Sunday, May 8, 2011
Offered by Calum I. MacLeod, Executive Associate Pastor

O God our present help,
     our creator and redeemer,
your presence in our lives through Christ
     brings us to praise and the giving of thanks,
for in Christ and through Christ
you have called us into being as the church,
     the bright lamp of faith,
     your gift to a broken and fearful world.

And we come this morning,
     conscious that in the death of an individual*
     our world seems changed.
This brings mixed feelings for us as your people,
     for some relief, for some bewilderment;
     for some joy, for some questioning;
Let us not exult in the killing
     but commit ourselves to hope;
let us not naively demonize
     but commit ourselves to life;
let us not unthinkingly gloat,
     but commit ourselves to love.

And for that world we pray,
     which you blessed and called good
     yet which humanity has twisted and exploited and scarred.

Bring wholeness to the broken places,
     peace to the violent places,
     healing to the hurting places,
     dancing to the mourning places.

Hear our prayers then for the whole church,
     in all its varied traditions and manifestations,
     in every country of the world.
We recognize and confess that the church struggles with its own brokenness;
     history and hurt still create tensions between denominations;
     disagreement and animosity cause division within shared traditions.
Bless us with peace, Lord;
     lead us to unity,
     and give us purity in our focus on Christ,
that we might indeed become for you, the body of Christ
     healing, forgiving, and making new
     the hurt and staleness of the world.

On this day dedicated to thanksgiving for mothers
     we join in that thanksgiving for our own mothers.

And we pray for mothers who will weep today
     because of a hungry child, a lost son, a frail daughter.

Hear our prayer for those who are sick today,
     the infirm and those close to death.
And in the end, bring us with those we have loved
     into your presence,
     the church triumphant and eternal,
     where perfect love and friendship reign
     through Christ our Lord, King of our hearts.

Our Father . . .

*Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011.

Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church