



God, sometimes all I have to pray with is my breath.
Sometimes, all I have to pray with is my heart.
All I have to pray with is my emptiness
Before thoughts of "better take the trash out"
and "I cannot believe We've had ANOTHER shooting"
Fill up my mind and
Threaten to bring me out of my prayer.
And then I remember
All of my actions are prayers too.
"Take the trash out" is a prayer of thankfulness for the love I have.
"I cannot believe we've had another shooting" is a commandment from You to
do. something. about. it.
Use our breath, God.
Use our emptiness too.
Use our fears and words and actions.
Help us to prepare a way in the wilderness
That we might bear witness to the miracle of you in our midst.
Amen.
prayer by Alex McNeill, executive director of More Light Presbyterians
God of Life,
The earth belongs to you, and we are your people.
We come, acknowledging how much we need your grace
in a world where there is so much violence and greed.
We long for the living water that refreshes and gives life.
Seeking justice and praying for peace,
you are our hope and our strength.
We open our hearts to you.
† Amen
God of our mourning, our weeping, our sighs too deep for words
You share our joys and crushing sorrows,
you hear the cries of the afflicted,
you fill the hungry, and you set free the oppressed,
We pray for the end to all injustice.
Inspire us with your all embracing love,
challenge us with your radical love,
empower us with your transforming love,
that we and all God’s children may live and be free
† Amen

Seasonal Prayer

He came singing love
and he lived singing love;
he died singing love.
He arose in silence.
For the love to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
He came singing peace
and he lived singing peace;
he died singing peace.
He arose in silence.
For the peace to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
~ Colin Gibson

Creator God,
As we stand on the threshold of a new year, we are mindful that we do not know what the future holds, but we do know that you will be with us as we navigate through it. Therefore, we come to acknowledge your love and leadership, your grace and your power - all of which are available to us - whatever the times ahead may bring.
† Amen.
Breathe in the breath of God
Breathe out your cares and concerns
Breathe in the love of God
Breathe out your doubts and despairs
Breathe in the grace of God
Breathe out your fears and frustrations
Breathe in the breath of God
Breathe out your tensions and turmoil
Breathe in the love of God
Breathe out your haste and hurry
Breathe in the grace of God
Breathe out your waste and worry
Sit quietly before the Creator who gives life and love to all creation
Sit in adoration before the Son who redeems us from all our sins
Sit in peace filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit who renews every fiber of our being
Sit in awe before the Glory of the One God: Creator, Savior and Holy Spirit
Once again, Holy One, we cry, how long, O Lord?
We wonder, when will it be enough?
We pray you will forgive our society which tolerates violence,
Our fearful xenophobia, and our willingness to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear
to words and deeds of intolerance aimed at those “others” we fear are not like us.
The same lifeblood—the gift of a loving God—flows through all our veins,
and spills out without regard to difference,
staining the floors our places of fellowship, community, and learning.
staining our lives with sorrow, fear and regret.
Let the same heart beat as one among us,
that we will draw together across these false divides,
And rise up as one to breathe peace where there is no peace,
and heal our communities and our world.
God of life, whose presence sustains us in every circumstance,
As the sound of gunfire echoes across Orlando
we seek the grounding power of your love and compassion.
We open our hearts in anger, sorrow and hope for those who have been lost:
brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends
Your children, enjoying an evening of music and friendship,
Whose lives were ended or maimed in a hail of hatred and gunfire
We pray for those who have been spared and those whose lives are changed forever
that they may find solace, sustenance, and strength in the hard days to come.
In the name of Christ, our healer and our Light, we pray, Amen.
Exerpt from a prayer written by the Rev. Laurie Ann Kraus. PCUSA
Seasonal Prayer
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine:
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a prayer that peace transcends in every place;
and yet I pray for my beloved country --
the reassurance of continued grace:
Lord, help us find our one-ness in the Savior,
in spite of differences of age and race.
May truth and freedom come to every nation;
may peace abound where strife has raged so long;
that each may seek to love and build together,
a world united, righting every wrong;
a world united in its love for freedom,
proclaiming peace together in one song.
"This is My Song", lyrics by Lloyd Stone and Georgia Harkness

You, darkness, of whom I am born–
I love you more that the flame
that limits the world
to the circle it illuminates
and excludes all the rest.
But the dark embraces everything:
shapes and shadows, creatures and me,
people, nations–just as they are.
It lets me imagine
a great presence stirring beside me.
I believe in the night.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke
God of our mourning, our weeping, our sighs too deep for words
You share our joys and crushing sorrows,
you hear the cries of the afflicted,
you fill the hungry, and you set free the oppressed,
We pray for the end to all injustice.
We pray for lives of those lost in a racist act of terrorism at Mother Emmanuel AME:
Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance,
Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor,
The Honorable Rev. Clementa Pickney,
Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Daniel Simmons
Sr. Rev. Sharonda Singleton, and Myra Thompson.
We pray for the members of Mother Emmanuel,
and the community in Charleston, SC.
Inspire us with the all embracing love of God ,
challenge us with the radical love of of Jesus,
empower us with the transforming love of the Spirit,
that we and all God’s children may live and be free
† Amen


Creator God,
As we stand on the threshold of a new year,
we are mindful that we do not know what the future holds,
but we do know that you will be with us as we navigate through it.
Therefore, we come to acknowledge your love and leadership,
your grace and your power
- all of which are available to us -
whatever the times ahead may bring.
† Amen.

As Jesus was born into poverty with “no room in the inn,”
we stand with people who are poor or homeless.
As Jesus was a refugee, whose family fled violence in their homeland,
we stand with people who are refugees and immigrants.
As Jesus respected women and honored their leadership and intellect,
we respect and honor all persons, regardless of gender or orientation.
As Jesus reached across divisions of race, color, and creed to welcome all,
we also seek to “love our neighbor” and advocate for justice.
As Jesus welcomed children and blessed them,
we affirm our care for all God’s children
and their right to education, equality, and care.
As Jesus was “The Prince of Peace”
who told his disciples to put down their swords,
we stand against violence and bullying and commit to being makers of peace.
As Jesus looked to the lilies of the field
and the birds of the air to speak of God’s love,
we regard all creation not as a resource to be exploited,
but as a sacred gift of the Creator to be shared wisely and used justly.
As people of faith in this season and all seasons, we recommit ourselves to Love God. Love Neighbor. Love Creation.
† Amen
Source: Statement of United Church of Santa Fe

Gracious God, Lent is a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch out before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.
† Amen

Gracious God,
My soul cries out to thee, O Lord. Out of the depths do I cry.
The injustice of this world is crippling. It is paralyzing.
When I ponder for a moment the injustice and cruelty that people are capable, it causes me to tremble.
Tremble.
Tremble.
I seek no quick fixes or easy answers.
I seek only comfort and a promise
that this is not the end of the story.
As we are baptized into the death of Christ,
give us the grace of repentance
that we may pass through the grave with him
and be born again into eternal life.
For he is the One who was crucified, dead and buried,
and rose again for us, Jesus our Savior.
† Amen

He came singing love
and he lived singing love;
he died singing love.
He arose in silence.
For the love to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
He came singing peace
and he lived singing peace;
he died singing peace.
He arose in silence.
For the peace to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
~ Colin Gibson
Breathe in the breath of God
Breathe out your cares and concerns
Breathe in the love of God
Breathe out your doubts and despairs
Breathe in the grace of God
Breathe out your fears and frustrations
Breathe in the breath of God
Breathe out your tensions and turmoil
Breathe in the love of God
Breathe out your haste and hurry
Breathe in the grace of God
Breathe out your waste and worry
Sit quietly before the Creator who gives life and love to all creation
Sit in adoration before the Son who redeems us from all our sins
Sit in peace filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit who renews every fiber of our being
Sit in awe before the Glory of the One God: Creator, Savior and Holy Spirit

Wondrous God,
lover of lion and lizard,
cedar and cactus,
raindrop and river,
we praise You for the splendor of the world!
We thank You, that woven throughout the tapestry of earth
are the varied threads of human diversity.
Created in Your image, we are of many colors and cultures,
ages and classes,
gender and sexual identities.
Different and alike, we are Your beloved people.
Free us, we pray, from fears of difference that divide and wound us.
Move us to dismantle our attitudes and systems of prejudice.
Renew our commitment to make this a household of faith for all people
– gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and straight –
that all who worship and minister here
may know the grace and challenge of faith.
In our life together, grant us minds and hearts
eager to learn, reluctant to judge, and
responsive to the leading of Your loving Spirit.
We ask in Christ’s name,
Amen.
Written by Rev. Ann B. Day
Program Coordinator, Open and Affirming Program
of the United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns
1987-2007

God of justice, who sees into the hearts of all,
your Light outshines the feeble flicker of the torches of hatred
your goodness is greater than evil,
your love compels us to break the silence, to speak the truth
and to confess our sin.
With the prophet Isaiah we cry out—
“Woe is me, for I am lost!
For I have unclean lips
And dwell among a people of unclean lips.”
In the face of this continuing unraveling of the fabric of our common life
May our ears be closed to the ugly diatribes of racists and the weak excuses of the fearful
May we have ears to hear the stories of our neighbors of color
the respect to wait and listen as each story is told in its own voice
May we find the courage to acknowledge our privilege
and our complicity in the evils of racism,
and not to cease our striving for equality until justice rolls down like waters.
Our shoulders are bowed beneath the weight of our sorrow,
Our hands reach out to grasp a justice that seems illusory
Our hearts cry for a peace that seems so far off.
Our voices are hoarse, thick with tears, as we pray for a way forward for all of your children
A way beyond racism and violence and privilege
For the courage to change our selves and our land
For faith and action that can bind us together.
We pray for our neighbors in Charlottesville— a city set on a hill
grateful for their solidarity and courage in the face of evil
For neighbors of every race, and people of all professions
as they gathered this day to rebuke the powers of evil
We pray for comfort for families that now grieve unbearable losses
For individuals who are wounded and broken in body or spirit
May your Spirit rise with healing in its wings
and bring strength and wholeness to each.
We pray for ourselves, that this hurt will not fade from our minds
before our hearts are broken open with Your passion for justice, mercy and love.
Show up among us in our cities, our neighbors, and our wary, worried hearts
A Stranger without privilege or place
A Justice beyond hope
A Peace that passes understanding--Emmanuel, God with us.
In the name of your broken and resurrected son Jesus, we pray. Amen.
The Rev. Dr. Laurie A. Kraus, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection,starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
Amen.
(Franciscan blessing)
God did not wait till the world was ready, till...the nations were at peace.
God came when the heavens were unsteady, and prisoners cried out for release.
God did not wait for the perfect time. God came when the need was deep and great.
God dined with sinners in all their grime, turned water into wine. God did not wait
Till hearts were pure. In joy God came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours of anguished shame God came, and god's light would not go out.
God came to a world which did not mesh, to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of Word made Flesh the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait til the world is sane to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain, God came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
"First Coming", by Madeline L'Engle


Gracious God,
My soul cries out to thee, O Lord. Out of the depths do I cry.
The injustice of this world is crippling. It is paralyzing.
When I ponder for a moment the injustice and cruelty that people are capable, it causes me to tremble.
Tremble.
Tremble.
I seek no quick fixes or easy answers.
I seek only comfort and a promise
that this is not the end of the story.
As we are baptized into the death of Christ,
give us the grace of repentance
that we may pass through the grave with him
and be born again into eternal life.
For he is the One who was crucified, dead and buried,
and rose again for us, Jesus our Savior.
† Amen
Creator of our risen Lord,
Help us to remember, when they try to bury us,
That we are seeds.
† Amen


God of all time and seasons, how quickly the year spins by, and we are caught unprepared for your Advent. We are still recovering from Thanksgiving or the latest crisis or the long list of things to do. The demands on our time seem unending, the tasks seem overwhelming, and our energy is draining. Holy God, sing to us in the stillness of this moment; speak to us in the depths of our hearts. Let there be a space for you in the midst of all the hurry and rush -- a holy, inner place that cherishes silence and song, that keeps a candle lit and a manger ready. God of all time and seasons, create in us a place for your birth. Amen.

Creator God,
As we stand on the threshold of a new year,
we are mindful that we do not know what the future holds,
but we do know that you will be with us as we navigate through it.
Therefore, we come to acknowledge your love and leadership,
your grace and your power
- all of which are available to us -
whatever the times ahead may bring.
† Amen.


Wondrous God,
lover of lion and lizard,
cedar and cactus,
raindrop and river,
we praise You for the splendor of the world!
We thank You, that woven throughout the tapestry of earth
are the varied threads of human diversity.
Created in Your image, we are of many colors and cultures,
ages and classes,
gender and sexual identities.
Different and alike, we are Your beloved people.
Free us, we pray, from fears of difference that divide and wound us.
Move us to dismantle our attitudes and systems of prejudice.
Renew our commitment to make this a household of faith for all people
– gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and straight –
that all who worship and minister here
may know the grace and challenge of faith.
In our life together, grant us minds and hearts
eager to learn, reluctant to judge, and
responsive to the leading of Your loving Spirit.
We ask in Christ’s name,
Amen.
Written by Rev. Ann B. Day
Program Coordinator, Open and Affirming Program
of the United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns
1987-2007
Seasonal Prayer Archive

Gracious God, Lent is a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch out before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.
† Amen
God of our ancestors, you were their help in ages past. There is no other to whom we can turn. We ask you, Lord, to stay our hearts on this thought, in the midst of our fleeting and hectic hours. In you, there is no shadow of turning; over all our change, you have watched unchanged. Open our eyes to your everlasting presence now, that we may together be still and know that you are God. Amen.
God of all time and seasons, how quickly the year spins by, and we are caught unprepared for your Advent. We are still recovering from Thanksgiving or the latest crisis or the long list of things to do. The demands on our time seem unending, the tasks seem overwhelming, and our energy is draining. Holy God, sing to us in the stillness of this moment; speak to us in the depths of our hearts. Let there be a space for you in the midst of all the hurry and rush -- a holy, inner place that cherishes silence and song, that keeps a candle lit and a manger ready. God of all time and seasons, create in us a place for your birth.
Amen.

“We are all temporarily not dirt.”
The elements in your body are made from stardust
calcium and iron, mixed with marrow and sinew
stretched just like that God-child with skin
that one day will again, become dust.
Blessings on the cosmic dust
Of all creation from which we come and into which we will return,
and in the meantime,
blessings on the dust in which you journey,
blessings on the dust that you will shake off your feet,
blessings on the dust that smudges foreheads and hands in ancient days,
and on this day,
bear this holy dust mark knowing you are not alone,
you are all made from the same dust
that busted forth at the birthplace of creation,
and you belong, in life and in death, to the one who calls you beloved.
You belong to God.
† Amen.
~Reverend Shawna Bowman

Prayer for a Pandemic
May we who are merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have flexibility to care for our children when their schools close
Remember those who have no options.
May we wh have to cancel our trips
Remember those who have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the econominc market
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at hime
Rmember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country,
Let us choose love during this time.
When we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be
the Loving Embrace of God to our neighbor.
Amen.
~Cameron Wiggins Bellm

“I am the Lord of Love, The Lord of Peace”
I am the one who is moving gently – leading, drawing on into all that is new and good and lovely
All that I have for you is good – All that you need is available now.
Do not rush – do not fret – do not panic. Just rest and wait – and wait and rest.
Let the water flow on – carrying you.
Leave it all to me for I am the God who comes gently to you.
I am the Lord who loves you deeply.
I died – I went through Gethsemane for you.
How can I lead you into death now?
No.
I am the Lord of life and I lead you on.
Into new and wonderfully green pastures.
There is no need to struggle any more. Just step on gently – in my love.
I have you by the hand – I am not rushing you.
We will go together into tomorrow and all the tomorrows.
I am with you.
Trust me for I cannot let you go.”
~Sr. Joan Keogh, SM, 1994, Mercy Center, Burlingame, CA

Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,
ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies;
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us.
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on, till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died
Yet, with a steady beat, have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our parents sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered;
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by thy might led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Les our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee;
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee;
Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.
James Weldon Johnson
a.k.a "The Black National Anthem"

Christ our Advent hope,
remind us to prepare for your coming;
remind us to prepare for this time
when the soles of your feet touch the ground,
when you will become one of us to be one with us.
May we watch for the signs, listen for the messengers,
wait for the good news to slip into our world, our lives.
Christ our Advent hope,
help us to clear the way for you;
to clear the clutter from our minds,
to sift the silt from our hearts,
to move the boulders that prevent us meeting you.
May sorrow take flight,
and your people sing a song of peace and hope be born again.
Amen.
~ Kate McIlhagga

God,
You once tore open the heavens and descended as a dove upon Jesus and a dirty river full of repentant people.
I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but now would be a good time to tear open heaven and send down that dove again.
Send your Holy Spirit to stir up repentance in your people:
Who would rather double down than admit we were wrong
Who fill with pride at being one of the few who “know the real truth”
Who only manage to point to others and never ourselves,
(and are maybe a tiny bit grateful for the obvious, overt racism, violence and xenophobia of others since it conveniently takes the spotlight off of our own.)
I pray that you send your Holy Spirit comfort your people:
Who are grieving our dead.
Whose rightful rage might be corroding the edges of our hearts – (because those hearts are still needed elsewhere)
Who have had to break up with abusers or draw boundaries with unstable people in the past and know in our bodies how ugly this all gets
Who have joyous news they feel they cannot share
Who are trying (and failing) to still love those who voted differently than themselves
Who literally or figuratively find themselves (yet again) sweeping up the detritus of others’ racism, violence, and ignorance
Send down that dove, Lord, but help us look to the needs of our neighbor and not to the escape hatch of heaven to find her.
Amen.
Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber
January 10, 2021


God of Peace and Justice,
You love all your children who dwell on earth.
Have mercy we pray, on those who now suffer the miseries of a war not of their own making.
Have compassion on the wounded and dying; comfort the broken-hearted; confound the hatred of those who make war; guide our governments, bring war to an end, bring peace across the world.
We hold before you all who live close to the war and conflict:
Soldiers in battle
Mothers in despair
Fathers in disarray
Children in dread of the sirens and sounds that signal violence and destruction.
Young adults.
Older citizens.
Family members.
Friends.
Co-workers.
Colleagues.
Counsel them. Speak to them in the way that only you can, comfort them with the hope of peace, guide them towards justice.
We pray for leaders of all countries involved in this war, we ask you to transform the mind and touch their hearts. Cause all those who govern, especially those in Russia and Ukraine, to seek to lead in the way of Peace.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Diane Moffet
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Creator God,
We are weary.
We are heartbroken over the loss of more lives,
children dying before they have had a chance to live,
hopes and dreams cut off, and smashed to pieces by gunfire and bullets.
We are tired of excuses.
We are tired of the unwillingness to act.
We are tired of those in power who work to prevent any real change,
and those who say that gun violence can't be reduced.
Our hope and strength needs renewal to continue the fight for justice,
the fight for safe places for our children, for your people.
Send the power of your Holy Spirit.
Turn our sadness into compassion.
Turn our tiredness into advocacy.
Turn our anger into votes.
Turn our compassion into votes.
Turn our complacency into votes.
Turn the hearts of lawmakers to do what needs to be done, what is right, and what is just, rather that what is politically beneficial.
Help us remember that - as if losing 19 babies was not enough -
we also lost their teachers, a grandmother, and a teenager in the carnage.
Help us remember in two weeks, two months, and two years,
when all we seem to be able to do is forget the casualties of violence
over and over and over again.
Use us, work through us and, if necessary,
work in spite of us to mend the brokenness,
and bring your realm of peace to the earth.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett
President & Executive director of Presbyterian Mission Agency
Elder Kathryn Quickert
Bethany Presbyterian Church
