Assorted Prayers
Advent Prayer for Palestine
By Kenji Kuramitsu
God of branch and blaze, in this Advent season we pray for your justice and your peace. In this time of longing, shelter us from the harsh rays of sun and screen. Keep us under the shadow of your wing, and give us an assurance of your love when it is most hard to feel your presence.
May your holy Spirit encourage every generation that languishes under violence wrought by human hands. We pray for an end to occupation in all lands, and especially for the people of Palestine. Bring an end to the terror, invasion, and incarceration that continues to haunt us.
Help us, too, to keep vigilant against the works of evil, in our own selves and in the world around us. Nurture the seeds of resistance and solidarity in our own hearts. Fill us with a love of land and neighbor, and strike settlements from your holy soil.
We pray and wait in hope for your coming amongst us – for that peace and justice that we dare to call upon in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
By Katie Reimer
God of Life,
We come to you with feelings of despair at all that is broken around us. Our world is suffering. Our Palestinian siblings are surrounded on every side by people and systems bent on their destruction. We sit here in the United States, feeling angry at the ways our own country is solidifying the annihilation of Palestine. Feeling helpless as we watch their suffering from afar. The sun has vanished. The moon refuses to shine. Hope is falling.
Open our hearts and minds to what you are doing in the midst of this brokenness. Help us to see the ways you are shaking the foundations of all that destroys life. Give us the stamina to stay awake, to watch and to wait for you. Grant us wisdom and courage to participate in the ways that you are moving to restore life.
Amen
Candle lighting Prayer for the Oppressed
Adapted from Kairos Christmas Alert 2020
God Who Hears the Cries of the Oppressed, may the season’s lighting of candles and the singing of carols fill my heart and move me to act in partnership with those who are suffering life’s injustices. In the name of the One who, born in a stable, made his home among the oppressed, amen.
Candle lighting Prayer for the Oppressed
Adapted from Kairos Christmas Alert 2018
God Who Hears the Cries of the Oppressed, we pray for all who suffer the ongoing, seemingly never-ending consequences of colonialization and occupation. Visit them this holy season with the light of your love. Move the faithful in churches, synagogues and mosques, along with all people of good will, to be that light in their lives in practical and transforming ways. In the name of the One who, for our sake, kept faith under occupation, amen.
Prayer for Refugee Children
From Kairos Christmas Alert 2018
Holy One Incarnate, I remember that as a child you were spirited off to a distant and unfamiliar place. Be with all those who are suffering as refugees, longing for home as well as food and shelter and a future for their children. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
A Prayer for Refugees
From Kairos Christmas Alert 2017
Almighty and merciful God,
whose Son became a refugee
and had no place to call his own;
look with mercy on those who today
are fleeing from danger,
homeless and hungry.
Bless those who work to bring them relief;
inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts;
and guide the nations of the world towards that day
when all will rejoice in your Kingdom of justice and of peace;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer for the Church
From Kairos Christmas Alert 2020
God of the Universe and All Earth’s Peoples, teach your church how to resist oppression in ways that are an expression of your love. Lord, lead us to practice justice, love and kindness, and to speak for those on the margins of our societies. Your community come on earth as it is heaven. Amen.
Harvest Prayer
From Kairos Christmas Alert 2018
God of the Harvest, may the seeds of faith, hope and love planted by people of faith and good will bring a return of justice and peace throughout the world. Your kingdom come, Lord, here on earth. Amen.
Prayer By Michael Sabbah, Archbishop of Jerusalem
From Kairos Christmas Alert 2019
O Lord, have mercy. O God, the message you sent to Mary and the simple shepherds in those days, send it to those who have power. O Lord, change the hearts of the great of this world. Grant them light to see and to know that the Palestinians and they themselves are equally created in your image and have the same dignity you gave to all. Amen. (Patriarch Sabbah)
Prayer by Fr. Dr. Jamal Khader
From Kairos Christmas Alert 2018
“O God, may your peace prevail in the country that you chose to be your own. You are the Lord of Peace; you are the peace we long for.”
Prayer
Adapted from Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum Liturgy Resource Toolbox
Holy God,
In great love you sent your Son, Jesus, to break down every dividing wall. Give us the strength and courage to dismantle the many barriers erected by human sin. We especially pray for a change of heart for those who raise walls between people and the dismantling of the Israeli Separation Wall.
Open the eyes of those who think walls of separation will bring peace and prosperity. Open our hearts for the suffering of the other. And following in the footsteps of your Son Jesus and all the saints, open our hands to work for peace with justice for all the people. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Rule of Life
Adapted from Honoring First People by Addie Domske
Creator God we acknowledge and give thanks that:
In Jesus we know we belong to a Sacred Circle with the
Gospel and Baptismal Covenant in the Center.
In this Sacred Circle: We are all related; We live a
compassionate and generous life; We respect all life,
traditions, and resources; We commit ourselves to
spiritual growth, discipleship, and consensus.
Amen.
Prayer Based on Luke 11:2-4 (by David Moser)
Adapted from Southside Mennonite Fellowship
Tender Life-Source,
May we find the Sacred and name it as yours.
May your gentle authority enfold all of creation.
Feed us with the enough we need to live lives of trust.
Release us from our part in all oppression;
For we, ourselves, are seeking to release all who have wounded us.
Lead us away from affliction and protect us from harmful intent.
Amen.