Here’s a prayer of
thanksgiving and intercession from the World Council of Churches.
Thanksgiving and Intercession: All Saints
O
Lord our God,
we
thank you for the many people
who
have followed your way of life joyfully:
for
the many saints and martyrs, men and women
who
have offered up their very lived
so
that your life abundant
may
become manifest
and
your kingdom may advance
Optional sung response
They
chose the way of your Son,
our
brother, Jesus Christ.
In
the midst of trial, they held out hope;
in
the midst of persecutions, they witnessed to your power;
in
the midst of despair, they clung to your promise.
Optional sung response
O
Lord, we thank you for the truth
they
have learned and passed on to us.
Give
us courage to follow their way of life.
For
your love and faithfulness
we
will at all times praise your name.
Optional sung response
We
pray for the millions in our world who must go hungry today,
all
who are exploited and marginalized
because
of their caste or class, colour or sex,
that
they may not lose their hope,
and
may find the strength to struggle for their dignity.
Optional sung response
We
call upon you for those who are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured
or
threatened with death because of their witness to justice and peace.
For
those who have “disappeared” because they dared to speak,
that
their spirits may not be broken by their bodies’ pain.
Optional sung response
We
remember those who live in regions torn by tension and war,
by
disaster, famine and poverty…
We
pray especially for the Middle East, for Pakistan, for Haiti,
for
the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the horn of Africa, for Sudan …
(other
places and situations can be mentioned at this point)
We
pray for the millions of refugees around the world,
that
in the midst of tears and bitterness
they
may discern signs of hope.
Optional sung response
Lord,
into your hands we commend our earth,
ever-threatened
with disaster,
and
all persons and situations we have spoken about,
written
down or remembered in the silence of our hearts this day.
Optional sung response
Strengthen
our will for peace and justice;
increase
our faith in your kingdom
where
“love and faithfulness will meet,
righteousness and
peace will embrace”
and
may your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
~
from “Choose Life; Choose Peace with Justice,” in Midday Prayers for Peace and
Justice on Hiroshima Day, August, 2010.
Posted on the World Council of
Churches website. http://www.oikoumene.org/