Thank you to all who have contributed prayers for this occasion.
Prayers for the Vigil for Reconciliation and Peace
June 18-19, 2010
“The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Ps. 19:8
Holy God, open our eyes to a fresh vision for a peaceful world along with the will to seek alternatives to revenge and violence. Awaken in us compassion for the victims of war: soldiers of all nations, grieving families, civilians, the wounded creation. Open wide the eyes of world leaders, especially in our own country, to see a path toward peace in Iraq, Afghanistan and in all conflicts that tear apart the one human family. Grant us eyes wide open to peace. Amen.
“For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Holy One: Give us wisdom and courage to discern how nonviolent resistence in the midst of those conflicts which so divide our hearts and minds, wounding the one human family, may at length, for us as for Your Son, become an instrument of Your Love, Your Peace, Your Wholeness. Amen.
“What does the Lord requeire of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your god.” Micah 6:8
Eternal God, whose Spirit extends to the ends of the earth and to the depths of our souls, unfasten our ties to the idols that enslave us and enlighten our minds to know which things are truly needful, that our hands may mold justice, our hearts give birth to mercy and our lives follow the path our Master walks. Amen.
“Go and be reconciled with your brother or sister first, and then come back and present your offering.” Matt. 5:24
Loving God, guide us this day to lay down our stones, that they may serve as a pathway to our adversaries. Grant us courage to step forward on the path of love, to engage with respect, and to strive for justice and peace in ways that create the foundation for genuine reconciliation. Amen.
“The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Ps. 51:18
As we kneel in Vigil, dear Jesus, we pray that, like the first disciples, we may receive ‘the peace of god that filled their hearts brimful…and broke them, too.’ Give us the gift of broken hearts and troubled spirits. Comfort us in our strife, bind us with your love, and grant us the joy of the mind of Christ. We pray, above all, for ‘the marvelous peace of God.’ Amen.
Submitted by Dr. Linda Gaither, Chair
Episcopal Peace Fellowship National Executive Council
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Gracious God,
Thank you for the gift of the Rev. Jay Magness to the lives of those whom he serves and those whom he leads.
May Jay lead with the grace, joy and skill that he showered on the people of the Diocese of Kentucky while he was Canon to the Ordinary.
Bless Jay’s ministry and may it flourish and grow as he moves into new challenges and responsibilities.
May Jay, his wife Carolyn, and their family feel your loving presence before, during, and after his consecration.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Debbi Rodahaffer
Director of Christian Education
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Louisville, KY
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With the Episcopal Peace Fellowship and the Community of the Cross of Nails, I join my fervent prayers for peace in the world and in each of our hearts. Faithful to our Lord of Peace, may Bishop James Magness, and all who work with him bring support to those serving in the Armed Forces, wherever they may be. May they encourage and sustain all those working wih veterans. May they bring enlightenment and reconciliation to all those involved in our prison system. And may they bring comfort to the families of members of the armed forces, veterans, and those in prison environments. May they live out our call to Christian unity, in fruitful ecumenical work with those of other churches and interfaith work with those of other faiths. May their service also reach persons not now affiliated with a religious faith, shining forth Christ’s light to all.
The Rev. Joanne Coyle Dauphin, Deacon
American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
Paris, Ecumenical Delegate
Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
God of grace and love, we give you thanks for calling Jay Magness to
serve your church as Bishop Suffragan of Federal Ministries: We
beseech you to send your Holy Spirit upon your servant, pouring out
upon him the gifts that this ministry will require, equipping him to
be an instrument of your peace and a conduit of your grace; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the same Spirit lives and
reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
God’s Peace,
Matt Bradley
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Holy One, Creator, you are the source of life. Jesus, word, you are the way of hope and love. Holy Spirit, sustainer, you are the fount of wisdom, the bond of unity.
You call us to be your people, Help us witness the Gospel of peace.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
We pray for our own nation — the goodness of its people, the burden of its power.
We pray for our leaders and elected representatives
We pray for the church, and deacons, priests, and bishops.
We pray for the congregation of Saint Mary’s.
We pray for those who serve the common good: firefighters, police, teachers, health care providers, and those serving in the military.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
We beg your forgiveness for our violence.
Help us to renounce torture and murder committed in our name.
Help us to stop demonizing those with whom we disagree.
Forgive us for not sharing the blessings of our prosperity.
Heal us of our moral blindness.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
We pray for the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Haiti.
We pray for the Taliban, and those that create fear.
We pray for the innocent who have died in terror.
We pray for those that live in fear, poverty, and suffering.
We pray for our sisters and brothers whose lives are broken by violence;
We pray that we may heal and preserve them.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
Creator, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children
Give us calm strength, patience and wisdom as we nurture them.
Give us passion to care for and educate all children throughout your creation.
Give us compassion to share our resources with children.
We pray that they might experience us as friends and family.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
Strengthen us to seek wholeness in a fractured world.
Empower us to engage in nonviolent action.
Give us vision to reach for reconciliation rather than revenge.
Give us wisdom to pursue nonviolence to resolve the violence of our lives.
Give us courage to interfere with the madness of militarism and war.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
We accept your call to participate in healing your creation:
To bring light to those living in darkness.
To bring hope to those living in despair.
To bring health to the broken, the disadvantaged, the marginalized.
To bring peace to a divided world.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
Gracious God, after the resurrection Jesus bestowed upon the disciples the gift of Peace, by proclaiming ‘My peace I leave with you, my Peace I give to you.’
Inspire us with that hope in the gift of Peace, the gift of wholeness and the promise of your presence. Creator, Holy One, God of our ancestors, send peace in our time, for our hearts, for our land, for all of your creation.
Together we pray: O God, hear us, hear our prayer.
The Rev. Rex McKee, Minneapolis, MN
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Holy God: We are all longing for peace. May the ministry of our new bishop bring us ever closer to our goal of peace for all humankind.
Ruth Hooke,
Amherst MA EPF
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God of power and might
God who calls to us in a still, small voice,
Keep us always in your embrace, cradle us beside the ones we call our enemies.
Help us to forgive and be forgiven.
Give us the reassurance and love of each other to remind us that we are marked as Christ’s own.
Visit us as we rest and bestow Your gifts of joy and peace upon us even as we sleep, so that when we wake we will know Your presence like a lingering dream.
For You are the One from whom we draw our very being. You are the One we love with all our heart and soul. We belong to You. Amen
From Bonnie Anderson, D.D. President, The House of Deputies
A Litany in Favor of Peace
We pray for nations and their leaders;
for adults and young people and generations still to come;
for our enemies and our allies and for ourselves.
Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
Help us imagine your vision of peace. Give us courage to pursue it, and grace to accomplish it.
May we strive for its fulfillment in our world and in our time.
Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
Enable Christians to believe that the cross of Jesus discredits violence, that the resurrection breaks its power.
May we rely on your Spirit of holiness to live new and different lives. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
Help us to acknowledge and heal our wounds, to resolve buried grievances, to recognize that in the face of guilt, grace and forgiveness can abound.
Make us passionate for reconciliation. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
Purge from us fearfulness and hardness of heart.
Replace rivalry with collaboration that people everywhere may enjoy justice and prosperity. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
May we dismiss no human death as collateral damage. May we recognize how our republic often acts as an empire.
May we lament how every weapon built represents theft from the poor. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
May we mourn the failures that surround every war. Help us console the injured and the grieving.
Enable us to build the best memorial to the dead by learning to live without war. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
Open our eyes that we may see enemiesas people like ourselves,as people that you love.
May we recognize their brokenness and our own. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
Inspire us to build friendships across every boundary. Show us how to welcome the stranger and accept the stranger’s welcome.
Help us not to fear people made in your image. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
May we recognize and teach one another ways of reconciliation and justice. May they enjoy a central place in the curriculum of our culture and in schools of every kind.
Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
Deliver us from reliance on gods of metal.
Abolish the arsenals. Redeploy the defense contractors.
Eliminate the standing armies. Turn military bases into parks and schools and hospitals. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
May planes drop food upon hungry populations. May ships bring supplies for the devastated.
May the young and the strong learn to serve the weak and the disadvantaged.
May troops from diverse nations unite in projects more rewarding than war. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
May we make costly decisions to associate with the suffering and resist injustice in nonviolent ways.
May we shatter the insolence of aggressors and point them to a better life. Fill our undefended hearts with warrior courage. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
In the labor of conforming our lives and our society to your will, let us never surrender to despair.
And so we implore from you a continuing change of heart for ourselves and for one another. Free us all from bondage to violence.
Hear our prayer, O God of peace.
The Rev. Charles Hoffacker
St. Christopher’s, New Carrollton, MD
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Holy One, our world is a fleeting thing. We too often believe in it, and our ability to control it, more than we do in You. When we do this, any victories we have are ultimately empty. We know you desire peace for us, peace not as the world gives, but a peace that passes all understanding. We pray for that peace, and most of all that we might have eyes to see it, ears to hear it, a will to move toward it, even when that is not easy or popular. We pray for our brother, James Magness, that as he enters this new vocation as bishop, he may be one that carries that peace to those who serve us, on the front lines, in places it is too easy for us to forget. And may we be empowered to be fully present to them, and to not forget, the sacrifices they make, and the orders they carry out, on our behalf, whether we agree or not, whether they agree or not. May our brother know your strength and know your peace. In the name of Jesus, who was, and is, and forever will be that peace. Amen.
The Rt. Rev. Gregory H. Rickel Bishop of Olympia
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+ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt. 5:8)
+For Clergy and People
Almighty and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our bishops and other clergy, and upon the congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace: and, that they may please tee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, o Lord, for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen (from the Alternate Service Book 1980 of the Church of England.)
+Isaiah 32:17 + 18
“The effect of righteousness will be peace and the result of righteousness quietness and trust forever.”
+ A word from Dame Julian of Norwich
Thus saw I that God is our very Peace, and He is our sure keeper when we are ourselves in unpeace and He continually worketh to bring us into endless peace. … But He willeth that we take heed thus that He is Ground of all our whole life in love: and furthermore that He is our everlasting keeper and mightily defendeth us against our enemies.”
(From The Revelation of Divine Love)
+Psalm 4: 4 – 8
“Tremble, then, and do not sin; speak to your heart in silence before your bed.
Offer the appointed sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord.
Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see better times!”
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O Lord.
You have put gladness in my heart, more than wine and oil increase.
I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep;
For only you Lord, make me dwell in safety.
+Dear God Almighty, Lover of Souls, Healer of nations; I pray for protection of those who serve in harm’s way and I beg you use your power to transform the hearts of those in authority who issue calls to war. May this new ministry also call upon the reconciling Spirit of Christ to guide our chaplains as they serve the Incarcerated and the people of the Armed Services and their families, that the comfort and inspiration of our Savior may be widely shared. Indeed shape this ministry to be an instrument of your peace dear God. Amen.
+For those in the Armed Services of our Country (BCP.1979, Pg. 823)
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed services at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations: give them courage to face the perils which beset them: and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ IICorinthians 13: 11b
“Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love will be with you.”
+Hinduism (from the Bhagavad-Gita)
“If you want to see the brave, look at those who can forgive. If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred.”
+ Islam (words from Muhammad)
“Shall I not tell you what is better than prayers and fasting and giving alms to the poor? It is making peace between one another: enmity and malice destroy all virtues.”
+Judaism (Avot d’Rabbi Natan,23)
“Who is the greatest hero? One who changes an enemy into a friend.”
+Psalm 29:11
“May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace.”
+God of all peoples and nations, encourage this new mission to Federal Ministries to forge fresh bonds of mutual support and co-operative service among respected leaders of our Jewish, Islamic and other neighbors and friends. Inspire our religious leaders and their people to work together, pray together, and support one another until that great day when all God’s children are reconciled and in living in peace. Amen.
+ (From Martin Luther Kings April 1967 speech – powerful, provocative and prophetic)
“And I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic, destructive suction tube. So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy to the poor and to attack it as such.”
+For Peace from the BCP 1979, pg. 815
“Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all people may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of the Father to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.
+St. Luke 1:78 – 80
“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadows of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel .”
+ Dear God, shed you light on us in this hour, in our wilderness and, through our prayers and witness make our Bishop-elect strong in spirit as well, for soon his day to take on a new ministry is near. Bless Bishop elect Magness, his family and loved ones. Guide us all as instruments of your peace and reconciling spirit. Amen
Resources submitted by The Rev. Wm. E. Exner, Vice Chair for Nonviolence National Executive Council, Episcopal Peace Fellowship Goffstown, NH
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“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” The Baptismal Covenant Pg 305
Heavenly Father, we give thanks for your calling of Jay Magness as Bishop Suffragan of Federal Ministries. May he receive your gifts of Peace and Reconciliation. Grant unto him your grace and strength to enable him to accomplish the tasks of ministering to those who will be entrusted to him. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the same Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Reverend M. Clark Baker
Convener: Sewanee EPF Sewanee, TN
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Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy minds. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
Val Hymes
Prison Ministry Task Force
Diocese of Maryland
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Creator of all, we are called to show love to all persons, regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds, rather than to sow strife and discord. We are called to be people of compassion and caring, rather than of self-protection and self-preservation. We are called to be peacemakers rather than war mongers. We are called to preserve and protect for all generations this Earth you provided, rather than abuse and destroy it. We are called to nurture and protect all that is living, rather than attach differential values to various forms of life, whether human, animal, or plant. Keep us mindful that it is you who are Creator, God, not us, and give us humility to accept that. Give us the inner strength to practice with outward resolve the way you have taught, following the path to which you call. Amen. So let it be.
Submitted by Alice E.P. Sather
We send our blessings to the Rev. James “Jay” Magness at his consecration as Bishop Suffragan of Federal Ministries, and we offer a prayer for peace on this occasion, adapted from A Peacemakers Prayer for Veterans:
Heavenly Father, We ask that you move us with compassion to reach out to help and heal each other as we have been bade to do.
We also pray for the conversion of our hearts and illumination of our minds that we cease regarding anyone as “enemy”.
Help us to remember that we are all children of God, and we all are brothers and sisters.
We pray that we might live together as your children with justice, respect, and love for one another.
Help us to long for peace, pray for peace, and study the ways of peace, that we might mend the breaches we have caused in the world you created in joy and love for us all. AMEN
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship Grace Episcopal Church, Peace Partner Chapter Traverse City, Michigan
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I would like to share St. Luke 1:79 for the Vigil Book of Prayers. “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
I found this Holy Scripture on Christmas 2008 in the War Memorial Chapel after service with the Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
I participate in the October 16, 2007 Pray for Peace Concert and Prayer Ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral.
Best Wishes,
Karen Hedlund
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Good and gracious God,
We bless you every morning for the gift of life, the gift of love, and the gift of peace. Give us the wisdom not to squander your gifts in fear but to trust that in you we can live in safety and love in security, and that with you peace is possible. Amen
Madeleine Beard
Deacon, the Episcopal Diocese of MD
Coordinator for Public Policy
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Eternal One, All Present One, Giver of every good gift, Lover of Souls, Lover of Diversity – Creator of all that exists –
You have said, “My Peace I give to you – peace that the world cannot give – peace that surpasses all understanding.” (John 14:27) You have said, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Gracious and Loving God – open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts that we may receive your peace and abundant life. Fill us anew and afresh with your Holy Spirit.
Empower us to let go of our weapons of personal and global oppression and destruction – tools of violence and hate.
God of Love and Peace, enkindle in us the flame of knowledge that we are one with each other created in God’s Image. AMEN
Creator God – Lover of Diversity –Open our eyes to see we are one. AMEN
Rev. Kathleen Cullen
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Goffstown, NH
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Jesus, our brother, who suffered so much pain in your short life, it cannot be your will that we inflict suffering on each other. Help us, we pray, when we look into the face of one whom we have been told is our enemy, to instead discover your face, and to recognize the face of our brother or sister. Give us the strength to make sharing our love more important than proving our point. We weep for all the harm we have done and we beg for one more chance to be doves of peace. Amen.
Joanne Leslie, Deacon
St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral
Los Angeles
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Heavenly Father, instill in us the will to seek understanding of our neighbors here and throughout the world so that we fulfill our baptismal promise to respect the dignity of every human being and strive for peace and justice for people of all nations. Amen
Beverly and Dan Sweeton
Tennessee
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“one family with a billion names”, help us to become truly one loving family. Thanks.
Dave Avolio
Issaquah, WA
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“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown for those who make peace.” James 2: 17-18
O God, we pray that your peace, which passes all understanding, will come to all the earth. May wars among the nations cease. May hatred, greed and crime cease. May all the places torn by strife, both here and abroad, know peace. May the earth, itself know peace. Grant us the wisdom from above that will enable us to live with the earth and one another in harmony and bestow upon us that peace which is the first gift of the Holy Spirit. All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
Jan Robitscher
Berkeley, CA
The followers of Christ have been called to peace.
And they must not only have peace but also make it.
To that end they renounce all violence. In the
cause of Christ nothing is gained by such methods.
His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering rather than inflict it on others, renounce hatred, maintain fellowship where others would break it off. In so doing they overcome evil with good and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Rev. Bob Davidson
Loveland, Colorado
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Heavenly Father-Mother, Forgive us for desecrating your earth and the people and animals who inhabit your earth. Restore peace in our hearts and minds in order to serve as your stewards to this earth and everyone and everything that dwells on it. . Restore peace in our land and in our time. Thank you for this.
Gratzia Bittner, Chicago, Illinois
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We pray for Jay Magness, all to whom he will minister, and ourselves. May God help us all to keep our baptismal promise to respect the dignity of every human being. May God mold our hearts so that we are able to treat even the most alien, even our enemies, as full human beings and images of God. Protect us from the temptation, at war or in civilian life, to inhumane or degrading behavior toward those we oppose. Amen.
Stephen Hart Convener: Western NY EPF Chapter
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“In the hope of peace, we remember those members of our Armed Forces who have died in the service of this country in Iraq and Afghanistan. We remember their families and friends who continue to mourn their passing. We remember all of the nameless victims of war everywhere. We pray for those who bear the scars of war in body, mind and spirit.”
Offered by the members of Trinity Episcopal Church, Wauwatosa, WI, this prayer has been a part of our weekly intercessions for the past two years and will continue until the end of the two current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
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God of peace and reconciliation:
You call us to be vehicles of your holy presence. Empower us in our day to
do what we can to eradicate all war, violence, hatred, intolerance, and
division from the face of the earth. Give the leaders of all nations and the
spiritual leaders of all faiths, the wisdom and discernment to do what is
good and right for all humankind and creation. Unite us as one family of God
and strengthen the ties of love, respect, and mutual concern in our local
and global relationships. You are our God of new life. Give us the grace to
be this new life, overcoming oppression and death, and bringing to birth
resurrection in our hurting world. Amen.
The Rev. Dr. Joan E. Beilstein
Diocese of Washington
Rector, Church of the Ascension
Silver Spring, Maryland
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Children in War
God or Peace,
bless all children affected by war:
the injured and the untreated,
the frightened and the separated,
the homeless and the hungry,
the orphaned,
the disrupted and the conscripted.
Give them the courage to “be” -
grant them reverence of spirit
and keep alive in them the values of your Kingdom.
Strengthen all who offer loving care
and who bring the grace of hope,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
by The Rev. John Bradford in the International Anglican Family Network section “Children and War,” Anglican World, Michaelmas 2001
Submitted by Mary Miller, Former EPF National Council Chair and Executive Director Emeritus
Book of Common Prayer (with revisions from Mary Miller)
For the Nation (Book of Common Prayer, page 258, #17)
O God, you have made all peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace:
Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
For Peace (BCP, page 758, #18)
O God, kindle we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, that in tranquility your dominion may increase until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
For Social Justice (BCP, page 260, #21)
O God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
For the Human Family (BCP, page 815, #3)
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infest our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
For Peace (BCP, page 815, #4)
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, not ans for ever. Amen.
For Peace Among the Nations (BCP, page 816, #5)
O God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the kingdom of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For those who suffer for the sake of Conscience (BCP, page 823, $26)
O God our father, whose Son forgave his enemies while he was suffering shame and death: Strengthen those who suffer for the sake of conscience; when they are accused, save them from speaking in hate; when they are imprisoned, save them from despair; and to us your servants, give grace to respect their witness and to discern the truth, that our society and all nations of the earth may be cleansed and strengthened. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, our merciful and righteous Judge. Amen.
For Prisons and Correctional Institutions (BCP, page 826, #37)
Jesus, for our sake your were condemned as a criminal: Visit our jails and prisons with your pity and judgment. Remember all prisoners, and bring the guilty to repentance and amendment of life according to your will, and give them hope for their future. When any are held unjustly, bring them release; forgive us, and teach us to improve our justice system. Remember those who work in these institutions; keep them humane and compassionate; and save them from becoming brutal or callous. Give courage and the gifts of patience and discernment to our chaplains that they may accompany all prisoners with love and understanding. And since what we do for those in prison, O God, we do for you, constrain us to improve their lot. All this we ask for your mercy’s sake. Amen
For the Oppressed (BCP. Page 826, #36)
Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this and other lands who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy on us all. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equalprotection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of the earth you have given us to tend; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
A Prayer attributed to St. Francis (BCP, page 833, #62)
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow lobe; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where their darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. 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 is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
For Healing (after Avery Brooks, Healing in the Landscape of Prayer)
God of love, you nurture us with a love deeper that we know, and your will for us is healing and salvation:
Give patience, courage, and faith to all who are disabled by injury or sickness;
Grant your strengthening presence to all who are about to undergo an operation;
Comfort and relieve those who endure continual pain;
Grant to all sufferers the refreshment of quiet sleep.
Give your wisdom in ample measure to doctors, nurses, and chaplains, that with knowledge, skill, and patience they may minister to the sick
Break the bonds of imprisonment to fear, compulsion, and addiction;
Give liberty from old hurts and painful memories;
Fill us all with peace in our grief from separation and loss;
Work through all who share in your ministry of healing and renew them in compassion and strength.
O God, in you all darkness is turned to light and all brokenness is made whole: Look with compassion on us and those for whom we pray, that we may be re-created in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
from Janet Morley, All Desires Known, Third Edition Submitted by Mary Miller
The Way of Peace
Spirit of truth and righteousness, who alone can exorcize the powers that grip our world:
at the point of crisis give us your discernment, that we may accurately name what is evil,
and know the way that leads to peace, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Children of Conflict
O God, deliver our world from the recurring conflicts
that close borders, close schools, close minds,
and shut off the future.
Give the children freedom to learn from their heritage, read their own language,
and take pride in their people. Amen.
(cont’d from Janet Morley)
Truth and Reconciliation
Jesus our Savior, your heart was broken by the world’s agony;
you carried the pain we make each other bear:
remember those who carry the difficult work of peace,
bearing the cost of memory, seeking detailed justice,
facing day by day the hard recurring choice
whether to ask forgiveness,
whether to forgive. Amen.
Women and War
So many women across the ages have looked on horror,
seen their men slain, wept until they have no more tears, and then had to live.
God, give them again the wish to embrace life;
may they turn to each other and be made strong,
that death may have no more dominion. Amen.
from Janet Morley’s Bread of Tomorrow
In the Season After Pentecost
Wind of God, keep on blowing.
Sail over the barriers that we build to divide ourselves from each other.
Pick up your seeds if freedom and truth wherever they flourish,
carry them across frontiers to be planted in other soil, to begin fresh growth and new forms.
Blow from the South to the ears of Northern peoples.
Blow away the blinders which keep our eyes focused only on the past,
repeating its violence, deepening its divisions and adding to its despair.
Reveal the new future you have in mind for us.
Fire of God, keep on burning, smoulder in the hearts of people
where oppression keeps them in chains,
where unemployment and poverty devalue their humanity and where hunger weakens the spirit.
Burn in them, like Moses’ bush,
and do not let them be destroyed.
Tongue of God, keep on speaking so that the peoples of the earth
can speak your language to each other and all can hear you in their own.
Speak peace where nations meet, justice where ideas clash,
mercy where power reigns, healing where minds and bodies hurt,
and love where churches seek your unity,
and wherever else Babel drowns out the sound of Pentecost.
(Graham Cook, Say One for Me, United Reformed Church Prayer Handbook) Submitted by Mary Miller, Former Chair, EPF’s National Executive Council and Executive Director Emeritus
For Former Enemies
Lord, there is not one that doeth good, no not one. We therefore approach Thee with a sense of guilt in that however much we may think we have been wronged, we too have wronged others. However much we have to forgive, we also have much need to be forgiven. We pray Thee first to rid us of our own national arrogance, our race pride, our selfish insularity, which have made for strife and enmity in days past. Forgive our own nation, Lord, for the sins we have committed against international goodwill. Lord, we would forgive as we are forgiven. Let Thy love and compassion encompass those against whom we fought in the Great War. Heal their wounds; assuage their sufferings; right their wrongs. Unite us anew in the family of nations as companions in a common cause. For hatred give goodwill; for suspicion give trust; for aloofness give neighborliness, that we may together create that brotherhood ordained by Thee for mankind; through Him who is our great elder brother, Jesus Christ our Lord.
For the Conditions of Brotherhood
O Father, who art the maker and lover of the myriads of men who populate the world, arouse us to a practical belief in the full breadth of our human relationships, that we may rid ourselves of the shackles of sectionalism, national pride, and racial prejudice, and in the spirit of mutual helpfulness combine to establish those conditions of brotherhood and amity which is our responsibility to promote. Hush the proud boastings of the nations, that they may learn to use their strength, their knowledge, their material greatness to support the weak, to enlighten the ignorant, to enrich the poor. Beat the harsh armaments of war into the kindly implements of industry and peace. Bind together the people of East and West by the ties of sympathy, respect, and service, that, in appreciation and recognition of one another’s virtues and with considerate forbearance in our differences, we may be unified in one family according to Thy purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
They were composed by Charles Henry Brent. His March 27 listing in Lesser Feasts and Fasts details his ministries as a bishop and also as Senior Chaplain of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War One. Thus he is a predecessor to Jay Magness in
both the episcopal office and military
chaplaincy.
While some details of these prayers address their time rather than ours, I believe their spirit can speak to us and challenge us today.
I have taken them from No Other Wealth: The Prayers of a Modern-Day Saint Bishop Charles Henry Brent 1862-1929 edited By Frederick Ward Kates and published by The Upper Room in 1965.
Blessings,
The Rev. Charles Hoffacker
St. Christopher’s, New Carrollton, MD
______________________________________________
In pursuit of peace,
Judy Lucas
Camarillo, CA. USA
O High and Lofty One, whose dwelling place is both in eternity and with the humble spirits of the contrite: Give us grace to remember that the violence of war ravages the souls of all who are its victims, be they the arms bearers in the field, or the family members and friends who await their return. Bring to us, your people, the gifts of effective diplomacy through the kind of conversation that listens with compassion on every level from the international to the local family. As we hope for world armistice, let us be ministers of healing to all in their homeward bound deployments, knowing that peace is needed not only by our brothers and sisters in uniform, but by their loved ones also. Grant this, O Father for the sake of your Son, victim of violence, and let this be of the Holy Spirit, who abides in our midst as the Mother of Peace. Amen
The Rev. David J. Somerville, Chaplain (Maj) USA Ret.
_________________________________________
LITANY OF RECONCILIATION
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The hatred which divides nation from nation,
race from race, class from class,
Father, forgive.
The covetous desires of people and nations
to possess what is not their own,
Father, forgive.
The greed which exploits the work of
human hands and lays waste the earth,
Father, forgive.
Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,
Father, forgive.
Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned,
the homeless, the refugee,
Father, forgive.
The lust which dishonors the bodies
of men, women and children,
Father, forgive.
The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves
and not in God,
Father, forgive.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
as God in Christ forgave you.
Amen.
Christ Church Cathedral
Center for the Community of the Cross of Nails
This litany of said every Friday at Coventry Cathedral
at the Altar of Reconciliation in the ruins.
O Lord the King of Life, may all those who bear arms anywhere in the world be protected from harm and protected from doing harm,
Amen
Terry Rogers
