Icall the community into a time of prayer. Teacher, we are often worried and upset about many things when only one thing is needed. Show us how to choose what is better, even if that means that dinner will be a little late. Sometimes, it is better to sit and listen to a story than to keep to a schedule. Today, as we sit in freedom and safety, we remember the stories of those around the world who are oppressed, in danger, and without the means to meet their basic needs. We have heard and recall the stories of people displaced from their homes in China due to flooding, and those who have lost loved ones in the typhoon that hit the Philippines earlier this week. We recall the three-month-long story of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, and feel both relief that the leak has been stopped and grief for the damage that has been irrevocably done: to people’s livelihoods, to plants and animals, and to the ocean itself. We pray for justice and peace around the world. We pray that the hungry would be fed. We ask for freedom for all who are oppressed. We request healing and rebirth for this groaning planet. As we remember the stories, we also ask to have the courage to contribute well to the ongoing plotline, writing what good we can manage among the fragmented sentences.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
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