Prayer

God our strength,

Grace us again with energy and vision for the mission today. When we become troubled and anxious, show us a place to disappear for a moment, to be still and to know you are God. When our eyes fail to see any fruit from our work, inspire us to rejoice nonetheless, as your empowering strength fills us with vigor to take the next step. Amen.

Prayer

Life-giving God,

Because our work is so serious, we need the refreshment that levity brings. Because we see pain and feel so much frustration, we need the release that laughter allows. Because there is death, we need the resilience of a heart filled with light. Yes, humor unites us when we are otherwise tempted to fall apart, alone in the darkness. Humbly we ask you to bind us together today. May the sound of our rejoicing break the darkness we face, that all may be filled with your life-giving spirit. May we all catch a breath after a good fit of joy, and after a moment of peace, get back on our feet. Amen.

Prayer

God of all wisdom,

The world in which we live offers no sureties. Yet you are the rock upon which we can stand. And you give us each other to comfort and guide, to heal and protect—sisters and brothers, coping together in a turbulent world. As we continue to face this pandemic’s unknowns, give us the wisdom to cope better. May we exchange the confusion and the bitterness of uncertainty for a spirit of humility, grace, and cooperation. We pray in the name of the all-wise God and the source of all security, Amen.

Prayer

Creative Spirit,

We give thanks today for your servant, Martin Luther King, Jr., and his immense sacrifice on behalf of social justice and human equality. To remember Dr. King is to remember what he stood for: the affirmation, recognition, and the unflinching defense of the human person, made in your image and thus bestowed with an inalienable dignity. However much the forces of a broken world seek to degrade and erode this dignity, we pledge to be among those who will pursue its protection with creativity and dedication. In gratitude for all those like Dr. King, who dream your dreams and pledge their lives to see them come true, even at pain of death, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Gracious God,

Our culture often invites us to adopt a narrow vision of success, driven by self-preservation, self-realization, and self-promotion. Yet these are the buzz words of a lonely existence, with no room for others, over-inflated with self-concern. Help us retain our perspective on the things that matter, that we may be people who share those same things with a world in need: peace and healing, restoration and belonging, love and cooperation. May we find our true selves in service to others, as one human family. Amen.

Prayer

Liberating God,

In the course of a day we are confronted with many events beyond our control. It’s tempting at times to feel helpless and choiceless, like victims of circumstance, pushed here and there and forced to adapt. When this kind of pessimism starts to swell in our hearts, help us to stop—right where we are—and remember the freedom within us. In freedom you made us and in freedom we live! Help us remember especially the power of attitude. And may we choose to stand up as people of hope and optimism, people who embrace the possibility of a better tomorrow while refusing to fall to despair. Amen.

Prayer

Wonderful Creator,

How sad it must make you to craft a day like today, in all its uniqueness, only for us to then drift through its hours and never notice its beauty. The wonders you’ve placed in our paths, the little invitations to be glad for this life, all the colors that blaze in our vision—we often overlook these gifts. As the routines of “adulting” make our senses grow dull, we humbly ask you to fill us with wonder again. Restore to us a joyful expectation, that we will be sure to find signs of your loving attention in the course of our days. For those who are especially downcast, we pray you will bless them with an abundance of rest, that they may open their eyes on a new world tomorrow. Amen.