RESPONSIVE READING

For all those who have fallen victim to hatred and inhumanity, for those loved ones who are left behind to mourn, for the souls of those whose hearts are cold,
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the children who are being born into this world of conflict and violence, for women and mothers who suffer needlessly,
Lord, hear our prayer.

For all those who have been forced into unemployment, who long to return to work, for all those who struggle to support their families,
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the policy-makers who are misguided in thinking that bombs and bullets will bring about peace, and for those who feel called to conscientiously object to military orders,
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the children who cry in their beds at night and wonder 'what have I done?', for the mothers and fathers who must try to explain the inexplicable,
Lord, hear our prayer.

For all the children who have died before their time, for the healers who are denied the opportunity to use their gifts,
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the redemption of souls of both victim and perpetrator, for those who commit themselves to the forgiveness of sins,
Lord, hear our prayer.

ALL: O God,
Open our eyes that we may see the needs of others;
Open our ears that we may hear their cries;
Open our hearts that we may feel their anguish and their joy.
Let us defend the oppressed, the poor, the powerless, without fear of the anger and might of the powerful.
Show us where love and hope and faith are needed, and use us to bring them to those places. Open our ears
and eyes, our hearts and lives, that we may in these coming days be able to do the work of justice and peace
for you.
Amen.

(adapted from “A Call to Prayer in Two Voices,” Sabeel Center, www.sabeel.org/old/conf2001/worship1.htm)

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Hold us before you in judgment as well as grace, O God, until we are willing to serve instead of being served; until we are more concerned for justice than our comfort; until we walk the second mile and turn the other cheek; until we make right our wronged relationships. We confess how we run from the demands of the Gospel while expecting our demands to be met. Forgive, O God, our cowardice in the face of injustice, our posturing on the issues instead of acting in faith, our endorsement of pettiness and false patriotism. Please forgive us for all that is past and renew our discipleship that we may serve you in these dark and perilous days.

(by Rev. Eugene Walker, from the National Council of Churches, www.ncccusa.org/iraq/prayersforpeace.html)

A NEW VISION

Grant us, Lord God, a vision of our land as your love would make it;
- a land where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
- a land where the benefits of civilized life are shared, and everyone can enjoy
them;
- a land where different races and cultures live in tolerance and mutual respect;
- a land where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
And give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

(from the Anglican Church, www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/carey/releases/011002c.htm)

PRAYER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Almighty and eternal God, may your grace kindle in all persons a love of the many unfortunate people whom poverty and misery reduce to a condition of life unworthy of human beings.
Arouse in the hearts of those who call you God
a hunger and thirst for social justice and for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth.
Grant, O Lord, peace in our days, peace to our souls, peace to our community.
Amen.

(Pope Pius XII, from the Center of Concern, www.coc.org/focus/ej/prayers/justice_piusXII.html)

Justice Prayer
O God, we pray for all those in our world who are suffering from injustice: for those who are discriminated against because of their race, color or religion; for those imprisoned for working for the relief of oppression; for those who are hounded for speaking the inconvenient truth; for those tempted to violence as a cry against overwhelming hardship; for those deprived of reasonable health and education; for those suffering from hunger and famine; for those too weak to help themselves and who have no one else to help them; for the unemployed who cry out for work but do not find it. We pray for anyone of our acquaintance who is personally affected by injustice. Forgive us, Lord, if we unwittingly share in the conditions or in a system that perpetuates injustice. Show us how we can serve your children and make your love practical by washing their feet.
Amen.

(Mother Teresa, from the Center of Concern, www.coc.org/focus/ej/prayers/justice_motherteresa.html)

AN ADVENT PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND DEDICATION

O God, in the fullness of time you sent your son Jesus in a manner that confounded kings yet moved Shepherds and magi. Guide us now as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace.

As we make our family plans for Advent and Christmas,

We commit to hold central the one whose birth we celebrate.

As we feel the pressure to buy and buy and buy,

We commit to resist our temptations to find you in material things.

As we consider all of the waste generated in our celebrations,

We commit to set limits on what we will consume and throw away.

As our plans do not include those who are hungry, sick, lonely and imprisoned,

We commit to seek you in the spirit of humility.

As we make our Christmas lists for family and friends,

We commit to remember our reason to celebrate.
O God, forgive us when we forget who you are and why you have come. As we prepare for the Prince of Peace to be born in our midst, help us to bring peace to a troubled world and people. As the shepherds and magi looked for you in a stable, let us look for you among those you came to serve. Amen.

(from the “Buy Nothing Christmas Information Kit,” www.buynothingchristmas.org/images/resources/pdf/Info_Kit.pdf )

HOLY CHILD OF BETHLEHEM

We pray for all who are homeless.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, born in a stable,
We pray for all who live in poverty.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, rejected stranger,
We pray for all who are lost, alone, all who cry for loved ones.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, whom Herod sought to kill,
We pray for all who live with danger, all who are persecuted.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, a refugee in Egypt,
We pray for all who are far from their homes.
Holy Child of Bethlehem, in you God was pleased to dwell,
Help us, we pray, to see the divine image in people everywhere.

(from the “Buy Nothing Christmas Information Kit,” www.buynothingchristmas.org/images/resources/pdf/Info_Kit.pdf )