leadinginworship

Praying Through A Divorce

What God has joined together now lies in pieces.
What began with delight and tenderness,
reeks now with bitterness and festering pain.
What began with soft words of love,
grates now with harsh words of blaming.
Jesus, we look for you in this relationship’s slow crucifixion
as each to each say, “Why have you forsaken me?”
As we stand on this barren Golgotha
we are desperate to repair this relationship,
which is not in our power to fix.
We urgently want to end this bleeding,
for which there is no quick remedy.
In the face of suffering we cannot fathom,
and stories which haven’t yet found a voice,
as a community we surround this family.
Holy Spirit, as we watch and wait,
empower us not to turn away.
As people of peace,
the deaths in this small war leave us
pleading for resurrection.
With humble hearts and empty hands we pray,
“Father, into your hands we give this family.”

Social Fabric Prayer

The transgender man beaten,
and the woman harassed on the bus.
The disabled student not accommodated,
and the bomb threat at the Jewish child-care centre.
Racial profiling at the border
and another refugee told to go home.
A million tiny teeth
ripping at the webs that connect us,
fissures fracturing the social fabric.
Reading the news my heart feels tattered,
and all that’s good seems lost
and left behind.

Can we defend, say, “Not here!" to hatred,
hold firm to every last strand of civility?
We are not over and done with.
Threads of mercy shuttle between us
and even when we feel like running,
we are being woven, a work in progress.
For every breaking thread,
a new wisp, strong as spider web.

On a night like this,
when darkness looms
and every light seems small,
I stitch a prayer into the night sky.
God of all graces, rip every seam
I’ve sown in hatred.
I want to be stranded in love,
reaching out to touch,
in this material world,
the hem of your garment. 

A prayer for times like these

For a world where lies are accepted at face value;

hear our prayer, God of truth.

For a world where racism in high places is tolerated;

hear our prayer, God of the oppressed.

For a world where people with disabilities are mocked;

hear our prayer, God of the disadvantaged.

For a world where the rich hold the reins of power;

hear our prayer, God of the poor.

For a world where men violate women with impunity;

hear our prayer, God of the downtrodden.

For a world where the earth is ignored and neglected;

hear our prayer, God of the voiceless.

For a world where nations interfere in enemies’ elections;

hear our prayer, God of the disenfranchised.

For a world where the church is charmed by false gods;

hear our prayer, God of the lost.

For a world where free speech is threatened;

hear our prayer, God of the silenced.

For a world where hatred is growing by leaps and bounds;

hear our prayer, God of the vulnerable.

For a world where dissent is dangerous and necessary,

hear our prayer, God of those who suffer for righteousness’ sake.

God of hope, we turn to you for vision and courage

as we strive to be faithful in word and deed,

followers of Christ in times like these.

A prayer about terror (on the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre)

God of the afflicted:
On this anniversary of the Montreal massacre
where a man who declared feminists his enemy
opened fire in a school,
killing fourteen, wounding fourteen,
on this day we turn to you.
We pray for healing for all affected by acts of terror.
Terror from a bomb, or a gun,
or a knife, or a rope, or a body,
terror from any force poised for cruelty.
You know what happened next.
Be with all who are picking up,
with tears, the pieces of their lives,
painstakingly living to see another day,
and another, and another,
becoming survivors.
Be with them in the fear
that haunts them daily
and pursues them in their dreams.
Be with them in their anger,
which fuels their drive for justice,
and their certainty
that this must not happen again.
And yet it happens to another,
and another, and another.
Almighty God, where are you?
Jesus, do you see our suffering?
Holy Spirit, where is your relief?
God of the terror-stricken,
God of the terror-survivors,
God of the terror-fighters,
God of all who work for peace,
we pray to you today:
deliver us from evil.

A Prayer for the Stream Behind My Apartment Building

Creator God:
I am sorry for this little stream,
its banks straightened and cemented.
Graffiti decorates the culverts,
and it’s dotted with plastic bags and bottles.
But trees still grow and shelter,
dappling with shadow,
ducks and dragonflies dally,
birds swoop and the wild creatures come to drink.
Now in fall, yellow leaves sail on its dark surface,
it’s still a place that delights.
This little stream retains its beauty
even after we’ve abused it.
We turn our backs on it, and yet it flows,
gurgling and burbling, bustling its way
beyond our banks, slipping through rivers
and lakes and rivers and down to the sea.
You know this stream from its beginnings,
carved by glaciers, fed by springs a mile deep.
You remember when human eyes first saw it,
when people drank from it, and hunted near it.
You imagine a beautiful future for your stream.
My prayer today is one of repentance for deeds done
and a deep desire for a lesson falling down on us like rain.
Living Water, teach us that water is life.

Peace Prayer for Imprisoned Sexual Offenders

Great God, hear my prayer for every person in prison
convicted of a sexual offence.
These are the people I count as enemy,
that our society counts as enemy;
rapists, abusers, child molesters.
Jesus, you are the key of David,
you walk through every locked prison door,
you look with love into the heart of each one.
You know the history of aggression,
and that when the unspeakable is done to us,
blind pain can cause us to lash out.
You see how violence leaves deep scars on the violators.
And so we pray—
for those who have no hope of parole,
show them that you can open the prison of their heart;
for those who are stuck in webs of lies and denial,
open their eyes to the value of repentance;
for those who are in desperate need of therapy,
change our systems that deny treatment;
for those who have been abandoned by friends and family,
bring visitors and helpers to comfort them;
for those who have internalized hateful labels
like “scum of the earth”, and “garbage”,
open their ears to hear you whisper the word “beloved”.
Unsettle us with improbable and unexpected incarnations
as you are born again in the cages we call prisons.
Right in the midst of broken dreams and wasted lives
there you are: Immanuel, Christ the Lord,
God with us.  Amen.

A Settler Prayer for Peace

Creator God
hear our prayer for settlers everywhere,
for people living on land stolen
and traded unfairly from indigenous peoples.
You know our cruelties,
our disregard for cultures and histories,
our cavalier dismissal of treaty rights,
our personal prejudices, our institutional racism.
We are part of a colonial system so insidious,
those who benefit don’t even see it, even when it’s in front of our faces.

You are a God who names, a God who hears.
You know the name of every missing and murdered indigenous woman.
You heard the cries of every child in every residential school.
You know the original names of every landmark,
in languages that no one living knows.
You hear the earth groaning as it is torn and broken,
its holy balance polluted and poisoned.
Send us a chinook peace to melt our permafrosted hearts,
a Great Spirit of hope that blows through our land,
rearranging landscapes, upsetting tables where money is counted.
A wind that changes our hearts and gives us courage
to seek justice, love kindness
and walk humbly together,
settler and First Nations, Inuit and Metis,
for we are all God's children.

A Prayer for when Sexual Abuse is Discovered

My God, my God,
where were you?
My innocent child,
my beautiful innocent child,
a child of God, your child,
this child has been abused.
First and foremost,
protect my child, Lord.
Keep them from further harm.
Heal the hurt.
Mend the memories.
Restore what is lost.
Show me how to help
and how to get them the help they need.
Let there not be lasting, lingering effects
from this deed done.

God of all the dark places in the world,
you know what I am feeling inside.
Such a feeling of guilt:
how could I have missed this?
how could I not have known?
how could I not be there to protect?
These feelings are enough to engulf me,
but they are matched thought by thought
with rage and outrage and anger.
How dare he?
If there was a trigger to pull,
I would pull it.
With every wailing prophet,
I call down judgement and destruction,
never in my life have I longed this much
for a God of wrath.

And yet the next moment
I am filled so much with sadness
for this broken hurting world;
so many little ones abused,
so many warped people hurting others,
probably after being hurt themselves as children.
God of all of us, how can you bear it?
Jesus, thank you that you too felt the outrage,
you too spoke of millstones around necks
and people being drowned in the bottom of the sea.
Yet your actions were all of love;
even in extreme pain, you spoke the word “Forgive”.

Holy Spirit, I need your presence with us on this journey.
Lead me in good paths, not bitter ones.
Teach me how to trust again.
Be our companion as we work for justice and accountability,
accompany us as we walk step by step towards healing.
And yes, even touch the heart of the one who offended,
convict, convert and illumine their minds,
so that they can understand the wrong they’ve done,
and never do it again.

My first and last thought is for my baby, my own,
a child of God, wounded and hurting.
You who sees the littlest sparrow falling,
reach out and catch this one,
mend them inside and out,
and keep them in your loving care forever.  Amen.

Prayer for Male Survivors of Violence

God of Comfort:
We pray today for men and boys
whose lives have been scarred by abuse and violence.
We pray for boys bullied and molested
by people who should be their friends.
We pray for boys sexually abused and exploited
by people they trust who should protect them.
We pray for boys who cry their tears alone
with no one to comfort them.
We pray for men who have suffered physical assault
and have fear as a constant companion.
We pray for men who have been sexually assaulted
and have nowhere to tell their story.
Jesus, teach our church to see your face
in all people, all genders
who suffer from the effects of violence. Amen.

Song of Peace Confessional Prayer

Lord, we come in prayer to you burdened with our unhappy business:
all the deeds done under the sun that we would rather not remember,
the sound of sin in our world.
The explosions caused by bombs made in our own factories.
The cries of the hungry that are not fed in our own communities.
Our own hurtful words hurled at those we love.
The echoing silence of creatures who we have driven to extinction.
Hearer of all, you know too clearly the sorrows of our world!
Forgive us our sins, and help us right the wrongs we’ve done.
Give us words of repentance to share with those we’ve wronged,
ringing courage to stand up for the voiceless creatures of the world
and a resounding love for the lowest and the least.
Most of all, tune our ears to the voice of Jesus,
so that always and everywhere we might hear
his song of peace for every creature under the sun.

Prayer for those who are Addicted

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us
bringing good news to the oppressed,
proclaiming liberty to the captives,
releasing the prisoners.
Great Redeemer, we need your good news
for all of us who are captive to addictions.
Good news for people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs.
Good news for people who are addicted to gambling.
Good news for people who are addicted to tobacco or food.
Good news for people who are addicted to pornography.
Good news for people who are addicted to work.
Grant liberty to all who are bound by the chains of addiction.
Grant us insight into how our habit is hurting us and our families.
Give us courage to take the first step to recovery.
Give us hope and strength to start walking the long road to freedom.
We pray for healing for the deepest hurts that chased us to addiction.
We pray for release from cravings, and a new life free from desire.
Let us not be led into temptation.
Surround us with supports.
Thank you for addiction counsellors and AA groups,
for family and friends who support and encourage.
Help our communities to walk sensitively with all who are addicted.
Most of all, thank you for insight, which you give to each one of us,
that we have choices each and every day,
that we can make choices for life,
and not for death, each and every day.
God of grace, who sent Jesus to show us the way,
hear our prayer. Amen.

Creation Care

I’m another in the long line of admirers.
Eve and Adam admiring the garden,
Abram staring, open-mouthed, at the stars,
Elijah running through a beautiful rain,
and David singing, always singing on the hillsides.
God’s praises being sung through the ages,
praise to a Creator whose work stands the test of time. 

This time, it’s my turn.
I close the computer, open the back door
and step into the garden.
My heart is a sounding board
for the night sky, deep with stars.
The fragrance of today’s rain still lingers,
and the crickets are singing all night long.
It’s God’s earth and I care for it. 

So what do we do about the
parts per million invisible to the naked eye
that change our atmosphere, thinning the ice cap,
raising the oceans, transforming our weather?
What about the beached whales, the bewildered polar bears,
the news of one more species never to be seen again?
 
Creation has cared for me, nurtured me,
held me close and taught me to sing.
I don’t know what it will be today:
a song of lament, a song of justice,
a chant for peace, a chant for change,
a hymn for hope, a hymn for healing?
Open now my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will sing out your song.

Surveillance: A poem about the suspects of the Boston Marathon Bombings

Walking through the crowd with your backpacks
surrounded by happy people on race day,
you weave your way purposefully
down the street
around the corner,
you know where you are going.

I want to reach out
from my vantage point on high
I want to call you by name so you look
I would reach out and put a hand on your cheek
like your mother
I would look in your eyes
looking for the good boy,
I would hold that gaze

What I wouldn’t give
to turn you around
and send you home.
Put those backpacks away.
Take those things apart.
What are you thinking?

I would lay it out for you
show you the cost
the weight of human suffering
the broken bodies families hearts
the backlash the anger
more hatred spewing
and not out there but here
(and I would place my hand on your heart)
you will lose something vital

As you walk with your caps
and your heavy backpacks
what I wouldn’t give to stop you
stop this endless loop of you
walking the wrong way again and again
to the finish line.
Is it never finished?

Judas, the friend of Jesus

Judas is so easy to hate.
The  betrayer, the snitch, the bad seed,
his name synonymous with treason.
No one cries when we hear he’s hung himself.
We all think, “Finally he gets what he deserves.”
Cast into the darkness of disgrace for all time,
who mourns for Judas?

But Judas was there from the beginning,
called like every disciple,
leaving behind everything to follow Jesus.
He was there in the boat, watching Jesus walk on water.
His hands touching the five loaves and two fish
multiplied by Jesus to feed the crowds.
From Samaria to Caesaria, from Galilee to Jerusalem,
Judas walking with Jesus, talking with Jesus,
listening and learning.

Jesus trusted Judas.
Matthew the tax collector was the money man,
but it was not to him that Jesus entrusted the purse.
Did Judas siphon cash away?
Jesus was not worried about this, if he did,
although John in his gospel is scathing
in his condemnation.
When the woman anoints Jesus,
John points the finger at Judas,
saying it was Judas who complained,
Judas who stole money.
In his gospel,
John is eager to further ruin Judas’ reputation,
if that is even possible.
After Judas’ betrayal of Jesus,
Judas disappears from John’s gospel.
John will not spare one more word for him.
He could not care less.

It is in Matthew the tax-collector’s gospel
that the story is filled in.
Matthew says all the disciples complained
about the money wasted in the anointing.
In Matthew’s gospel we learn that in the garden,
Jesus greets Judas with the word “Friend”.
Many years later, as Matthew sits to write,
does he remember that night in the garden?
Does he see the look of love on Jesus’ face?
Did it remind him of the relief he felt
the first time he realized that Jesus loved him,
a tax-collector, friendless in Israel?
Matthew’s gospel tells us of Judas repenting,
returning the money, naming himself as sinner.

Can we know why Judas did what he did?
What is the motivation for any sinner?
We can only know that Jesus called him friend.
Greater love has no one than this,
than that they lay down their life for their friends.
It’s easy to hate Judas.
But joined together in repentance
we are friends forever with Judas
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God Confronts War Today (Psalm 46)

God the Almighty longs for peace;                       
God confronts the desolation of war.
God cradles the broken bodies
and feels the agony of violence.
Jesus kneels with the grieving
and collects their wild tears.
The Holy Spirit broods over the bent world
counting the cost of carnage.
The Lord of hosts is with us,
the God of Jacob is our refuge
as we long for peace.
God is our refuge and strength
a very present help in times of trouble.

Come behold the works of the Lord,
see what desolations God has brought on the earth.
From Canada to Cambodia,
from Israel to Indonesia,
from Afghanistan to the Americas,
God makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
God breaks the bow, and shatters the spear,
God burns the shields with fire.
God breaks the M16 assault rifles,
and shatters the laser guided bombs,
God burns the CF18 fighter jets with fire.
God breaks the AK47s,
and shatters the cluster bombs,
God burns the military intelligence satellites  with fire.
God breaks the sniper rifle,
and shatters the grenade,
God burns the military torture centres with fire.
God breaks the atomic bombs
and shatters the missile silos,
God burns the nuclear submarines with fire.

Be still and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.
The Lord of hosts is with us,
the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Good Friday Prayer of Confession

Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
We come to you, Jesus, burdened with our own sin.
Our own calls for revenge and violence,
which may or may not have included the words, “Crucify, crucify!”
Our own betrayals, with or without the thirty pieces of silver.
Our own denials, whether or not we have heard the cock crowing.
You know the sins we carry, secretly or openly,
the way they crush us, the weight of them.
We bring these to your cross…*

You carry our burdens, Lord.
These, the simplest and gravest of sins,
are magnified into organizations and systems,
amplified in the actions of corporations and governments.
Selfishness, revenge and violence unfold on the largest scale,
bringing forth misery and destruction  in our world every day.
You carry all of our burdens.

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:4-6 NRSV)

 *(Option…On entering the service, people are given a small square of paper.  Ask people not to write their name on the paper, but to think for a quiet moment about the burden of their own sins. They can write words or symbols on their paper or leave it blank. At this point in the prayer they are invited to come forward and  nail their paper to a large wooden cross placed on the floor of the sanctuary…hammers and little  nails provided by the cross.  When everyone who wants to do this has participated, the cross is raised up, so that it is visible to all.  You can also do this more simply with sticky notes, which is less visceral, but more doable for a large congregation.)

Good Friday poem: Peter

My first thought was, “It’s not going to be me.”

Jesus, in a voice barely audible,

told us we would all become deserters.

When I protested, he looked at me,

and singled me out,

and said that I would deny him too.

 

After everything we’d gone through together,

after all I’d left behind, these three years of ministry…

how could he doubt me?

Was I not the only one who stepped out of the boat,

waves raging, my one thought to be at his side? 

With all my heart, I’d told him what I knew to be true,

that he was the Christ, the son of the Living God.

Me desert him?  Never!

Then and there I vowed,

"I will not leave this man."

I am going to stick with Jesus

whatever the cost...prison, death…

nothing will stop me.

And I am a man of my word.

 

We heard the soldiers coming,

but Jesus didn’t move, he only waited.

And then the betrayer was at hand,

Judas, armed only with a kiss.

When they went to seize our Lord,

I drew my sword to defend him.

No one else came prepared to fight,

but Jesus refused my protection,

meagre as it was.

I would have died fighting at his side,

but he would not have it.

I don’t know where the other disciples went

but I never lost sight of Jesus,

I was there with him,

walking in the shadows.

 

I can hardly say what I was expecting…

Moses or Elijah, a voice from heaven,

a storm from him whom the winds obeyed,

bonds broken in pieces like bread on a hillside,

something, anything to end that unthinkable captivity.

Instead there was only a quiet night,

the clink of chains

the darkness broken by fires.

I could see him with the soldiers.

I went as close as I could,

cautious, as I knew that I was out of place.

And sure enough, that girl picked me out of the crowd.

She would have had me thrown out of the courtyard,

but I was determined to stay close to Jesus.

I said anything to keep my vow to not leave his side.

If I admitted I knew him, they would send me away.

Three times I was challenged

and at the third time, I turned and looked at Jesus,

saying with my eyes, “I am still here, I won’t leave you.”

He lifts his head, and his gaze locks on mine

even as the crazy cry of the rooster announces the dawn.

The sound recalls his words that I would deny him three times…

But I am still here!  I have not left your side!

I will not desert you!

His eyes reach inside me like the shock of a desert dawn.

I had missed something essential.

I had paid too dearly for the sight of him.

 

I stumbled from that place

stung from the terrible choice of being with or being true.

I left his side,

wildly weeping for a lost saviour.

I could not save him with my presence,

even with a truer word spoken.

Rain grace upon us

On our dry journey,

forgiveness is the water on the horizon,

and we’re the pilgrims in the desert

who cannot possibly walk there.

Tied up tight,

revenge is a hot little bundle

we hug to our chest.

We are plagued with hurt;

the betrayal, the murder,

the verbal barbs, the abandonment

the lack of love, whatever.

We have been robbed

and god almighty it hurts.

Our pain is the one sure thing

and someone has to pay.

We drag ourselves on our way

burdened with what will not sustain us.

Anger warms the belly for a while,

righteous justice can fire the mind,

self-pity burns inside.

On this most barren of trails

grace falls like rain,

a deep benediction.

Even here, forgiveness can blossom

inexplicably,

like a delicate desert rose.

Breaking the Chains: A Prayer for all who are Addicted

Lord Jesus, you are the one who came to set captives free.

Today we pray for all among us who are slaves to addictions,

fettered in body and mind to behaviours that destroy.

We call out for one more;

one more bet, one more illicit meeting,

one more cigarette, one more snack,

one more year of working this hard,

one more hit, one more downloaded picture,

one more meal to be purged,

one more little drink that won’t hurt anyone.

Open our eyes to the chains that bind us

and the destruction it is causing in our lives

and the lives of those we love.

Spirit of God, Spirit of Truth,

give courage and wisdom to those who walk

with people who are addicted;

give courage to confront,

and wisdom to know how and when to intervene.

Thank you for the resources of our society;

for counsellors and treatment centres

for doctors and hospitals and clinics.

Most of all, God of creation,

we give thanks for the way you see us--

made in your image, capable of choosing life,

and living life abundantly.

We can do this through the power of your son Jesus

who is Immanuel, God with us,

even in the darkest prison of addiction. Amen.

Advent Peace Prayer for People living in Poverty

We say a prayer of thanks today for those among us

in our community, in our country,

who are living in poverty.

Thank you for the courage of people with no money,

for their resourcefulness and ingenuity,

for the way they show that loving relationships do not depend on income,

for their joy and laughter in difficult circumstances

and for the willingness of those who live with little

to share with anyone who asks,

for they understand the spirit of Christmas.

 

We ask for help for those among us suffering because of poverty;

for the mother who must decide which bill to pay, the electricity or the heat,

for the senior who moves to a room because they cannot afford an apartment,

for the father who doesn’t want to go anywhere near a foodbank

but must stand in line there to feed his family,

for the single person who has just been evicted and is in a shelter,

for the child who listens quietly and sadly

as their friends describe all the things they got for Christmas.

We pray for all who have experienced the holes in our social safety net.

 

Show us, Lord, how to be people who bear good tidings.

Help us to make the crooked way straight for people suffering in poverty,

to set free those in captivity to want.

With our wallets and our voices and our votes, help us to be advocates,

creating a society that takes care of its citizens.

Open our ears to the angel’s song,

peace and goodwill for all your children.