In the joy and hope of this Easter morning,
we raise our Alleluias with fullness of heart.
Christ is Risen! Love is stronger than Death!
Alleluia!
In the joy and hope of this Easter morning,
we welcome you, risen Christ into our lives.
We welcome your resurrection for it is
life changing, life giving, and life sustaining.
We welcome the hope it brings to the world.
We welcome the joy that breaks through all darkness.
We welcome the empty tomb
for we know that it means you are alive, amongst us and within us.
In the midst of our Easter morning praise and hymns,
we know there are those who are bewildered and sad.
We pray for those who suffer from anxiety, loneliness, and fear.
We pray for all who stand in need of healing, hope, and wholeness and those whose needs we carry deep in our hearts …………..
We give thanks for your healing grace and celebrate. We pray for deep measures of comfort and patience amidst many adjustments.
Hear our prayers for our loved ones in long term care and families providing support safely distanced.
We pray for our Households of Faith. We pray that your love and grace will surround each one and that their lives will be filled with peace and deep joy.
We pray for those places and peoples in our world
where death and domination rule,
where imperial powers ignore the poor,
where war never ends,
where covid infections continue to rise
where children are hungry,
where parents grieve because they cannot provide,
where violence rages and death abounds senselessly.
We pray for those held hostage to addiction and chronic illness that debilitates.
In the joy and hope of this Easter morning,
we realize the depth and breadth of what it means
to be your Easter people.
For we are the ones who are called
to go into the places in our lives and world
to work for justice and life for all in your Creation.
It is up to us to bear witness to the promise of resurrection,
to hold those in despair,
and believe for them,
that Love is stronger than death.
In the joy and hope of this Easter morning, O God,
give us the courage to bear witness to and share your living Love
in every corner of our lives,
so that your peaceable realm will be so,
here on earth, as it is in heaven.
In the name of the Risen Christ, we pray,
Alleluia! Amen.