Month: August 2023

This summer’s worship theme has focused on “Seeking Peace Together.” Worship themes have included “Peace with God,” Peace with Self,” and today’s theme “Peace with Others.” When we sing, it is an act of peacemaking as is our practise of praying for the world God loves, the church God calls, and lifting our needs:

God of peace, we bow our hearts before you in prayer for this world that so desperately needs your peace. Here in this corner of the world, our lives are filled with bounty – fresh fruits and vegetables, clean drinking water, meaningful work, homes, and safety in our communities…..

and we are so deeply aware that peace can be fleeting and all the ways control can lead to conflict. Guide us we pray to make the difficult decisions required to be makers and maintainers of peace, in our families, our relationships, our workplaces, our neighbourhoods.

Listening God, we pray for peace of mind, body, and spirit body for those we love

and those whose needs we carry deep in our hearts.

Comfort the grieving

Grant courage to the despairing, the weak, and the struggling

Hold steady the troubled, the conflicted, the worried.

Be bright hope for those anticipating transitions,

new responsibilities, new places of learning or work.

Gentle all fears and light the paths you call us to walk.

May your healing touch and your comfort enfold and

restore the sick to health. We pray for peace within whom we share life aware how our actions can escalate or diffuse conflict. Lord, hear our prayer.

God of peace, we pray that conflicts within our community will be resolved in healthy, life-giving ways. We pray that the divisions and animosity present in our nation be eased; that people would listen well, think clearly, and speak with truth and kindness.

We pray for those in places of violence, that you would calm their fears and shield them from harm. We pray for all affected by raging wildfires – first responders, the displaced, and the weary. We also pray for those with power, that they will work toward the justice that leads to peace.

Holy God, we give thanks that despite our brokenness and the messiness of our own relationships your will is done. Your grace is sufficient. Your grace abounds. You are faithful and good. Bless your church, as we strive to walk in the shoes of peace.

We pray in the name of the Prince of Peace, Amen

Oh God, make me, make us, an instrument of Your Peace
Where there is hatred let me sow Your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord.
And where there is doubt, true faith in you.
Where there is despair, may we be agents of Holy Hope.
Where there is darkness, let us shine Your light.
And where there is sadness, may we be a source of comfort and joy.

O Divine Master grant that we may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive-
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Holy God, make us an instrument of Your Peace.

(adapted from The Prayer of St. Francis)

We give you praise O God for the fact that you call us your children, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you for working in us and through us, calling us to be your hands and feet in this world, in our communities, and in our families. Make us instruments of Your Peace.

God, grant us the ability to see our world through your eyes, mould our hearts with renewed compassion, grant us courage and strength to strive for justice, and in love always strive to see others as Your created children. We praise you for answered prayer, for the gift of life and strength, and for the gift of family, friends, and community. We also commit our needs to you, calling upon you God for healing, for comfort for those who grieve, for your work of grace in all of our lives. God of power, God of love; lead us and guide us by your holy hand.

God, like the Israelites in the wilderness, we too have known Your love,

and experienced Your care and provision.

You invite us to extend that love to the world around us—

to care for others as deeply as we care for ourselves.

And so we bring the needs of our world before You now.

In Your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the many who do not have enough:

enough food to eat, or shelter to keep warm; enough employment, or money to pay their bills;

enough medicine or medical care.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

We also pray for those who have more than enough,

but who still struggle to find meaning and purpose in life;

who indulge in dangerous or self-serving activities to dull their pain or loneliness.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

God, Your grace reaches out to all of us.

You call us to live as citizens of heaven, working together on earth with one heart and mind.

Strengthen us to live in a manner worthy of the Good News we have received,

offering our lives in service of Your kingdom, where the last are first, and the first are last,

and there is grace enough for all.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, Amen.

– Christine Longhurst (adapted)

We give you thanks and praise always, Creator God,

for your love and knowledge surpasses all.

Like a potter at the wheel, you created every part of us,

shaping us in secret, in the hidden depths.

You read our inmost thoughts and desires and keep your hand upon us.

You know us by name and have claimed us as your own.

You are familiar with all of our ways,

our greatest joys and our deepest pain.

You know our dreams and our hopes.

You know what causes us to stumble or stray.

Your desire for our flourishing is steadfast.

Still, your hand of blessing and healing is upon us.

May your hand of blessing rest upon and uphold

those whose needs we know

and those whose needs are tucked deep in their hearts.

Be comfort for the grieving,

strength for the weary.

Lead the wandering by your hand of grace.

Surround the despairing, the lonely, the isolated with your joy and hope.

Fill our hearts, our homes,

our country, and your world with your peace.

As we soak in these summer days,

we pray for safety for summer travellers,

restoration that comes with vacation time,

meaningful times of fellowship

and delight in all the flavours and bounty of this season.

Loving and creative God, make us the people you want us to be.

May we follow in the path of Jesus each day

and proclaim your love in all that we say and do.

We pray in the strong name of Jesus. Amen