice but we whisper, in case we are heard. You ask us to stand up for what is right, but we would rather blend in to the crowd You ask us to have faith, when doubting seems so much easier. Lord forgive our calculated efforts to follow you, only when it is convenient to do so, only in those places where it is safe to do so, only with those who make it easy to do so. Together we pray God forgive us and renew us; Inspire us and challenge us So that we might risk the journey, to your kingdom with you, Amen (This is a Prayer of Confession from a service at GreenBelt, UK, in 2003, read at a service at Cheltenham Races. It was an opening prayer of a recently held skype meeting of the international Kairos core group. When, my God when
When I sing I will sing of a land rich in history The Holy land Where Judaism Islam and Christianity share A common history, land, and life A people seeking God, God of ages A land of wounded peoples, wounded earth Where diverse voices join in faith Seeking a vision of co-existence Struggling for justice and peace I will sing of life celebrated, Grief, anger and fear shared People struggling for the freedom to exist In this Holy land God give me the words to sing When I speak I will speak about the power of fear Fear of the other, neighbor friend Fear, socially constructed to legitimize Oppressive actions on behalf of those who are afraid Afraid of children throwing stones to resist occupation Fear to share water, land and life abundant Fear to call into question structures of power Which violate people’s rights with impunity Fear to name apartheid as racist system Sustained by western imperialism A sin that cannot be justified in this time Fear to speak God give me a voice to speak When I lament I will lament the walls and barriers that divide Neighbors friends and relatives The pain and suffering of families separated The everyday humiliation of check points Walls and barriers that imprison Walls and barriers that impoverish communities Cut off from economic life Schools, hospitals, freedom and life Walls and barriers that confiscate land Olive gardens, and villages For the building of ever expanding settlements I will lament the house demolitions The forced removals of indigenous communities Seeking simply to live The pain of a homeless mother Girl child who can no longer go to school A male young adult turned a suicide bomber A child who learns someone on the other side Seeks to kill them Crying out Why God why God give me the courage to lament When I hope I will hope in the Patriarchs Heads of Local Christian Churches Rabbis for Peace, Imams Despite the obstacles, walls and barriers Struggle for the restoration of peace in the land I will hope in the IBDAA, Sabeel, Women in Black Alternative Tourism Group,B’Tselem, BatShalom, Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre, Jerusalem Centre for Women Dar al-Kalima College, Aida, Deheisheh Refugee Camps Christian Peace Teams, Ecumenical accompaniers Men women young adults and children The bright stars of Jerusalem Cultivating, communicating hope Resisting oppression, constructing peace God give me the courage to hope When I pray I will pray for justice peace for hope everlasting That all may have life Abundant life God hear my prayer Reflections from a solidarity visit to Palestine/Israel Omega Bula, Spring 2007 By permission. |