Prayers of the Community

By Rev. Bruce Sanguin
Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003

Awesome God,
author of the shocking news,
that life, not death is ultimate,
we thank you this Easter morn
that our joy is not in vain,
that death no longer reigns nor mocks our hopes and passions,
and so you liberate us to unreservedly, extravagantly celebrate.

We celebrate hidden easter eggs, blue and green, and chocolate ones,
and the joy of discovery on the faces of our children,
We celebrate babies, foreheads wet with the waters of baptism,
a sign that they belong to this new Order of Love,
which they will now have a part in ushering in..

We celebrate pink camellias, and white dogwood,
and leaping greenly trees,
glistening with rain,
and oxygen to fill our lungs,
and lungs to capture air,
and bodies to feel alive in,
and express our ecstasy.

We celebrate this gathering where prayer is valid,
where organ and violins and cellos and voices unite,
in holy hallelujahs,
and just try to silence us,
whose gratitude that Jesus Christ is Risen today,
raises rafters that you raise the dead.

We prayer for this planet we love,
this jewel of life, our home, our mother,
We pray that humankind might be initiated into its sacred story,
and learn to walk gently upon her.
We pray for the nations of this planet,
That we might learn to live peaceably with one another,
And that we will collectively lose our fascination with all weapons,
And the perverse benefits of wealth and power they enable.

We pray for our leaders, that they might have the courage,
to serve with conscience and compassion,
and be lead by visions large enough to include all people.

We now listen as we hear the prayer Jesus taught us to pray,
Sung on our behalf.