Daily Prayer for Peace--January 23

Country – Israel
Coordinator –Cindy Frerking
Leader – Randall Lawrence, Peggy Johannes
Musician –Jan Van Otterloo


Daily Prayer for Peace
Saturday, January 23, 2010 – 1:00 p.m.
Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of Candle

Invitation – Please introduce yourself and the musician

We greet you in the name of the Prince of Peace, and thank you for your presence. Each day in this Temple, dedicated to the pursuit of peace, we pray to God for peace in our world. In addition, each day we pray for a different country.

Today we will remember the people of Israel in our prayers. Located in the Middle East, Jewish leaders proclaimed the State of Israel independent in 1948. Since then, six Arab-Israeli wars have torn at this ancient land, the holy land of several major religions, without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs have fled to neighboring states, while Jewish immigrants have settled in Israel. To secure peace, Israel in 1982 ended its 15-year occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, returning it to Egypt. A Palestinian rebellion that began in 1987, took hundreds of lives before peace negotiations resulted in a 1993 accord that granted Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Jericho. The Israeli military withdrew from all West Bank cities by 1997—and also left southern Lebanon in 2000. However, peace talks stalled, a second rebellion started in September 2000, and most of the West Bank was reoccupied by 2002. Peace seems to be a far off dream.

Let us worship together and lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation for peace unto the ends of the earth.

Scripture Reading - Please announce the scripture reference I John 3:14, 16-17 NRSV

We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Prayer for Peace - Please state by whom the prayer was written by -
Alyce Hougas, St. Joseph, Missouri

God of the Universe and Father of us all, create within us the desire for peace. Give us discernment to find avenues of common ground where adversaries may acknowledge each other as children of God.

Grant us wisdom to distinguish compromise of cherished personal ideas from the compromise of your holy principles.

We acknowledge you to be Perfect Peace. Help us to become more like you and to share your qualities of peace with those about us. May our inner peace be the catalyst that brings us to bold action which will not diminish or cease until your purposes come to fruition.

Our prayer is offered in the name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Hymn - Please announce the hymn number - Lord of All Nations
Hymns of the Saints #467

Prayers of the People - Please state, “Please join us now, praying the prayers of the people. During the moments of silence, you are invited to pray silently or meditate.”

O God, you are the way of peace. Come into the brokenness of our lives and our land with your healing love. Help us to be willing to bow before you in true repentance, and to bow to one another in real forgiveness.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

We pray for all interfaith initiatives, and all occasions which bring together people of different traditions and customs. Help us to see the good in all people, and teach us to be the best Christians that we can be and to cooperate with one another in spite of differences.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

We especially remember the people of Israel. Bless the peacemakers as they seek to find peaceful ways to resolve the issues in their country.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

We thank you and praise you for love that sustains us, for wisdom that directs us, and for desire that beckons us toward peace in our world.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

We hear you calling, O God, to continue to engage in spiritual transformation as we build the peaceable kingdom on earth. We lift up in prayer our church leaders who are preparing for World Conference in April. May we be open to the Holy Spirit as we join our hearts and minds to seek your will and direction.

The People Pray in Silence(20 seconds of silence)

At this time we remember our private concerns. Hear our petitions we humbly ask.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

Lord, we pray for the joining of the stick of Joseph with the stick of Judah as Ezekiel prophesies. We thank you for this house of prayer, this house of fasting, this house of faith, this house of learning, this house of glory, this house of order, THIS HOUSE OF GOD. In Mozambique, Heidi & Rolland Baker and others minister in the power of the Spirit and in tremendous love with great healings and miracles and with care for the orphans and others. I would lift up Haiti for ministers and missionaries of power, of healings and miracles, and of tremendous and great love for orphans and for all those in need. [part that I added..]

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

We pray these things in the name of the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Sending Forth

We conclude our service today with Ministry of Music. You are invited to remain to pray or meditate in the quiet of this place for as long as you may wish.

Go now and bring peace to those around you.

Ministry of Music

Christmas Daily Prayer for Peace (did not happen due to snow)

Christmas Day – World Peace

Coordinator – Rich Baldwin

Leader – Randall Lawrence

Peggy Johannes

Musician –Jan Van Otterloo

Daily Prayer for Peace

Friday, December 25, 2009 – 1:00 p.m.

Gathering in Silence

Call to Prayer

Lighting of Candle

Invitation – Please introduce yourself and the musician

Good afternoon, and on this Christmas Day. We welcome you to this sacred place, and thank you for joining us in worship. Each day in this Temple dedicated to the pursuit of peace, we pray to God for peace in our world. On this day of our Savior’s birth we pray for world peace. We pray, that for this one day, people may reach out to their neighbor and embrace them as family. We pray that war and violence will be halted so that all may remember the birth of the one who came to teach us the ways of peace. And perhaps this one day of peace may touch our hardened hearts and soften them that we may know the ways of peace throughout the rest of the year.

Come, let us enter into this worship with joy and celebration as we pray for peace in our time, and for the whole human family.

Scripture Reading - Please announce the scripture reference Isaiah 61:8-11

For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing.

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their descendants shall be known among the nations,

and their offspring among the peoples:

all who see them shall acknowledge

that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God;

for he has clothed me… with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Prayer for Peace - Please state by whom the prayer was written by -

Hiroshi Yamada, Independence, Missouri

Dear Lord God:

After a year's journey we have once again gathered before you to celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ.

As we look back at this passing year, the joy and thanksgiving overflow from our hearts. Some of us that are here may have come through pain and grief. Some may have had a year better than past years. Others of us may have had the happiest and the most fulfilling year. Regardless of the kind of journey we may have had, we are all grateful that you have had us gather before you in this beautiful sanctuary to jointly experience your presence.

Today a joyful noise is being heard in many parts of the world. The children are singing the carols in the choirs. The youths are playing the Christmas pageant at the churches. Santas are in the towns. We see the joy and twinkle in the children's eyes and happiness glows in their mothers' faces, as they gather by the Christmas tree.

O Lord, we are so grateful for this joy, happiness, and peace we are experiencing. We pray that the children's eyes will not be clouded by the fears of wars and that the tears of sadness will not be shed on their mothers' faces. Our memories are still so vivid that we cannot forget—the tears of innocent children crying for hunger and thirst, the pains in mothers' faces with no milk in their bosoms to feed the babies. We have seen scarcity in the midst of affluence. Tragedy in the midst of peace.

We shall remember, O Lord, these cries as those of our own children and these pains as those of our own companions, even in the midst of our celebration. You sent us your Son, because you loved the world, you loved us all, that we all would have life, and not perish. And so today, O Lord, we return our thanks to you in our commitment and services to those who are bruised and afflicted so that they may be freed from bondage.

Bless and guide us as we continue our journey into the new year. We pray these things in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymn - Please announce the hymn number - Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

Hymns of the Saints #252

Prayers of the People - Please state, “Please join us now, praying the Prayers of the People. During the moments of silence, you are invited to pray silently or meditate.”

God is great! God is so good! We praise you and thank you for the plan of our salvation, and the plan for all humankind to live at peace, one with another.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

O Lord, we have not always been at peace, or even kind to one another. Forgive us, we humbly pray, and open our minds and our hearts to see your will for our lives.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

There are many nations at war with one another on this Christmas Day. We pray for them to choose to lay down their arms and find peace within themselves as well as with their enemies. We also pray for the leaders who will seek to guide their nations as they search for peace with justice. Bless their efforts with your Holy Spirit, we humbly ask.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

The people gathered here today also have needs and concerns. We ask for your comforting spirit and your guidance to direct our thoughts and actions. We desire to be a people of peace. Teach us of your peace, we pray.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

Please use this space to pray for any current concern or event in our community, city, state, nation or world that you feel needs to be held up to God for prayerful consideration. Please limit your prayer to 3 or 4 lines and make sure the coordinator has seen it. If there is nothing you wish to say here simply move on to the final prayer.

The People Pray in Silence (20 seconds of silence)

Accept our earnest humble plea, Great God. Help us to be at peace, to teach peace, and to build peace. Amen.

Sending Forth

Our service is finished for today, and we thank you for your gift of presence. We invite you to remain for the ministry of music and pray or meditate for as long as you may wish.

Thanks be to God for the plan of peace. Thanks be to God, and to each other, Peace! Go in God's name and teach peace, and the God of all nations will guide us.

Ministry of Music