Today we pray for peace ... we cry out for peace ...

(I offer this prayer for the victims of the bombings in Boston, and the many lives touched by this tragedy including my dear life-long friend Darin who participated in the Marathon, and was in Boston with his family when the tragedy unfolded ... and I offer this prayer for the victims of violence in corners of the world like Afghanistan where a bomb fell in a rural village on a wedding celebration leaving 20 dead and dozens wounded ... this prayer is for the victims of violence wherever they are found ...)


Holy One ... in moments like this there are few words we can offer ...
The death and destruction takes our breath away and leaves us gasping for hope ...

Today we know the brutal reality of bombs ...
whether they lie hidden in the streets of Boston,
or in the skies over Afghanistan ...

Today we know that bombs respect no life ...
children die ...
women die ...
men die ...
lives are devestated and destroyed ...
blood is shed and bodies shattered ...
... amid the carnage and the suffering whisper Hope O Living One ...

Hear our prayers of thanks for
those who in the face of tragedy offer help and care
those who work to breath hope into desperate places
those who reach out and offer care in the face of violence
those who cry out for peace and Shalom ...

Hear our prayers for those
broken and bloodied
battered and frightened
weeping for their dead and praying for their wounded

Hear our prayers O Loving One
whether those voices cry out in English or Arabic
whether those voices cry out here or half a world away
whether those vocie call upon The Risen Christ or Allah ...

Hear the prayers of your children
who yearn for peace and cry out of an end of violence ...

Loving God into your hands we commend
the people of Boston
the participants of the marathon,
and the emergency personell and ordinary citizens who ran to help ...

into your hands we commend
the victims of violence here and there,
and whereever life is touched and devestated by such senseless acts ...

Hear our prayers O Holy One ... and in your love answer ...

Prayer for All Saints ...

Holy One, be with the people of Bella Coola
and be with the family who gather today to say farewell:
his mischievious grin will be missed,
his wise counsel will linger, but his blunt voice will be mourned,
his laughter and humour and generosity will remain as his legacy,
but we weep for what we've lost ...

Loving God, on this day of Remembrance
as the Saints who have gone before us are remembered and celebrated,
be with those who remember and celebrate this unlikely saint ...

He was a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather,
and he was most of all a friend ...
he shared his care and love with those around him,
and he offered himself without apology or regret ...
and for that we thank you for the gift that was his life ...

Holy Creator, embrace your people in thier grief,
bind up their breaking hearts,
wipe away their falling tears,
and whisper to their souls reminding all of us
of the gift of life everlasting ...

Blessed One, the earthly journey has ended,
his legacy remains,
and we entrust him into your keeping
with the ancestors and saints who have journeyed before us,
and who with you, continue thier journey in a place of
love, laughter and live everlasting ...

Hear our prayers O Holy One,
and be with those who this day mourn
those who have gone on before us ...

AMEN.

Prayer for today - June 3rd 2012 ...

Your words echo through us O Holy Servant:
Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...

Today, we feel those words more than we should ...
our media is filled with disturbing images and news
of violence and suffering,
of fear and anxiety,
of senseless actions against innocent people ...

And we feel those words:
Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...

We hear of the woundedness of others,
of the fear and suffering,
and we ache for a place of serenity and peace ...

Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...

Your call echoes through us and into the cosmos ...
The senselessness hurts and scares us ...
The Violence cuts across ages and social standings ...
The foolishness of it all leaves us weeping ...

Yet, even in those words uttered from the cross so long ago,
the end was not what it seems ...

Father forgive them for they know not what they do ...
... was answered in the Resurrection.

In the face of death
comes life.

In the face of suffering
comes wholeness.

In the face of fear
comes HOPE.

You not only forgive, O Loving One,
you heal and render whole what the world has broken.

Into your hands we commend our spirits and our lives,
into your love we offer ourselves and our communities,
into your gift of grace we plunge our fear filled moments ...

and with wholeness, healing, grace and love,
we are transformed and resurrected.

Father for give US for our doubts as you forgive
the thoughtlessness of others ...

In your name we pray ...

Prayer for today - April 23rd ...

"Peace is not the silence of cemeteries." - Oscar Romero

Holy One ... we tread through the hallowed halls of memory,
we walk the gravel path through aged and cracking stones,
we hear the brush of the wind through the sprouting grass,
we feel the warmth of spring sunshine as we linger ...
as we remember ...
as we say farwell ...

Holy One, this week our Easter Journey has meandered
into the peaceful silence of a cemetery filled with saints and sinners,
filled with memories and recollections,
filled with lives both celebrated and forgotten ...

Holy One, through our remembrance
we have recalled the lives of those who have gone before,
and we have celebrated where those lives have touched ours,
but more importantly, we have recalled
the gift of life everlasting ...

Be with us in our memories O Blessed and Holy One,
and be with us in our flickering moments of sorrow ...

On our Emmaus journey we pass the cold etched stones
and we remember ... but our companion bids us on ...
on to life ...
on to life everlasting ...

Holy One, be with us in our journey,
and hold us as we linger in a place of death
remembering the life that has been,
and affirming the life that continues unabated
in your Holy and Grace-filled presence ...

In the peace of our remembrance,
may we find the peace that surpasses all understanding ...

In the peace of our remembrance,
may we find the peace of your presence ...

Prayer for today - April 16th 2012 ,,, Resurrection ...

Loving God, your servant Jesus spoke the words from the cross:

Into your hands I commend my spirit ...

Today you will be with me in paradise ...

Loving God in the quiet hush we yearn to hear those words,
to believe those words,
to feel the truth and power behind those words ...

Too many whispers around us speak of loss
and mask the weeping that comes with death ...

Our circle of community struggles
losses seem to pile upon losses,
brokeness breaks in upon brokeness,
tears of sorrow and sadness
are more abundant then smiles of joy ...

And yet in that moment when all seems lost
we hear the voice of comfort from within
speaking the familiar yet ancient words ...

Into your hands I commend my spirit ...

and we know you are with us ...

We hear that promise ...

Today you will be with me in paradise ...

and we know this is not the end.

Holy One, move within and among us
touch our hearts and minds

remove the doubt and fear
and replace it with hope and certainty,

remove the sorrow and sadness
and replace it with joy and trust.

Holy One, we know the promises of resurrection,
yet some days those words seem distant and cold ...

... today move among us and through us
transform us from an uncertain and doubt filled people
into a Resurrected community proclaiming our faith
and living our lives knowing we are never alone
and we are never seperated from that love
that holds and sustains us throughout our life.

Hear our prayers O Holy One,
and in your love answer.