Gracious One,
we are glad to meet here in this place,
to freely worship you and be able to tell others about you.
We pray for the men and women who live
in fear of their lives, whose faith makes them targets, for people who would harm them.
Gentle One,
we are glad to have homes
and plenty of food in the fridge and cupboards.
We pray for those people
who have no safe place to rest their head
and who struggle to have enough to feed their families, especially those who go without
so that their children can eat.
Patient One,
we are glad to live in a country that knows peace, a place where it is safe to walk with friends
and have little fear of violence.
We pray for those souls who know only violence
or the threat of violence,
and we pray for those who sacrifice their own safety to keep others safe.
Compassionate One,
we thank you for the comfort of family and friends and all who help us in difficult times.
We pray for those souls who are desolate,
who are in pain, anguish and beyond comfort,
we pray for all who give of their time to volunteer to be at the end of a phone or to meet in an emergency
to offer comfort and support.
Generous One,
we all have gifts to use—
gifts of listening, healing, consoling, feeding—
help us to use our gifts wisely,
help us to be willing to sacrifice our time and talents so that we can serve you more fully in the world.
Amen.