Letanía por Ucrania

Aqui esta una versión de mi “Litany for Ukraine” en Español, generosamente traducido por Rubén Ortiz

Dios, estamos desconsolados por nuestros hermanos ucranianos.
Por quienes están sufriendo,
Por los desplazados,
Por quienes están luchando,
Por quienes están muriendo,
Por quienes tienen miedo,
Por quienes son audaces,
Por aquellos a los que les falta la esperanza.

Estamos tristes y enfermos de corazón.
Otra guerra nuevamente contra inocentes, contra cualquiera.
Nos lamentamos y enlutamos por esta tragedia.
Nos comprometernos a prestar nuestra fuerza y ​​amor por los que están luchando,
Incluso mientras pedimos que cese todo derramamiento de sangre.
Tal y como Cristo se avergüenza de la violencia, así también lo hacemos. 

Pedimos una pronta resolución de esta guerra y el fin de esta invasión.
Pedimos paz y seguridad para todos los ucranianos.
Pedimos líderes sabios y audaces que sean inteligentes, creativos y comprometidos con el bien de todos.
Pedimos la paz en el continente europeo.
Pedimos, y promulgamos con nuestros cuerpos, un mundo donde la guerra y la agresión nunca sean una opción.
Pedimos que la verdadera justicia y la paz reine sobre toda la tierra.

Frustra a los sanguinarios y hambrientos de poder, Dios (1).
No tengas a bien a los codiciosos.
Destruye los planes de los malvados.
Confunde la mente de los malhechores.

De alguna manera, sabemos que también debemos amar al enemigo de Ucrania (2).
De alguna manera, debemos buscar compasión de Dios para los invasores.
De alguna manera, sabemos que debemos encarnar la paz y el perdón de Cristo (3).
De alguna manera, no debemos permitir que el mal gane al final del día. Ayúdanos.

Oh Dios, la guerra nos lleva a los mismos confines de nosotros mismos -
Los bordes de nuestra propia humanidad;
Nos lleva tan lejos que no tenemos más remedio que recordar nuestra divinidad, que somos imagen de Dios, Imago Dei,
Si descansamos en Aquel que ama a todos.
Cristo nos deja su paz con nosotros (4),
Hagamos que la humanidad se agarre de ella.

Amén


1) Salmo 57:3

2) Mateo 5:44

3) Juan 20:22,23

4) Juan 14:27


Litany for Ukraine

The bulk of my work can be accessed via Patreon
Patreon helps me make this work sustainable.
Thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.
Attribution guidelines are here.

As Russia continues its unprovoked and evil invasion of Ukraine, we pray to the Lord for our siblings there.
This prayer is intended to be prayed aloud in congregations or gatherings of any size, with attribution.

God, we are heartbroken for our Ukrainian siblings
For all who are suffering,
For all who are displaced,
For all who are fighting,
For all who are dying,
For all who are fearful,
For all who are resolute, 
For all who feel hopeless.

We are sad and sick at heart
That war has once again been waged on innocents, on anyone.
We lament and mourn this tragedy
And commit to lending our strength and love to those in the fight,
Even as we ask for all bloodshed to cease.
As Christ has shamed violence, so do we.

We ask for a quick resolution to this war and an end to this invasion.
We ask for peace and safety for all Ukrainians.
We ask for wise and bold leaders who are clever, creative, and committed to the good of all.
We ask for peace on the European continent.
We ask for, and enact with our bodies, a world where war and aggression are never an option.
We ask for true justice and peace to reign over all the earth.

Thwart the bloodthirsty and power-hungry, God (1).
Deny the greedy.
Lay waste to the plans of the wicked.
Confuse the minds of evil-doers.

Somehow, we know we must love Ukraine’s enemy with them (2).
Somehow, we must tap into the compassion of God for these invaders.
Somehow, we know we must embody the peace and forgiveness of Christ (3).
Somehow, we must not let evil win the day. Help us.

Oh God, war brings us to the very ends our ourselves -
The edges of our own humanity;
It takes us so far that we have no choice but to remember our divinity, our Imago Dei,
If we are to continue in Love at all.
Christ left his peace with us (John 14:27),
Now let humanity take hold of it.

Amen

  1. Psalm 57:3

  2. Matthew 5:44

  3. John 20:22,23



Advent 2 (Year C, 2021): Anger and Peace

The bulk of my work can be accessed via Patreon
Patreon helps me make this work sustainable.
Thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.
Attribution guidelines are here.

If you missed my introduction to this Advent litany series, please go back and read the previous post.

The second stage of the grief process, as observed and synthesized by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler Ross and Dr. David Kessler, is anger. I say it’s “second” but that doesn’t mean it always appears for everyone in some perfect order. My own experience has taught me that grief is cyclical, and I often find myself returning to various phases for deeper work. And certainly moving through phases of anger has been a significant part of my own journey.

We stay in each phase as long as it takes, which is an unpredictable length of time because grief is an unruly process.

I’m leaning into contradictions and paradox. Into what sometimes feels like impossibility! Like this: in a world of anger, violence, injustice, suffering, we are continually advised by the Christ to be at peace, to create peace, and to not be fearful. How on earth? I can see how in heaven, but how on earth? Luke writes that, going along with God’s promise, “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us.”

In the meantime we have plenty to be angry about. Neither inner or societal peace are going to come about consistently without some work on our part - some training and continual embracing of the Peace of Christ, even in light of our righteous anger about unjust systems and trauma.

Advent invites us to reconcile the irreconcilable, and to learn to be comfortable with that dissonance and keep faith in spite of it. Advent offers us a peek behind the veil: what are we looking at? Now, what are we looking FOR?


God, we are challenged to live peaceably in a society filled with anger,
In which reactivity and outrage are normal,
Where most everyone is living with trauma of some kind or other,
And systemic dysfunction is all around.
We see how the dominant culture habitually covers up conflict, calling it peace,
While disregarding justice…

Easter 3, (Year B 2021): Litany for Peace Be With You

The bulk of my work can be accessed via Patreon
Patreon helps me make this work sustainable.
Thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.
Attribution guidelines are here.

I find that, occasionally, it makes sense to offer a prayer or liturgy with a simple refrain. It offers a place to mentally land for a few moments, especially in a litany dealing with heavy topics. This week, given the news, feels like one of those weeks. Also, sometimes we need to say a thing aloud a bunch of times to get it into our thick skulls :)

Sunday I preached a sermon about inner peace being an inside job and a choice that we get to make out of our free will about whether to take Christ up on the invitation into let "Peace be with you" regardless of what's happening around us.

And then we are confronted with news of more killings, more injustice, more police violence. (RIP Duante Wright, Lord have mercy.)

I even got news from my best friend that she is suddenly in hospital having emergency surgery.

Bad news is another opportunity for me to practice this lesson. To practice the Peace Within (John 20: 19) regardless of how the world, events, other people, etc are behaving or feeling.

I'm reminded of the hymn lyrics: "Thou wilt keep [them] in perfect peace / whose mind is stayed on Thee."

And I'm convinced that keeping that inner peace fire stoked, we are able to access more empathy, more compassion, and more right action. When we are not spinning our wheels in worry, anxiety, and emotional turbulence (here is the growth edge for me) we are better problem solvers and justice-doers. Today I'm even more sure that Inner Peace is an important Fulcrum of Transformation.

This is difficult spiritual work. Inner peace is not apathy. It's a radical restructuring of our way of being in the world.

We hear the voice of Christ speaking:
Peace be with you (1).
Right now these words seem impossible, mind-boggling,
Even, at times, annoying….

Proper 19 (Year A): Litany for Reassurance

Hi! In 2019 I moved much of my work over to Patreon
as part of my effort to make this work sustainable.
So thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.

The times are chaotic, and I hope this litany, referencing Psalm 103, Romans 14, and Matthew 18, can make way for the Divine to offer some reassurance to your community this week. 


God, we come to this day in need of reassurance.
We know we have been at fault.
We know we have been complicit in various ways.
We become discouraged and hopeless.
We become cynical and apathetic.
We need assurance of your unfailing love…



Litany for No More War

On this Epiphany day, please join Red Letter Christians today in a prayer vigil at 6pm (in your timezone). If you can’t attend a larger gathering, grab whomever you live with or nearby, light a candle, share a moment of silence and #prayforpeace. This litany may be used (with attribution, please) in any prayer gathering focused on peace. Please share and pray. #nowarwithiran

We must cultivate peace in our own hearts first, allowing the Peace of Christ to root there. This is our work as we pray for peace in the whole earth.

God, we come now to cultivate peace in our hearts
That it may reverberate outward.
We ask that the Peace of Christ, 
The peace beyond understanding,
The peace that blesses enemies,
The peace that turns the other cheek,
The peace that leaves vengeance in your hands,
The peace that seeks empathy,
The peace that practices justice and compassion,
The peace that dissolves ego - 

This baffling and impossible possibility,
This radical peace,
Would rest upon the whole world now,
At home in our hearts, and abroad. 

We do not want to witness more loss of life,
More destruction of homes and livelihoods,
More degradation of land and waterways,
More human suffering.

We do not come to peace lightly.
We know that true peace disrupts violent patterns.
We are not expecting convenience or ease. 
And still, we want true peace;
That our nation may know no more war,
And our children inherit no more suffering. 

Oh God, put a stop to war [with Iran] before it begins.
Raise up peace in the hearts of war-mongers,
Let the egos of the violent be silenced,
And let us move into a more beautiful future;
Our feet firm and confident on the Path of Peace (1),
Our words and actions rooted in the Peace of Christ.  

Amen

  1. Luke 1:79

Advent Week 2 (Year A): Litany for Stump and Branch

I'm in love with this year's Advent litany titles. I dunno, sometimes these details just get me. 

I've read Isaiah 11 a hundred times in my life and it still makes me weep with the hope of it. Apex predators napping with baby lambs. Lions munching straw as counter-culturally as you please.  A community led by Wisdom, where Justice is a given and not something we have to endlessly fight for ... Will it ever arrive? Will this day ever come? The day no one is hurt or destroyed.  The day no babies suffer. The day everyone can let their guard down because the danger has passed. 

To me, this is the gospel: this Peaceful Kin-dom waiting in the wings for us to become conscious of it. This Kin-dom that touches every part of creation (male, female, human, plant, animal, ocean, mountain, cosmos) and rights every wrong both here and in the hereafter. And this is the work of Advent: to become conscious of the Peaceable Community. Hallelujah Amen. 

God, things are looking hopeless,
As they are, we’re not sure how to go on.
We look around and see death and destruction,
Greed, dishonesty, strife, ego-seduction.

Proper 14 (Year C): Litany for Doing Good

Hi! As you may have noticed,
I’ve moved much of my work over to Patreon.
This is part of my effort to make 2019 a #yearofwritingsustainably
So thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.

It is very rare that I miss a Lectionary litany. But I did last week. Sorry to those who were waiting for it. I had a wicked ear infection, limited childcare, and was bedraggled and behind on everything. I’ll go back and make it up, but in the meanwhile, here’s this week’s offering, available to Patrons at the $3 level.

Coming from Luke 12, Psalm 33, Psalm 50, and Isaiah 1, this one is centered around our work for justice and peace in this world, reflecting the generosity of God. Drop me a line if you use it in your gathering, or in your solo devotions or whatnot. I love to hear how this work is landing.


Oh God, help us to not be afraid.
Help us to have faith in your love.
For we know that with you is every blessing your realm contains,
And you give us good gifts…



Advent Year B: Week 2: Litany for Deep Peace

God, we are longing for a silent night --
For a reprieve
From noise and anxiety and hurry;
For a moment
Of space and time, empty yet full.
Gift us the gift of quiet.

This is the Peace:
Of baby’s breath
Of feathered wing
Of rustling leaf
Of sphere’s turn
Of light beam.

The heavenly peace in which we long to rest
To sweetly sleep
In safety and freedom
In certainty and repose.

We can smell the peace
Coming on the wind.
We can feel the peace
Arriving with the morning.
We can taste the peace
In the bread and cup.

We look in your direction, God
The Place from which peace comes;
For you are its Author and the home of its Prince,
And in your peace we dwell.

Amen

Litany for Inner Stillness

God, we know that when we wait upon you
Our strength is renewed. (1)
We know that your presence can grow in us
When we become still. (2)
You are exalted in our hearts
When we contemplate your goodness.

That we often avoid quiet reflection
We confess to you, Oh God.
That we often mistake stillness for sloth,
We confess to you, Oh God.
That we often become hoodwinked by our culture of excess,
We confess to you, Oh God.
That intentional stillness often requires great effort from us,
We confess to you, Oh God.

When we are running around, attending to our to-do lists,
It’s you we seek. (3)
When we are looking for pleasure and consolation,
It’s you we seek.
When we are in need of affirmation and success,
It’s you we seek.
When we are avoiding our pain, or nursing our wounds,
It’s you we seek.

We cease our striving and sink now into the stillness of this moment
For we have composed and quieted our souls. (4)
We immerse ourselves into your loving, always-available presence,
For we have composed and quieted our souls.
We make it our ambition to be deeply familiar with you
For we have composed and quieted our souls.
We meditate upon the beauty of God,
For we have composed and quieted our souls.

Renew us now
As we wait quietly, in stillness, for you.

Amen

 

(1) Isaiah 40:31
(2) Psalm 46:10
(3) Psalm 63:1
(4) Psalm 131:2

 

Litany for Goodness and Mercy

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)

 

God of goodness and mercy: we admit that we have gotten off-track.
We know we need to do justly,
Love mercy,
Walk humbly. (1)

We are enticed by retribution
And take vengeance for ourselves (2).
We are enamored by damnation
And forget about goodness.
We are in love with judgement
And disregard mercy.

We need a change of heart.
Christ, have mercy on us.
We need to look into your eyes and have our inner world transformed,
Before we begin work on the world around us (3).

Transform and renew us now (4)
Into the image of Christ,
Into a peace-making people,
Into a just and merciful people.

May we scatter seeds of goodness and mercy wherever we go,
And live in the light of your presence always. (5)

Amen

 

  1. Micah 6:8, which Phyllis Tickle says is the motto of the Great Emergence.

  2. Romans 12:19

  3. Matthew 7:3

  4. Romans 12:2

  5. Psalm 23.6

Litany for 9/11

Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This litany will also be posted on Godspace. I have reposted it here for the sake of my catalog.


God, we remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
We know that you remember them too, and are keeping them in your care.

We acknowledge the pervasiveness of violence in our world:
    Sometimes it explodes with intent to kill
And has its success, as on 9/11.
And sometimes it creeps in subtly:
    In attitudes and mindsets, in worldviews and passing words.
We find it even here in our own hearts.

Cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and restore us to justice.
We rely upon your mercy.

Grant that we may forgive those who have committed atrocities against us
And remember them also to your merciful love.
We hear your words to us: “Do not resist an evil person;” (1)
We are baffled and astonished at this instruction.
We have no paradigm for understanding a peaceable kingdom,
Other than your example.

Console us in our grief, Oh Lovely One.
Speak to us in our confusion.
Guide our feet on the path of peace. (2)
Be to us a light in darkness,
A lamp of peace drawing us lovingly in.

Amen


(1) Matthew 5:39
(2) Luke 1: 78-79
 

Litany for Guidance

“For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48: 14

God, we find ourselves at a moment
When a decision must be made,
A direction must be chosen.
We seek your light and your guidance.

We desire to honor you in all that we do
In each breath we take,
Every goal,
Every action,
Every thought,
Every interaction.

We acknowledge that our choices matter,
But that you are Author, Creator, Beginner.
We acknowledge our smallness
And our potential.
We acknowledge that we are connected to a great big world
Parts of a body.
We acknowledge that acts of love reverberate
To all the world (1).

May all we do, and all we choose,
Be done and chosen with love;
That we may be, not a clanging cymbal or gong,
But a beautiful music filling the earth.

Help us to bravely step out into the path of peace (2),
Trusting in your help along the way (3).

Amen
 

1) Psalm 119:64 “The earth is filled with your love, Lord; teach me your decrees.”
2) Luke 1:78,79 "...because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."
3) Exodus 3: 11,12 "Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

A Bilingual Litany: Litany for Wars (English/Arabic)

My friend Sara, who is from Jordan, helped me with some Arabic phrases for bilingual litanies. "Emnahna al salam" means "grant us peace."

em-NAH-HH-nah AHL sa-LAHM (you make the H-sound as a syllable)

I encourage you to try saying the phrase out loud, even if the words feel strange in your mouth, to speak in solidarity with those Arabic-speakers whose nations are at war and in deep suffering. Your willingness to discomfort yourself in this small way then becomes its own kind of prayer: stumbling, mis-pronounced, and self-conscious, but heart-felt. I have Syria in mind for this litany, but the name of any war-torn nation may be substituted.

God, wars rage and nations are in turmoil.
Emnahna al salam.
Only the power of God can turn hearts and minds toward peace.
Emnahna al salam.

In your mercy, look upon the people of Syria.
Emnahna al salam.
Look upon the poor and vulnerable;
Emnahna al salam.
Look upon the sick and wounded;
Emnahna al salam.
Look upon the government and political leaders;
Emnahna al salam.
Look upon those whose pockets are lined by war;
Emnahna al salam.
Look upon those who are caught up in violence and cannot see a way out.
Emnahna al salam.
Bring your justice and mercy swiftly.
Emnahna al salam.

Spoil the plans of those who instigate trouble because of greed and power-hunger.
Emnahna al salam.
Rescue those who are suffering from violence and unjust government.
Emnahna al salam.
Fill the hearts of those who can help with compassion and strength.
Emnahna al salam.
Empower leaders whose hearts understand the goal of Love, and who enact justice.
Emnahna al salam.

May the spirit of Christ, the Prince of Peace, be strong in that region.
Emnahna al salam.

Amen

Litany for Trauma

“Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.” (Hab 1:3)

“The grave is greedy and death is never satisfied.” (Hab 2:5)
 

I was on vacation last week, taking a break from most media, blissfully without cell service. I’ve returned home to learn of yet more incidents in the unending cascade of violence the world is subjected to. To name a few: A terrorist attack in Afghanistan killed upwards of 80 civilians. A suicide bombing in Germany on Sunday, on the heels of a prior attack there which happened on a train on Friday. Another bomb in Iraq. And just this morning, a police officer shot in his home, here in the Austin suburb where I live.

I am baffled. I knew the world was a place where violence is a strong force, a tool for the power-hungry and vengeful. My adulthood began with 9/11, after all. But I feel like I know it more deeply now.

One early morning during our trip to the mountains last week, as I sat out on the deck alone drinking coffee and watching the morning mist rise up out of the mountain hollows, God visited me in a different-than-ordinary way. The best way I can describe it is that it felt as if I were a tiny rowboat gently brushing up against a whale. Calm, peaceful, benevolent.

That moment, that serene and loving Presence, is what I want to hold onto this week. I want to know goodness and mercy. I want to contemplate instead of react. I want the Holy Spirit to give me perspective I can’t get with my own eyes, through the fog of my own instincts for self-protection, retribution, and fuzzy ideas about justice. So I’m praying to be set right in my own mind, informed by the trauma, but not motivated by it.


God of peace and healing:
We have witnessed evil.
We have seen terrified communities.
We have seen innocent civilians hurt and killed in conflicts with which they have little to do.
We have seen people killed in cold blood.
We have seen mass murder.
We grieve with mothers, fathers, children, brothers, sisters, friends.

We cannot unsee these things.
We do not even comprehend the damage done to our souls,
     how numb and scarred our minds become by violence.
We are disheartened by the frequency and magnitude of traumas.
It is a sad day when such evil is commonplace.

In these times
Remind us of your vastness
And the vastness of your creation.

Help us to be creative in utilizing the tools you’ve given:
Mercy, Kindness, Gentleness
Words and gestures of comfort and solidarity.

Help us to be strong in our minds
Able to withstand struggle
Able to retreat into your presence for peace.

Help us to be disciplined in maintaining our connection with you, Giver of Life
Even when the news feels all-consuming and urgent.
Especially then.

We do not know what to do
Except sit with you
And let your nearness transform and heal us.

We long for the day when the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea. (1)

Amen


1) Habbakuk 2:14


 

Litany for Listening

If we are going to keep praying for reconciliation among the races; if we are going to keep praying for reconciliation between hetero culture and the LGBTQ community; if we are going to keep praying for reconciliation among differing religious paradigms; if we are going to keep praying for reconciliation among nations; then I wonder if we should start by asking for help with listening.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:18-20)


God, who so graciously speaks to us and is present to us,
Help us to be present to you, and to your people.

We confess that we are distracted and noisy people.
We confess that we have avoided quieting ourselves before you.
We confess that we’ve been afraid of what you might say to us.
We confess that we are often so busy speaking that all we hear is our own opinions.

We turn now to you, knowing that you are love,
And that love is what you are always telling us,
Even when you are gently correcting us.
We need gentle correction now.

We confess that we have not listened to our neighbors.
We confess that we have not made time and space to hear their stories and concerns.
We confess that we have allowed our differences to put us off.
We confess that by not engaging, we have stifled love.

Show us how to listen attentively,
And to love our neighbors near and far.
Show us how to open our ears and hearts
To those of different cultures, races, backgrounds, belief systems.
Show us how to embody the mission of Christ:
To prepare a great banquet and invite everyone to feast.

May we make space in our lives to hear your voice and do your good work.
May we know your voice.
May we overcome our fears of shame, and our reluctance to experience awkward moments.
May we follow the promptings of your Spirit without hesitation.
May our hearts be big enough to hold the stories we hear.
May we live love loudly, and listen quietly.

Be near to us as we do the work of quieting our souls (1),
That we may listen and learn from those around us.
Amen

 

(1) Psalm 131:
O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
            Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
            Or in things too difficult for me.

 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
            Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
            My soul is like a weaned child within me.

  O Israel, hope in the LORD
            From this time forth and forever.

Litany for Gun Violence

We are still mourning Orlando. We are still mourning Christina Gremmie. We are still mourning San Bernardino, Colorado Springs, Fort Hood, the D.C. Navy Yard, Sandy Hook, and on and on. A litany of loss. A litany of political strife and conflict and impasse. I do not profess to know the right answer to our problems. I've read some ideas that seem reasonable to me, but I see, to a limited extent, both sides of the issue. I want to help us pray from both sides of the issue.

God,
We approach You now, in a time of mourning and lament.
How long, Oh Lord, must we wait for justice and peace?
How long must we wait for all things to be made new?

We acknowledge that guns are tools:
They have been used to defend good. They have been used to perpetrate evil.

We acknowledge that human lives lost are mounting up, tragically and abominably.
We acknowledge that the subject of gun control and gun rights is a touchy, divisive one.
We acknowledge our tendency to close our ears to the voices of those who disagree with us.
We acknowledge that policies as they stand are not working very well.
We acknowledge our distrust of government leaders to faithfully care for us.

We are afraid:
That we might not be able to protect ourselves.
That losing part of one right might set us on a path to losing them all.
That our children might grow up in a world less-civilized than our own.
That more children and innocents will lose their lives in the coming days.
That our hopes and dreams will be unobtainable in an unsafe society.
That the many will suffer for the sins of a few.
That freedom is a bygone idea.

We pray for our leaders:
May they come together in unity, seeking a way forward.
May unity be, not a pipe-dream, but a reality.
May they find a way to both protect the rights of those who would defend goodness, and deter evil-doers.
May they be guided by You toward policy that respects the rights of all, and protects innocents.
May each side set aside its own agenda in favor of the good of all.
May the good and righteous overcome the greedy and pernicious.

We pray for peace, and set our fear out in the light of Your love.
We long for the day
    When we will beat our swords into ploughshares.
    When tools for destruction will be used for creation, beauty, and sustenance.
    When the lion will lie down with the lamb, and a little child will lead them.

May the day of Christ Jesus come quickly.

Amen