Here’s a beautiful prayer of confession and commitment suitable for use on Remembrance Day (November 11). It was written by Carol Penner on her Leading in Worship blog.
Peace with Our Own Two Hands
God of Wisdom,
As we remember the atomic blast, the gas chamber, the killing fields,
as we remember the war machine and the military establishment,
as we remember Hitler and Pol Pot, Jim Crow and the Indian Act,
call us to account for our own whispered innuendo,
our own snubs, our own finger pointing,
our own eyes averted from injustice, our own cutting words,
our own shove, our own furtive slap.
Do not allow the grandstand atrocities to blind us to our own cruelties.
From the darkness of our bedrooms to skyscraper boardrooms,
from schools and churches to houses of parliament,
give us ears to hear your call to peace in our time,
peace with our own two hands.
As we remember the atomic blast, the gas chamber, the killing fields,
as we remember the war machine and the military establishment,
as we remember Hitler and Pol Pot, Jim Crow and the Indian Act,
call us to account for our own whispered innuendo,
our own snubs, our own finger pointing,
our own eyes averted from injustice, our own cutting words,
our own shove, our own furtive slap.
Do not allow the grandstand atrocities to blind us to our own cruelties.
From the darkness of our bedrooms to skyscraper boardrooms,
from schools and churches to houses of parliament,
give us ears to hear your call to peace in our time,
peace with our own two hands.
— written by Carol Penner, on her Leading in Worship blog.
For more worship resources about peace, click on Peace Sunday resources in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
For other prayers and prayer resources on this blog, see this Scriptural Prayer Index or this Topical Prayer Index.
