Tag Archives: prayer

July 26, 2017 · 7:51 pm

Churches across the world invited to pray for Korean reunification

The international ecumenical community has invited churches and individuals to join in prayer for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula on August 13. People of any faith or no faith may join.
Churches across the world invited to pray for Korean reunification

Photo:WCC

24 July 2017

On 13 August, churches across the world are invited to show solidarity with Korean churches by joining a “Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula.”

The theme for the prayer is based on Romans 14:19: “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” The day of prayer occurs two days before Liberation Day in Korea (15 August), during which people celebrate Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonization.

The joint prayer was prepared by the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) from North Korea and the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) from South Korea.

In a letter of invitation to member churches, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and World Communion of Reformed Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Chris Ferguson invited parishes and individuals across the world to pray for the reconciliation and healing of the divided Korean Peninsula.

“The prayer is an important part of our growing movement to overcome the antagonism that divides the Korean Peninsula and continue to open interaction between communities, churches and people,” the letter reads. “We believe churches across the world can, through prayer, help foster an environment in which peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula can flourish.”

Links:

Material Global Prayer Day on 13 August, 2017

Letter to member churches WCC and WCRC

WCC Member churches in Korea

WCRC statement on the Korean peninsula 7 July, 2017

WCC statement on the Korean peninsula 11 June, 2017

Mutuality and cooperation focus at Korean peace meeting in Leipzig (WCC press release 14 July, 2017)

See you along the Trail.

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May 19, 2017 · 6:34 pm

Global Day of Prayer to End Famine

From the World Council of Churches:

“Food is more than a human right; it is a divine gift that cannot be impeded. As people of faith on a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, we are called to respond to the hunger crisis through prayer, and we encourage communities of all faiths to organize themselves around the issue of access to food.”

South-Sudan-map1As more people face famine today than any time in modern history, the World Council of Churches (WCC) together with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and a range of faith-based partners and networks invite a Global Day of Prayer to End Famine on 21 May 2017, in response to the hunger crisis.

To encourage people of faith and good will around the world to observe the global day of prayer on 21 May, the WCC is making available a collection of liturgical resources, prayers, photos and suggested songs to be used in faith congregations worldwide.

Join the Global Day of Prayer to End Famine, 21 May 2017

Resources

1. A Call for a Global Day of Prayer to End Famine – Letter from WCC and AACC general secretaries (pdf)

2. Global Day of Prayer to End Famine – Main messages with bible verses and reflections (pdf)

3. Fact sheet – Global Day of Prayer to End Famine (pdf)

4. Order of worship – Global Day of Prayer to End Famine 21 May 2017 (pdf)

5. Short version – Order of worship – Global Day of Prayer to End Famine 21 May 2017 (pdf)

6. Song proposals for Global Day of Prayer to End famine 2017 (pdf)

7. Ten Commandments of Food – Advocacy kit for congregations (pdf)

8. Call to Action to End Famine

Photo slideshow

Download Powerpoint (pptx)

See you in prayer and action along the Trail.

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October 4, 2016 · 9:51 am

A Call to Presbyterians to pray with the Oceti Sakowin for Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their supporters

Reprinted from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Native American Intercultural Congregational Support Web page.

oceti-post-art

More than four thousand people have gathered at Camp of the Sacred Stones, three separate prayer camps north of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, near the northern border of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s reservation. The people, known as “Water Protectors,” have gathered in an effort to stop the Dallas-based company Energy Transfer from piping Bakken oilfield crude oil underneath the Missouri River, the main source of drinking water for the tribe. This project is known as the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline (DAPL).

Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe took the initiative in this witness to protect the land and water from environmental harm and to affirm tribal sovereignty. Support for the tribe’s efforts has grown and now comes from many tribes and peoples across the country and internationally, as well as individuals and groups concerned for issues raised by the DAPL.

As the witness continues, the Oceti Sakowin, Dakota Nation (Sioux Nation), has issued a call to prayer for October 8 through 11. The Oceti Sakowin consists of seven bands, the Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota people. Within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Dakota Presbytery consists of congregations of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota people in Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

Please pray for:

  • The earth and all the resources the Creator has provided;
  • Wisdom, courage, and strength for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and for its Chairman David Archambault and his family;
  • Strength and courage for the Water Protectors and their families;
  • Peace and unity at the camps;
  • The provision of food, water, and shelter and the meeting of other needs for the Water Protectors, particularly those who plan to witness in winter;
  • Wisdom and vision for the people working on the legal battles being fought to halt this pipeline and to honor the sovereignty of Native peoples;
  • Patience and a willingness to rely on nonviolence for the government and corporate authorities involved; and
  • The leaders of the Synod of Lakes & Prairies as they collect and discern where to use funds for the camps and the Water Protectors.

Those wishing to support the Water Protectors financially may send contributions to the Synod of Lakes and Prairies:

Synod of Lakes and Prairies
2115 Cliff Drive
Eagan, MN 55122
Make the check payable to: Synod of Lakes and Prairies
Note on check: Dakota Access Pipeline Acct #2087

The synod will send a confirmation to the donor that the funds were received and then information about where they were distributed. Please make sure to include your name and address on the check unless already printed on it.

The Office of Public Witness has created an action guide that provides advocacy points to contact Congress and the US Department of Justice.

In response to the situation at Standing Rock and other current instances of racial injustice, the Advocacy Committee on Racial Ethnic Concerns has issued a statement urging “our church and all of its members, but especially those who are white, to join us in breaking silence. Commit with us to raise our collective voice not just to proclaim the good news of God’s grace but to call out injustice, to call out the forces that threaten to tear us apart with xenophobic, racist, and Islamophobic rhetoric.”

Presbyterian Native Americans continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates on ways to support the effort at Standing Rock, and across the country, to protect water, land, and tribal rights and to maintain harmonious relationships with the earth.

oceti-post-art-2

The Oceti Sakowin call to prayer is for four days, recognizing that when the Dakota (Sioux) people pray they view the world as having four directions. The four winds come from the four directions, with each direction having a meaning and color associated with it. Where the medicine wheel lines cross symbolizes all directions. The four directions would relate to the four days, October 8 through 11, in this way:

October 8: West (Black) is the direction of the setting sun, the end of each day. It signifies the end of life. The west is also the source of water: rain and rivers, streams, and lakes. The west is vital because without water there can be no life.

October 9: North (Red) brings winter’s cold, harsh winds. These cleansing winds cause leaves to fall and cover the earth under a blanket of snow. Animals or people who have the ability to face these winds, like the buffalo who faces its head into the storm, are said to have learned endurance and patience. The north generally stands for the discomfort and hardships people experience. It represents the cleansing people endure and the trials people undergo.

October 10: East (Yellow) is the direction from which the sun comes. Light dawns in the east in the morning to mark the beginning of a new day. Then the light spreads over the earth. Light helps people see things the way they really are and can be the beginning of understanding. East also represents the wisdom that helps people live good lives. Traditional people rise in the morning to pray facing the dawn, asking God for wisdom and understanding. Many churches were built with the front facing east.

October 11: South (White) is the color of the southern sky when the sun is at its highest. South stands for warmth and growing. From the south come warm, pleasant winds. When people pass into the spirit world, they travel the Milky Way’s path back to the south, returning from where they came.

This information comes from The Four Directions posted by Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center.

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November 24, 2015 · 3:10 pm

A Thanksgiving prayer for Syrian refugees

My friend, the Rev. Sung Yeon Choimorrow works for Interfaith Worker Justice. She recently wrote a reflection on Syrian and Iraqi refugees in which she 535553_418699534886667_1200697668_nexpresses her “prayer that the spirit of hospitality and generosity will rule this nation. It is my prayer that we give thanks that we get to partner with our creator in this journey of seeking justice and peace.”

She reminds us that the U.S. “narrative of exclusion and oppression isn’t a new one. It is one that has repeated and continues to repeat itself in history.”

And she challenges us to make sure that

Fear does not win. When people who live in hope and fight for justice work together, we can and do drive out fear. We, the people of faith must act on our convictions to stand up against Islamophobia that is driving our legislators to pass a bill that would stop women and children fleeing war from coming to our shores. We, the people of faith must act on our convictions to stand up against splitting up families due to deportations. We, the people of faith must act on our convictions to stand up against poverty wages and corporate greed that puts profits before people.

For her words, which I encourage you to read, I say “Thanks.”

To her prayer, I humbly say “Amen.”

See you along the Trail.

The photo shows the Rev. Sung Yeon Choimorrow attending the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2013 and was taken by our mutual friend, Bruce Reyes-Chow.

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September 7, 2015 · 10:30 pm

For all who work

I give thanks this day for all who work –
whether that work is
paid or unpaid
honored or unrecognized
whether that work
earns a pay check or simply involves the day-to-day tasks of living
whether that work is
a labor of love
or somehow combines all of the above.

I give thanks for all who have lived and died
to protect the lives and rights of those who work.

I give thanks for all who live and give of themselves,
and risk themselves,
to make a better world for all who work.

I confess and grieve that the life I live,
the privilege and comfort I enjoy,
too often rests on the backs of brothers and sisters who work.

I recognize that all too often sisters and brothers work
in dangerous conditions, in situations where they are exploited, violated.

I pray that the day will come when all people have work to do
work that is safe and meaningful,
work that is honored and valued,
work that pays a wage that allows the workers
to provide a decent living for themselves and for their families.

I pray that I will receive the grace and the wisdom and the courage
to in some small way
make a contribution to the dawning of that day.

I give thanks this day for all who work.

See you along the Trail.

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December 25, 2014 · 10:45 am

Prayer for Christmas

God of life and God of hope,
we give you thanks and praise this night
as we gather to remember the birth of Jesus
who came as a witness to grace,
who proclaimed peace
did justice
lived love
and walked humbly with you.

In his name, we pray for peace and healing
wherever your world is broken,
wherever violence and injustice reign
wherever your children are in pain.
We ask that we might follow Jesus faithfully
and so become answers to our prayers
for peace on earth,
goodwill for all people,
and wholeness and wellbeing for all creation.
Amen.

Originally written 2009

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December 21, 2014 · 7:51 am

Heavy, aching, longing heart: Officer Ramos and Officer Liu

The brutal killing of Officer Rafael Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu of the New York Police Department shocks and angers me.

I grieve for Officer Ramos and Officer Liu. I grieve for their families who encounter empty spaces in their homes and have holes ripped in their hearts. I grieve for the comrades of Officer Ramos and Officer Liu. I grieve for their friends. I grieve for every police officer and every family member who wonder and worry during each shift if they will come home. I give thanks for the service provided by Officer Ramos and Officer Liu, beloved children of God.

Violence, all violence, is unacceptable. It solves nothing. It breeds more violence.

With a heavy heart, I pray for Office Ramos and Office Liu; for their families, their friends, their comrades

With an aching heart, I pray that all people might turn from violence.

With a longing heart, I pray for transformation.

See you along the Trail.

 

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August 14, 2014 · 9:56 pm

Joint Peace Prayer (text only)

Thanks to Hyeyoung Lee and Kurt Esslinger for sharing this prayer for peace, reconciliation, and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

kurtesslinger's avatarHyeyoung and Kurt's Korean Adventure

Today is Liberation Day on the Korean Peninsula. May they be liberated from division and war. Let us pray the prayer composed together by Christians in the North and in the South:

God of Love!

It has been 25 years since we agreed to keep the week of Independence Day as a joint prayer week with the wish of reconciliation, and peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. It was a promise from the South and North Korean churches’ deep prayer to God for peace and reunification and was a vow of love in a very difficult time. We, however, still have not reached full liberation and still are experiencing conflict and hostile policies. Oh Lord! Have mercy on us.

God of the Road!

You know our suffering and pain at the division of our people. Lord, the road of reconciliation and peace, created by the life and devotion of…

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August 12, 2014 · 10:28 pm

A prayer for #NMOS14

10604510_1455047228107493_7131459021695901671_oIn response to the killing of Michael Brown and others, people will gather in solidarity across the country on Thursday, August 14, to hold vigils and observe a moment of silence to honor victims of police brutality. Find information about a National Moment of Silence 2014 near you.

For those who are called to prayer at such a time, Mihee Kim-Kort and I offer the following for you to use or adapt or take as a starting point to create a completely different prayer:

Gracious God,
With breaking hearts and aching spirits, we turn to you.
God, have mercy.

Another violent death has torn your human family.
God, have mercy.

Another person of color,
another of your beloved children,
killed too soon.
God, have mercy.

Families, friends weep.
Communities question and rage.
God have mercy.

Have mercy, God.

Guide us
to see each person,
to value each person,
to treat each person,
as your beloved child.

Help us
to remake systems that diminish, divide, deny, and degrade,
to establish and enforce policies of accountability,
to turn from violence,
to end state-sanctioned police brutality and antiblackness.

Draw us together
to allow justice justice to roll like waters,
to permit righteousness to flow like everlasting streams,
to wash over all your children.
All your children.

This day and every day.

With breaking hearts and aching spirits, we turn to you.
God, have mercy.
Amen.

 

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July 20, 2014 · 2:43 pm

In This Place

This is the manuscript I took into the pulpit at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church today. The preached sermon varied from the manuscript in some instances as the preaching event took place.

People often ask if I miss serving as a pastor in a congregation. I reply that I miss the community, the shared life. But I feel called to my work at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. I make mistakes; challenges and frustrations arise, but I believe I am where God has called me.

And then come those Sundays when I have the privilege to take part in the sacrament of baptism. And in the joy and wonder of the moment, I feel a tug to parish ministry.

Because I knew I would have that privilege this morning, I have spent a great deal of time thinking about children. Of course along with the filled expectation of the sacrament, this week has also brought tragedy and sorrow and hope.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

Israeli children who listen for sirens and take refugee in bomb shelters.
Palestinian children killed upon a beach, under the crushing weight of collapsed homes, on the streets of Gaza.
Israeli and Palestinian children bound together in the violent spiral, not of their making, of occupation and resistance.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

Nigerian girls abducted from schools and homes, wrenched from their families, held by a rebel group.
Children of Sudan’s Nuba Mountains who huddle in caves as bombs dropped by the government rain around them.
South Sudanese children whose stomachs knot from hunger and malnutrition that threaten their lives.
Syrian children caught in a chaotic cross fire.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

Children forced to carry guns larger than they are tall in combat.
Children who breathe air-filled with dust and sometimes toxic gases in mines for gold.
Children used, violated, and exploited.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

Children fleeing rape and gang recruitment and violence in Honduras, El Salvador, and parts of Guatemala who make their way to the United States to be placed in detention centers where they may experience cramped cells without enough food, beds, toilets or showers.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

Children who lost a parent when a plane went down over the eastern Ukraine.
Children with AIDS or whose parents have AIDS whose lives will be affected by the loss of the researchers and scientists on that plane.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

Children in our country whose lives are constricted and diminished by racism.
Children bullied because of their sexual orientation.
Children who know violence in their homes, their schools, and their communities.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

New babies, long-awaited, welcomed, cherished.
Children who receive encouragement, affection, support, and nurture.
Children who enjoy life, bring delight to friends, and share love with family members.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

And I have wept.
Sweet tears of joy and grace.
Hot, bitter tears of grief and pain and anger.
Purging, cleansing tears that have renewed my commitment.

And I have prayed.
For the circumstances that wound children.
For the children. By name when possible.

Prayer opens me to God.

Prayer also opens me to the children and circumstances for which I pray. It binds me to the children be they in Damascus or Detroit. It calls me to commit to act on behalf of the children for whom I pray.

Prayer makes and nurtures the relationships, key to pursuing justice. And prayer for justice and wholeness in one setting draws me out of myself to experience anew the connections between all forms of injustice. It reminds me of the interdependence of people and life. It transforms me as it leads me to pray—and then act—more broadly than I would have otherwise done.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

And I have advocated with government officials and others who are in positions to act to reshape realities for children.
And I have made contributions to groups caring for children in the United States and abroad.
And I have invited and challenged my family and friends to learn and pray and act.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

And I have come to this place, this sanctuary, this congregation.

I come to stand in community. For community is essential to confront the realities of the world. Only together can we stand against the forces that violate children; alone we cannot stand.

I come to sing songs, break bread, share the cup.

I come to celebrate with a family as they present their children for baptism. Affirming their faith in Jesus Christ in a world broken, fearful, and frightening. Proclaiming hope. Sharing love.

I come to remember the grace of God in Jesus Christ. In ways that may surprise us, frighten us, awe us, God is at work. Here. Now. In this community.

When I experience the presence of God, I join Jacob in his affirmation of wonder and faith: “Surely God is in this place — and I did not know it!”

And knowing that God is in this place, reminds me, fills me with hope that God in Jesus Christ is in all places. Even in places where heartache and horror seem strong; even in places where violations occur; even in places where people and relationships are most badly broken and fear and wrong seems strongest, God is at work.

In this place, I am reminded that God is at work in all places. And that sustains and challenges me to look for how God is at work and, as the Holy Spirit gives me grace, to join in that work.

Children have been in my heart and on my mind this week.

Faith in God in Christ have put them there.

And in this place, God invites us all to join in caring for the children. The children of this congregation. The children of this community. All the children, all God’s children of the world. May we hear and respond.

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