Prayer

God of laughter and joy,

Laughter is so liberating! Yet we often feel cramped by our worries and cares, and it looks like people around us are, too. We see people each day who need a new taste of freedom after so much exhaustion, pain, and anxiety. For these especially, let something hilarious be given to them today, to lift up their hearts and brighten their eyes. Let laughter give way to a new zest for life, work, and play, as if new possibilities were now open before us. Let it be so, Amen.

Prayer

Merciful God,

Genuine mercy means compassion in action. It is moved less by pity for others and more from a heart of deep hospitality, eager to embrace those in need, without self-regard or concern for a “thank you.” As we remember the ways you have received us, again and again, and have pardoned so many of our wrongs, we pray that we would have hearts full of mercy towards others, emptied of judgment while abounding in love. Amen.

Prayer

God who calls,

Pursuing our calling is hardly, if ever, a straight line. In various times and seasons, we all stop and wonder precisely what we are doing and why we are doing it. Help us have patience, with ourselves and with you. Give us conviction to believe we can never go wrong if we listen keenly to you and the people you send to speak into our hearts. Free us, especially, to listen to what our lives are in fact saying, about who we are becoming and where we are headed, that we may find the courage to grow and mature in the ways that we should. Amen.

Prayer

God over all,

Every day in our world, aggressors go to war with indiscriminate violence, policies are enacted to privilege the few, and families are divided for often spurious reasons. Always it’s the children who suffer the pain of these disruptive decisions, which they have no part in. We hurt for their hurts, but this is not enough. Inspire us to advocate for the young, working to protect their freedom to grow, surrounded by love, belonging, and safety. Guide us in this most important work. In our families, our neighborhoods, and our world, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Author of life,

Today, at the break of day, we celebrate the awesome good news! The Author of Life, who breathed our air and walked in our shoes, dwelt among us and shared both our life and our death, still breathes today, on the other side of death! What an incredible thought, which we are right to cherish and draw strength from, today of all days. Death has been trampled by life. Let all who feel burdened by death have hope. Amen!

Prayer

God of Light,

This Easter weekend fills us with wonder and joy, as we celebrate life’s renewal and the present hope of resurrection. Many have been waiting so long for signs of new life. There are those who are hurting and others who grow weary in the wait. We pray for them and ask that the miracle of your marvelous light, bursting forth from the darkness today, will stand as a sign for them that death shall not have the last word. Fill each one of us with such hope that a world so often in darkness will be filled with light. Amen.

Prayer

Liberating God,

You show us each day and in so many ways that you are not far from our suffering. Rather you are close to the broken-hearted and draw near to those who are wounded by unjust oppression. As our Jewish colleagues enter their Passover feast, and as Christians embrace this Good Friday, we are all filled with wonder at the way your compassion for humanity becomes liberation. You freed a people enslaved and still do today, showing us how compassionate love can do miraculous things. Help us embody and extend that same love, extending your liberating compassion to others in need. In your name we pray, Amen.