Category Archives: Prayer

August 3, 2025 · 12:06 pm

A prayer for Yeonsoo Go (and others)

20-year-old Yeonsoo Go, the daughter of Episcopal priest, the Rev. Kyrie Kim, and a graduate of Scarsdale High School in Westchester County was detained by ICE on July 31 after appearing in court, as ordered by the court, for a procedural hearing on her visa application. The South Korean native moved to New York in 2021 with her mother.

Yeonsoo’s situation is one of many. Add other people’s names as you pray. If appropriate, send me those names and I will share them.

An active prayer: Contact your elected representatives demanding that they work to end detention of people seeking to follow the legal processes for immigration.

A prayer for Yeonsoo Go (and others)
God of justice,
we pray for your beloved child
Yeonsoo Go
who was detained by ICE
after appearing in court
for a routine visa hearing.
Watch over Yeonsoo
and keep her safe.
Grant her strength and courage.
Stand with her mother,
the Rev. Kim Kyrie
and her family and friends.
Guide those who protest
this injustice.
Bless their efforts.
We pray for Yeonsoo,
knowing that she is
but one of too, too many
taken by ICE –
often when they were doing
as Yeonsoo and following the rules
to obtain legal status in this country.
Inspire elected representatives
to join the protest and call
for the release of Yeonsoo
and all your beloved children
detained without due process.
Touch the hearts of those
who implement such polices,
transform their views from
cruelty and fear
to compassion and welcome.
We pray for Yeonsoo and
all our immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking siblings
in the name of Jesus, the refugee.
Amen.

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July 9, 2025 · 2:08 pm

A prayer in a time of floods

We thank you, God,
for individuals and organizations
that respond to disasters.

Particularly we thank you for
those involved in response and rescue
after the flooding in the Hill Country of Texas
and in central North Carolina
and in southern New Mexico.

We are grateful for each person who is at work.
And we are especially grateful for
firefighters from Mexico who have come help in Texas.

Remind us that, in times of crisis, times of ease, and all times
we are all your beloved children called to love one another.

Protect all the rescuers and responders in Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina
and places that do not make the news.
Strengthen them in every way for this challenging work.
Guide and bless their efforts.
Keep them safe.
We pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has designated an account for contributions to support their efforts in response to this and other floods in the United States.

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July 3, 2025 · 1:09 pm

A prayer after Pride month

I thank you, God,
for friends who share photos and stories
of their participation in Pride Parades and events.
The joy, the love, the faith, the freedom,
the courage, the hope, and yes, the pride
in their faces and their bodies
fills my soul with gladness
almost beyond words.
I thank you for their witness.
It touches me profoundly and
deepens my understanding
that you create each of us
in your image and that
each person of
every sexual orientation and
every gender identify
is your beloved child.
I pray, God,
for each friend, each person
who, for whatever reason or reasons,
chose not to participate
in public events.
May they know they are loved by you and
that they too fill my soul with gladness.
Help me remember that Pride
is a focus for a month
and a way to live each day.
Inspire me to love you
and all your children more dearly.
Guide me to work
more faithfully for
a community, a church,
a state, a country, and a world
where everyone knows welcome
and everyone belongs;
where everyone is treated
with dignity and respect;
where all people can participate in Pride events: and
justice and equity prevail for all.
May it be so, Rainbow God.
Amen.

2 July 2025

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June 28, 2025 · 8:57 pm

A prayer as the struggle continues

(on the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising
and as the Pentagon renames the USNS Harvey Milk)

When fear calls us to forget,
when bigotry seeks to rewrite and erase,
we remember, God.
We will remember.

We remember Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera,
and all your beloved children
who participated in the Stonewall Uprising,
demanding dignity, respect, and justice.
We will remember.

We remember your beloved child Harvey Milk.
Even as the Pentagon removes his name from a U.S. naval vessel.
We remember his service in the U.S. Navy.
We remember his service in San Francisco.
We remember efforts to recruit us,
to recruit us for the fight to preserve democracy
from those who are trying to constitutionalize bigotry.
We remember his challenge and inspiration.
”you have to give them hope.
Hope for a better world,
hope for a better tomorrow,
hope for a better place to come to
if the pressures at home are too great.
Hope that all will be all right.”
We give thanks for the hope Harvey Milk gave,
the hope he still gives,
and we will remember.

We remember individuals and organizations
who have worked through the years
for the recognition, rights and inclusion of
the LGBTQIA2S+ community
within society and the church.
We will remember.

We remember with thanks those
engaged in this work and ministry
who we knew, and perhaps worked with:
who we know and work with now:
(say names aloud or silently in your heart).
We will remember.

We remember with thanks those
engaged in this work and ministry
whose names we did not know,
whose names we do not know,
and yet who touched our lives
and made life better, more whole, more just.
You know their names, God.
You made and love each one.
And we will remember.

We remember and confess
that some organizations
and individuals (myself among them)
have been too careful, timid, and fearful
through the years.
We accepted the status quo
and failed to challenge the oppression
endured by your beloved LGBTQIA2S+ children.
Forgive us. Renew us. Inspire us.
Help us find our voices.
Help us locate our places in the struggle.
We will remember.
And by your grace, may we do better.
We pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

words in italics are a paraphrase of Harvey Milk’s words in “That’s What America Is” a speech delivered by San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, June 25, 1978 (Gay Freedom Day); words in quotation marks are from “You’ve Got to Have Hope” by Harvey Milk delivered on June 24, 1977; note that like many public speakers (and preachers) Harvey Milk presented the same ideas in numerous speeches; words in bold italics are stage directions for your prayer

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June 27, 2025 · 11:48 am

A prayer in times of trouble

When we find ourselves
in times of trouble;
when challenges appear,
difficulties arise,
and life threatens to overwhelm us,
come to us Holy Spirit.
Come with grace.
Come with patience.
Come with courage.
Come with resilience.
Come with persistence.
Come with hope.
Come with faith.
Come with love.
When we find ourselves
in times of trouble,
come to us Holy Spirit.
Come to calm us.
Come to support us.
Come to sustain us.
Come to challenge us.
Come to comfort us.
Come to challenge us.
Come to encourage us.
Come to guide us.
When we find ourselves
in times of trouble,
come to us Holy Spirit.
Amen.

with thanks to a couple Liverpudlians, John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney, for the recurring refrain

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June 22, 2025 · 2:23 pm

A prayer upon learning the U.S. has bombed Iran

Gracious God,

my heart aches

as I read of the United States dropping bombs on Iran.

I mourn for the people, your children,

who were killed and wounded in the attack.

My spirit sags

as I ponder what may come next.

For bombs often lead to more bombs.

Violence begets violence.

The killing of any person is

an attack on your image

in which you create every person.

God who desires

wholeness and well-being for all

Give leaders of the United States, Israel, Iran, Hamas,

and all countries and peoples

the courage to break the cycle of violence,

to pursue justice and work for peace.

I pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

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May 17, 2025 · 8:00 pm

A prayer when prayer seems utterly inadequate

Faced with the fury of

storm and tornado,

our words seem inadequate –

like ash in our throats

as our hearts ache,

Stil, we pray, O God,

Again, we pray, O God.

Acknowledging

the poverty of our words

the depth of our dread,

the strength of our concern

and the power of your love binding us together,

we pray

for people and places who have

endured storms and tornado.

Particularly we pray for

Kentucky and its people and

Missouri and its people,

the places where death and devastation

are reportedly the highest.

We pray as well,

for places and people

affected by this storm system

whose stories did not make the news cylee,

yet who stand in need.

Make your presence and care

known all buffeted by storms and blasted by tornadoes

Comfort all who grieve

the death of family, loved ones, or friends.

Comfort all who mourn

the death of dreams,

the loss of pets,

the destruction of property.

Work healing

in all who are injured in any way.

Ease anxieties.

Calm fears.

Provide strength to cope

and courage to hope.

Protect and guide first responders

and medical personnel.

Support efforts to recover and rebuild.

Inspire responses to provide appropriate aid.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

This one came out in response to the recent storms and tornadoes. In many situations and circumstances, our prayers seem inadequate. Yet still we pray …

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April 1, 2025 · 4:20 pm

Sensitive Locations, Sacred Places

Join faith communities in an interfaith prayer vigil on the eve of the first hearing of the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security’s rescission of the sensitive locations memo. The vigil will take place on Thursday, April 3rd, at 6:30pm ET at National City Christian Church in Washington, DC and will be livestreamed at 7:00pm ET. Together, we will gather lifting prayers for justice, compassion, and the protection of immigrant communities. All are welcome to stand with us in this moment of faith and resolve.

RSVP to attend here and invite others to join! https://tinyurl.com/mr3xdv58

#PCUSA#prayervigil

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March 12, 2025 · 1:57 pm

Stand for Compassion – Praying for our refugee and immigrant neighbors

Join Church World Service this Lent as we unite in prayer as an ecumenical community. Every other Friday at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT, beginning this Friday, March 14, we will Stand for Compassion—lifting up prayers for our refugee and immigrant neighbors.

Register for the series here: https://bit.ly/3DBA5eR

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March 11, 2025 · 4:13 pm

Breath prayers inspired by Isaiah 40:31

Inhale:    I wait upon you, Creator.
Exhale:   Renew my strength.

Inhale:    I wait upon you, Holy Spirit.
Exhale:   Restore my energy.

Inhale:    I wait upon you, Christ.
Exhale:   Rekindle my imagination.

Amen.

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