Prayers

Respect for Life ©WLP

God of life and love,
you created us in your image
and sent your Son to bring us life.
Instill in us a respect for all life, from conception to natural death.
Empower us to work for justice for the poor.
Nourish us that we may bring food to the hungry.
Inspire us to cherish
the fragile life of the unborn.
Strengthen us to bring comfort to the chronically ill.
Teach us to treat the aging with dignity and respect.
Bring us one day
into the glory of everlasting life.
We ask this
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglected.

Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows.

Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken.

Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly;

So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color.

Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbors.

And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbors.

Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers

to surround us with beauty.

 And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven.

Amen.