Prayer

God of Peace,

We are suffering in our culture from a profound weakness that seems to have become habit. Skipping the hard work of real and sincere dialogue, we often settle for childish behavior and foolish arguments. Forgive us and heal us, so that we might be inspired to work together for the renewal of civil discourse. Exhort our hearts and minds to listen carefully to those with whom we disagree. May we extend them the courtesy of believing they are doing their best to create a meaningful future; and may we all believe, once again, that it is worth creating that future together. By your grace we pray, Amen.

Prayer

God of Light,

In your word you have taught us to let our light shine for all the world to see. With so much happening in our world today, we are sometimes tempted to shy away from letting our light shine too brightly, perhaps because we’re afraid of the consequences. However, with your encouragement and love, we come to realize the goodness that our light does for those around us, and how ultimately it brings others to you. Help us to be light in our world by shining forth your love to all. Amen.

Prayer

God of integrity,

We are people of conscience and conviction who strive to live out our values every day. The values we hold as a ministry give us a shared orientation and keep us focused on the way are serving our patients, families, and communities, even as we attend to so many details, policies and procedures along the way. Help us remember that, in our words and deeds and the ways we perform even seemingly menial tasks, we are being invited to become who we profess ourselves to be. In service to your mission, we pray. Amen.

Prayer

Ever listening God,

It is a comfort to know that your heart is ever turned our direction, and that we can always come to you with our hopes and fears, joys and worries, and you care for us. Inspire us to become more like you in the way we treat one another. May we put as much energy and devotion into listening to what others have to say as we put into expressing ourselves. As a ministry in service to others, let us be a healing and listening presence within our communities, especially for the sake of those whose voices are so often neglected or marginalized. Amen.

Prayer

Compassionate Creator,

Our mission calls us to extend your compassion and to bring good help to the world we share and with others. As we strive to do so, show us how we can enjoy and extend more of the abundant life you came to share with us, especially in the way we care for creation. May we commit to “choose life” in our daily decisions, learning how to show your compassion to the environments we inhabit and depend upon. With gratitude and hope, we pray you would use us to restore this beautiful, fragile planet. Amen.

Prayer

Guiding Truth,

We have been blessed as a ministry with a rich tradition of moral teaching and ethical guidance to help us live out our mission faithfully. Yet still we appreciate that, at the end of the day, it is up to each one of us individually to do the hard work of informing our consciences and to follow them with conviction. So then encourage us, no matter our background, to avoid the superficiality of a pack mentality, and to pursue our consciences faithfully and humbly. May we trust you always to lead us aright, should ever we go astray. Amen.

Prayer

Liberating Love,

We pause today to remember all those who made such incredible sacrifices on behalf of their country. We know that, because of their service, we are able to enjoy the blessing of freedom today. And so with hearts full of gratitude, inspire us to pursue our own civic responsibilities with seriousness, commitment, and especially with humility. We pray for our nation, that we might honor those gone before us by insisting we collaborate and cooperate better, for the sake of the common good, and to provide a witness to the watching world of what it looks like to treat freedom responsibly. Amen.