Here’s
a prayer of confession and petition from the World Council of Churches. It was
posted on the Starters for Sunday website.
Prayer
God
of grace,
together
we turn to you in prayer,
for
it is you who unite us:
you
are the one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
in
whom we believe,
you
alone empower us for good,
you
send us out across the earth
in
mission and service in the name of Christ.
We
confess before you and all people:
We
have been unworthy servants.
We
have misused and abused the creation.
We
have wounded one another by divisions everywhere.
We
have often failed to take decisive action
against
environmental destruction, poverty, racism,
caste-ism,
war and genocide.
We
are not only victims but also perpetrators of violence.
In all this, we have fallen short as disciples of Jesus Christ
who in his incarnation came to save us and teach us how to
love.
Forgive us, God, and teach us to forgive one another.
God, in your grace, transform the world.
God, hear the cries of all creation,
the cries of the waters, the air, the land and all living
things;
the cries of all who are exploited, marginalized, abused and
victimized,
all who are dispossessed and silenced, their humanity
ignored,
all who suffer from any form of disease, from war
and from the crimes of the arrogant
who hide from the truth, distort memory
and deny the possibility of reconciliation.
God, guide all in seats of authority
towards decisions of moral integrity.
God, in your grace, transform the world.
We give thanks for your blessings and signs of hope
that are already present in the world,
in people of all ages and in those who have gone before us in
faith;
in movements to overcome violence in all its forms,
not just for a decade but for always;
in the deep and open dialogues that have begun
both within our own churches and with those of other faiths
in the search for mutual understanding and respect;
in all those working together for justice and peace –
both in exceptional circumstances and every day.
We thank you for the good news of Jesus Christ,
and the assurance of resurrection.
God, in your grace, transform the world.
By the power and guidance of your Holy Spirit, O God,
may our prayers never be empty words
but an urgent response to your living Word –
in non-violent direct action for positive change,
in bold, clear, specific acts of solidarity,
liberation, healing and compassion,
readily sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.
Open our hearts to love
and to see that all people are made in your image,
to care for creation and affirm life in all its wondrous
diversity.
Transform us in the offering of ourselves
so that we may be your partners in transformation
to strive for the full, visible unity
of the one Church of Jesus Christ,
to become neighbours to all,
as we await with eager longing
the full revelation of your rule
in the coming of a new heaven and a new earth.
God, in your grace, transform the world.
In the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. Amen.
~ written for the 2006 Assembly
of the World Council of Churches. Posted on the Church of Scotland’s Starters for Sunday website. http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/
