"Prayers of the Community"

A Prayer by Tom Little
December 13th, 2009

 

O Wondrous One, bringer of Peace and Light,
Be with us now as we come before you,
Humbly beseeching you to awaken us to your deep embrace
and guiding love.

 

Receive our prayers, O Lord, to help us care for one another,
and keep our feet upon the path you’ve laid before us.

 

Watchful and caring God, give us Wisdom, that we may not stray far from you,
as we’re pulled and pushed from all sides,
tempted to venture down fruitless avenues and dead-end streets,
in this chock-a-block world of delights and sorrows.

 

Help us still our hearts in this time of busyness, Lord,
To discern your true message.
And open our hearts during this season of giving,
Not so much to the quantity of our gifts as to the quality of them.
Help us choose wisely in a world gone mad with materialism and production that is suffocating the very planet we walk upon.

 

And as we celebrate the birth of Christ your son,
Remind us of the value of giving and sharing with those we may not know or see,
but whose need may be greater than those we love.

 

As the Christ child eternally warms our hearts from a cold and windy manger,
may we remember our less fortunate brothers and sisters living on the streets of our city, and those who may have homes but are struggling to make ends meet.

 

We ask: “What should we do?”  Let us remember the simple words of John the Baptist, prophesying the coming of the Messiah: “The man with two coats should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

 

Help us to continue donating blankets, clothing, food, money and time to the organizations that extend God’s love to those in need. Remind us to see the Christ in each and every soul on the street, and help us greet rich and poor with equal grace.

 

Let your gentleness be evident to all.

 

Bless the current Climate Change talks in Copenhagen, Lord, that they may reach a true accord with commitment, and action, to prevent global environmental disaster. Let their be freedom of speech for peaceful demonstrators and restraint from authorities – we pray that no harm comes to those speaking up for Mother Earth.

 

Bless those participating in the Fast for Courage vigil in Copenhagen that is spreading across the world in support of an effective outcome to protect our beautiful, beautiful planet.

 

Bless the social action groups and churches in BC, including our own Reverend Bruce and many of our congregants, who have taken part so far. Move our hearts, O Wise One, to support today’s vigil at 2pm right here at Canadian Memorial. Inspire us to do what we can, even if only to write our Members of Parliament to make sure this important cause remains front and centre.

 

We thank you Lord for the uplifting news of two major renewable energy projects in BC creating enough power to heat and light the homes of 500,000 people:  the Naikun Wind Energy Project involving the Haida Nation off the coast of Haida Gwaii, and the Bear Mountain Wind Park in the Peace River country. And may our native brothers and sisters continue to show us the way back to the Garden.

 

Please comfort those of us attending the Blue Christmas gathering here next Sunday as we search for peace in remembrance of loved ones no longer with us. Bless also our thriving Youth Group, and their leader Dana and her team for reaching out to young ones finding their way in this complicated world.

 

Continue proving to us every day in your mysterious ways, O Lord,  that Christ is our saviour. May our faith continue to be our strength and our song, that we may, with joy, draw water from the wells of salvation.

 

We ask you now to embrace those of us most in need of your love and care, those suffering mental and physical illnesses, tragic loss, and dire circumstances. In particular please comfort the following people: Angela Verbrugge, who started an 8-week series of chemotherapy treatments last week. And Thais Kornder, who is back with us after her knee surgery. And bless Mary Jamison and her son Alan during his current health concerns.

 

Guide us now Lord as we take a minute to pray for those in need:

 

Thank you, O Binder of Wounds, for the light that leads us, and for the words of your son Jesus Christ who taught us to pray:

 

(And now in the words Jesus taught his followers, in an interpretation by Rev. Bruce Sanguin)

 

 
Loving Presence, luminous in all creation,
hallowed be your name.
Thy Kin-dom come.
May we reflect on earth
the yielding perfection of the heavens.

Help us to receive
an illumined measure from the earth this day.
Forgive us when we trespass against others,
human and other-than-human,
as we forgive others who trespass against us.

Keep us on the path of wisdom
when we are tempted to take the selfish path.
May it be your rule we follow,
your power we exercise
and your radiance that allures.

May this be the truth that guides our lives,
the ground from which our future will grow,
until we meet again.

Amen.