Prayer

Empowering God,

As we celebrate the legacy of U.S. Presidents today and envision the future of the office, we ask for the faith to believe we can transform divisions into unity, rivalries into healthy collaboration, and political distractions into focused attention on what matters most: building up the common good and serving the needs of all, especially those who are weak and vulnerable among us. Amen.

Prayer

God of creation,

Your Word in Scripture reveals that you are just as committed to the whole of creation as you are to the humans you have made in your image. Help us to receive and respond to that message more than we do, that we might live more faithfully within the covenant you have made, not just with us, but with every living creature sharing this planet with us. May we be co-laborers with you, striving to fulfill your promise of shalom across the whole network of life you have established. With gratitude for your great gift of life more abundant, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Forgiving God,

We pray for your help in healing the divisions we face today. All across your family on earth, make us more willing to own up to the wrongs we have committed against each other, to express real sorrow for the hurts we have caused, and then to go further and seek restoration. Between us as persons, among us peoples, and as one family before you, help us advance a spirit of contrition that leads to genuine forgiveness, healing, and wholeness. Amen.

Prayer

God of our breakthroughs,

We confess there are times when we allow our problems to grow out of proportion. Gripped by worry and fear, we wind up feeling stuck and unsure about how to move forward. For all those who are waiting for a breakthrough today, we ask you to give them perspective and empower them to cast their cares upon you. Use us as loving neighbors, to do our part in sharing their burden and helping them find new ways forward. Amen.

Prayer

Compassionate One,

Every day we encounter people carrying tremendous burdens—in mind, body, and spirit. We unite as a ministry in response to those burdens and strive to reveal your great compassion for all those who are suffering or otherwise vulnerable. Today, we ask you to inspire each one of our associates with an even deeper sense of their call to embody compassion, that we might become better caregivers and more understanding of those we have the privilege of serving. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Loving God,

It is an interesting happenstance that Ash Wednesday should fall on the same date as Valentine’s Day this year. Yet in some ways it is also appropriate, for you invite us to a vision of love that stretches us to the very limits of our humanity. The love you have shown us and call us to extend to our neighbors is a love that sees our frailty and weakness and chooses to respond with mercy, goodness, compassion. As your Church remembers the frailty of our humanity and our need for your mercy today, enable us by your spirit to reflect more of your merciful love to others who are weak and weary around us. Amen.

Prayer

God of true progress,

We have good reason to be thankful for the comforts afforded by technological development. Yet we have also seen the way technologies can aggravate existing inequalities while creating new conflicts, depending on how such tools are designed, programmed, and distributed across our society. Help us as a ministry to remain champions of genuine technological progress, insisting that all the gifts of human ingenuity should be used to advance the common good and to improve the quality of life for all people. Amen.