Prayers of the People

Today being Thanksgiving, I felt it appropriate to post a prayer which was lifted up in petition during our worship service last Sunday. While it was offered up as a litany for the whole congregation, I think it would also be apropos for individual prayer. (The form is taken from the Methodist litany of intercession, which has roots in the Anglican tradition.)

God of Grace,
we give thanks to you
for the family immediate and extended,
all of whom are known intimately by You;
we lift tem up now in name
to remind ourselves of your surrounding love
as embodied by them through your Spirit

God of Grace,
we give thanks to you
for the circle of friends, companions, and coworkers
with whom we break bread;
we name them now as reminders
to one another of your blessings
of companionship and faithfulness

God of grace,
we give thanks to you
for the world you have entrusted in our care;
we are mindful of the earth,
and of the abuse she has endured
under our stewardship,
eroding mountains,
polluted the air,
drilling the crust,
poisoning the waters;
we give you thanks for the new opportunities,
still, to be better stewards of all your creations
so that together we and all the earth
can praise you with our very existence

God of Grace
we give thanks to you
for all our clergy and for all our lay leaders
to whom you have given vision
and passion to answer your calling,
for Pastor Peter, Pastor Emily,
for our Bishop Brown,
for Bayview District Superintendent Extrum-Fernandez,
and for all others whom we now name

God of Grace
we give thanks to you
for all our government leaders
who will lead us uinto a new century
of peace, justice, and equality,
for leaders of the G8
and all the United Nations,
for President Obama and his family,
for V. President Biden and his fmaily,
and for all other world leaders
whom we now name

God of Grace
we give praise and thanks to you
for the chance to rebuild lives
and homes for the survivors
of disasters and tragedies
at Fort Hood, China, Taiwan,
Samoa, Phillippines, Tongan nation,
Louisiana, India,
and other that we now name

God of Grace
we give praise and thanks to you
for your mercy, love, and faithfulness
throughout the ages;
we your people cry out in joy
in anticipation of your coming;
show us how to help one another see
signs of your Spirit at work within us

All this we pray in the name of the One
who showed us the Way, Jesus our Christ,

Amen.