Litany for Song

This litany was written by special request, specifically for an event put on by friends in Kentucky. It may be my favorite litany I've ever written.

God, it was your voice, the vibration of your words, that set the first molecules into formation and motion.
You sang the universe into being.
Your breath first nudged planets and atmospheres into existence, by the rasp and melody of your speaking.
You sang the world into being.
Like the cascade of waterfalls, the rumble of thunder, the whir of wind, and the soft breath of infants - so is the beauty and power of the voice of our God.
You sang creation to life.
You moved air through lungs of dust and called us Beautiful, named us Beloved, and shared with us your energy and your art.
You sang humanity to life.

When we say that we live and move and have our being in you, God, we mean that from wave to particle to atom to molecule to cell to organ to body - you are within and throughout.
Your voice makes us.
You are love, and Love set the earth spinning and the stars shining and our hearts beating.
Your voice makes us.
Love that sings and vibrates, dances and gyrates; Love that never stops being and becoming.
Your voice makes us.
Love that energizes and ennervates, uplifts and invigorates; Love that multiplies and amplifies.
Your voice makes us.

In Christ, Love put on a human face; took on vocal cord, consonant, resonance, and sustain.
Hallelujah!
In Christ, Love decided that dying was dancing and resurrecting was to be expected.
Hallelujah!
In Christ, Love said that loss is gain and death is life and power is weakness and dissonance is harmony, and then proved it.
Hallelujah!
In Christ, Love is re-making every broken thing; every off-key note and accidental, every counterpoint, coda, and hum is arranged to beauty.
Hallelujah!
In Christ, Love is singing again, and still singing: a song of redemption, invitation, and new creation.
Hallelujah!

Amen

Litany for the Children and Families of Syria

How Long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue [them] from their ravages,
[Their] precious li[ves] from these lions...
Awake and rise to [their]defense!
Contend for [them], [our] God and Lord!
 - from Psalm 35

"Omran, Angels are Here" painting by Judith Mehr. (via)

God, we weep with you over the war in Syria.
Our brothers and sisters are in despair.
This war is without end:
The unending unthinkable.

We weep with the mothers
Who have lost their babies in deadly chemical attacks.
We weep with the fathers
Who cannot keep their families safe from harm.
We weep with the orphaned children
Whose parents have been separated from them.
We weep with these families
Who are our family.

Let your angels surround them in their distress.
Let your mercy come to them.
Let your peace be a miracle among them.
Let your life be a victory over death.

Rescue them, Lord God.
Move mountains to save them.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Amen

Litany for Greed

Someone asked me a few months back to write a litany about greed. My first inner response was something like "ugh i don't want to think about that." But I realized I really need this litany too. And I think we can't talk about greed without talking about why we are greedy. Which is often to cover up insecurity, a feeling of lack, of not having or being enough, or a sense of inner failure. We can't talk about greed without talking about the lies and illusions we create to avoid encountering deeper wounds in our hearts. Psalm 51 feels particularly right for this topic.

God, we confess our need for transformation
We are often greedy and self-absorbed.
We get caught up in our culture’s idea of success:
Seeking wealth, position, regard.
We forget that we are spiritual beings
In need of spiritual sustenance.

For idolizing money
Forgive us, Oh God.
For our preoccupation with worldly success,
Forgive us, Oh God.
For posing ourselves to impress other people,
Forgive us, Oh God.
For the lies we tell to make people like us,
Forgive us, Oh God.
For the illusions we create to avoid facing pain,
Forgive us, Oh God.
For seeking personal gain above Kingdom Good,
Forgive us, Oh God.

Help us to set our minds on things above
Things unseen. (1)
Help us to bravely uncover our insecurities and wounds,
And work toward truth in our innermost being. (2)
Help us to trust that we are enough, we have enough;
Your grace is sufficient. (3)
Help us to follow the way of Christ,
To seek first your Kingdom. (4)

(1) Colossians 3:2
(2) Psalm 51:6
(3) 2 Corinthians 12:9
(4) Matthew 6:33

 

Litany for International Women’s Day

March 8 is International Women's Day.

Oh God, who has created all human beings with dignity and love:
We lift to you the women of the world
Our mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends
Worthy human beings, beloved by You.

Speak deeply into the souls of women and girls today
Tell them their worth, value, and strength.
So many women have been dis-empowered
Abused and enslaved
Pushed to the margins of societies worldwide,
Their voices never heard.

But you, Lord, have redeemed the lowly.
You have scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts (1)
You have lifted up the humble (2)
The Mighty One has done great things for us (3).
Even now, you are bringing justice for women,
Wave upon wave over the earth.
Even now women of wisdom are rising to leadership
In churches, organizations, governments, and arts.

Give courage to the women working
For equality and the good of their sisters and brothers.
Keep them from temptation and evil. (4)
And may the next generation rise up freer than the last.

Amen

(1) Luke 1:51
(2) Luke 1:52
(3) Luke 1:49
(4) Matthew 6:13

Litany for Ash Wednesday (Year A)

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, in which people of faith set aside time to fast and reflect upon the state of ourselves. It's a time of humility, and of facing the truth that we are imperfect and fall short and need the grace of God to meet us, not shying away from what we must deal with before we can grow. Many of us smear ashes on our heads on this day, as a symbol of our humility and contrition. This litany references several of the day's Lectionary passages.

Oh God, our wrongdoing is ever before us
Our complicity in systems of injustice
Our tendency to validate falsehoods
Our sloth about love
Our willingness to be constantly entertained and never quiet
Our egos, violence, and idolatry.
   
These things only begin to describe our transgressions.
We are none of us immune to them. (1)
We have done harm
And left good undone.

We devote ourselves in this season
To cleaning up our messes;(2)
Both inward, of our deepest hearts;
And outward, of our societies and relationships.
Show us our own selves,
That we may become transformed
And by repentance and contrition
Re-make the world with you. (3)

We are deep in need of grace.
Have mercy on us, oh God. (4)

Amen

(1)Joel 2:12,13
(2) Psalm 51:10
(3) Isaiah 58:6-8
(4) Psalm 51:1


 

Litany for Journalists

God, we bring before you now those brothers and sisters
Who work to bring us news about the world we live in.
They are in a time when they must double down their efforts
To dig deep and bring truth to light.

Merciful God, protect them
Bring them help and respite,
Care for them
And for their families
Let no evil harm them,
And no foe alarm them.

When enemies line up to hurl insults
Give them blessedly deaf ears.
When world leaders malign their efforts,
Give them proof of their worth.
When exhaustion sets in,
Give them reliable friends and allies to help.
When they are tempted to bait clicks with sensationalism
Give them firm resolve and ethics.

Let truth and transparency be their guideposts.
Let freedom and civil liberty light their way.
Let insight and analysis spur them on.
Let strength and nobility characterize their work.
 

Amen

Litany for Fake News

God, we know that you desire truth in our innermost beings,
And you teach wisdom to our secret hearts (1).
We know that you detest lying lips,
But delight in people who are trustworthy (2).

All around us, fools conceal hatred with lies,
And spread slander (3),
So much so that we have trouble knowing what's what.
Keep us from temptation, and deliver us from evil;
Give us discernment and wisdom
That we might not mistakenly take part in spreading falsehoods.

Help us to be resolutely truthful -
Beacons of reliability where distrust abounds;
Anchored to truth in every circumstance,
Even when the truth is inconvenient or distasteful.

And stand connected with us in our every interaction
Both in person and in the digital world
So that we can respond with calm resolve,
     With patient listening,
     With merciful understanding,
     With compassionate love,
     With firm knowledge,
     And restrained opinion;
To every friend
And every perceived enemy.

We know that you require us to speak truth from our hearts (4).
We commit ourselves to spreading Good News to all.

Amen

(1) Psalm 51:6
(2) Proverbs 12:22
(3) Proverbs 10:18
(4) Psalm 15:2

Litany for Forgiving Others

God, it is our nature to keep record of wrongs (1).
It is your nature to forgive (2,5).
We tend to let wounds fester.
You offer light, air, and healing.
We tend to get stuck in bitterness and pain.
You embody freedom.

Come now, into the places where our hearts have been wounded
Where we have been betrayed or abandoned
    Or disrespected
    Or overlooked
    Or kicked while we’re down
    Or stolen from
    Or slandered
    Or misunderstood.
Come now, into the dark parts of us that want revenge
    That want to grind axes,
    That want our enemies to suffer
    That want to keep a list of grievances
    That want to prove how strong we are
    That want to defend ourselves.
Replace our pride and bitterness
With superhuman love.

This is hard work for us:
Becoming like you
Turning the other cheek
Making ourselves vulnerable (3).
It’s why we need you so much -
Because we are weak.
We need you to move mountains for us:
Mountains of pain and resentment.

Strength, wholeness, and redemption
Life, peace, and resurrection
Are in forgiveness;
And in forgiving, we are forgiven (4).

Amen

(1) 1 Cor 13:5
(2) Ps 103:10-14
(3) Matt 5:39
(4) Matt 6:14-15
(5) Ps 130:3,4

 

Litany for Simeons & Annas

The gospel lectionary passage for the day commemorating the Presentation of the Lord on Feb 2 is about Simeon and Anna the Prophet, From Luke 2. Jesus' parents presented him at the temple in Jerusalem, and Simeon and Anna, who had waited their whole lives to see the Messiah. This one may be more slam poem than litany, or equally. You can tell me.

God, in this time we are watching and waiting,
Fasting and praying,
Planning and scheming,
Hoping and dreaming,

For a new thing, a new day,
A breakthrough:
    Kingdom coming,
    Heaven opening,
    Son of God descending,
    The world awakening.

Looking around we see war and destruction
Strife and obstruction
Poverty and reduction
Tyranny and corruption.

And it’s taking all our strength and all our courage
To see beyond the present
To see past our sorrow
To see a future and a hope for tomorrow.

But we want to be
Faithful like Simeon
Devout and righteous;
And steadfast like Anna,
Staying engaged,
Prayerful and joyous.

Because we have a promise.
We have a vision.
Our eyes will see the glory,
Consolation and redemption.
And even if it takes
A lifetime or a day
In hopeful expectation
We work and we wait.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Come, Lord Jesus.
May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting. (1)

Amen
 

1. I lifted this line from a liturgy from the Church of England
    

Litany for Government

God, we seek your wisdom for how to live today, in this time and place.
We ask help from you
To remember that we are citizens of heaven first and foremost. (1)
Help us, oh God,
To live with integrity and fidelity to Christ even while under human government.
Help us, oh God,
To practice peace and resurrection in our every action. (2)
Help us, oh God,
To exercise our rights and privileges on behalf of the vulnerable.
We need the mind of Christ.

We pray for those human leaders in authority
That they may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly; (3)
That they may overcome self-interest with self-sacrifice;
That they may listen to the voices of the people they serve;
That they may have vision for good for all, beyond partisan goals and nationalism;
That they may resist temptation to wield their power for personal gain;
That they may resist tyranny, totalitarianism, and autocracy within their ranks;
That they may speak truth, and uphold it; (4)
That they may hold fast to laws which foster justice, and root out those that discriminate against the weak.
That they may seek peace and pursue it;(4)
That they may work for equality and benefit for all races, all genders, all religious and cultural expressions;
That they may champion the beauty of humanity from cradle to grave;
That they may regard kindness and cooperation as strengths;
That they may lead with humility, morality, compassion, and creativity.

Let everything that is hidden come to light -
The light that is Christ. (5)
And let all people live in the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Under the law of Love.

Amen

1. Philippians 3:20

2. “Practice resurrection” is a line in Wendell Berry’s famous poem “The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”

3. Micah 6:8

4. Psalm 34:14

5. John 8:12

Litany for the Earth

Here is the text of the first half of Psalm 24 (NLT).

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.

Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols
and never tell lies.

They will receive the Lord’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.
                 - Psalm 24:1-6

God, we lament the destruction that has been done
That we have permitted to be done
By our silence and inaction
And by our direct action
To the Earth - Your creation. *
Forgive us, Oh God.

Even now we realize that our home
Is suffering
Its inhabitants are suffering
From lack of clean water and air
     Lack of life-giving nourishment
     Lack of safe habitat.

Help us to become aware
     Of the needs of humanity,
     Of the needs of generations to come,
     Of the needs of soil and creatures.
We acknowledge that we have a chance:
     To choose peace over profit
     To choose activity over complacency
     To choose a Greater Good over today’s convenience.

Arouse in us a new compassion,
A new willingness to change,
A new excitement to foster community,
A new faith in the abundance of your Kingdom.
A new zeal for establishing the Peace and Justice of God,
A new desire to set the Earth to rights
A new understanding of the connectedness of all things,
A new appreciation of the gift of Earth.

Amen

*Recommended reading for people of faith on the topic of Creation Care is Tri Robinson's _Saving God's Green Earth_.

Litany for Imagination

God, we are made by you:
Imagined by you,
Formed in your image,
Created by your love.

We often forget that we are creatures of imaginative potential,
Of creativity;
That our imaginations, like yours, can be generative and life-giving
Useful to your Kingdom.
We often forget that our assumptions about you are limited
     By our experience here;
     By words on a page,
     By culture and tradition,
     By our ego,
     By our smallness.
But with these starting points, and with imagination, we can let go of assuming
And move closer to you.

We struggle, because we only know things that you are like
     Like water
     Like bread
     Like wind
     Like a parent
     Like a king.
But we know that these are incomplete comparisons:
Nothing we know can define you.

We pause now, and open our minds
To the fullness of God;
Of which we can contain only a little at a time -
A portion that gives us life
And makes us hungry and thirsty for more.
Fueling our imaginations.

This is what we ask for:
To be able to move past what we can see, feel,
Taste, touch and hear with our mortal bodies.
Toward a new horizon, a new reality:
A Kingdom you are imagining
And inviting us to imagine and embody.

Amen
 

Litany for End-of-year Reflection

God, with your help we have come here,
To the end of another year,
Some bearing smiles,
Others bearing scars.

We reflect upon your goodness now
Your constant Presence,
Your unfailing love,
Your kind regard.

You offer peace.
We accept.
You offer nearness.
We accept.
You offer a new life.
We accept.
You offer transformed hearts.
We accept.

Heal us where we are wounded.
Sort us where we are confused.
Sweeten us where we are bitter.
Open us where we are shut-down.

For all the ways you’ve revolutionized our hearts and minds this year
We give thanks.
For the improvements to our character,
We give thanks.
For challenges tackled and trials endured,
We give thanks.
For disappointments that have re-oriented us,
We give thanks.
For pain that has disciplined us,
We give thanks.
For love that has soothed us,
We give thanks.
For the light of Christ, whose life has illumined the path of peace,
We give thanks.

Amen
 

Litany for Being of Good Cheer

(See John chapter 16)

God, some of us are bombarded with messages
That tell us we should never feel sad -
We should ignore pain or cover it up.
Some of us are bombarded with messages
That tell us we should only feel sad -
We should give up hope altogether.

We are grateful for your balanced view,
and for your example
Of acknowledging people’s pain and darkness
And companionably entering into it with them;
Of letting death think it won for a hot minute
Then BOOM: resurrection!

Death overcome.
Grief turned to joy.
Weeping turned to laughter.
Pain and travail: a child is born.

Help us to live as faithful Grievers
Of whatever anguish we encounter or experience,
Who are willing to walk among despair.
And help us to live as faithful Hopers:
Courageous People of Good Cheer
Who are certain of our impending joy.

Amen

Being of good cheer is a thing that Jesus says we should do, or be, as it were. At least, the King James translates it that way. Other more contemporary translations give the line as “take courage” or “take heart.” I’m naturally a suspicious, somewhat cynical, glass-half-empty sort of individual; being of good cheer is not really my thing. But this line comes at the tail end of a chapter, John 16, in which Jesus is being really honest with his followers about what it’s going to be like for them to live in the tension of the time between when he leaves and when he comes again. The tension of waiting. The tension, it occurs to me, of Advent.

See, I’m about done with Christmas Cheer by now. Kids are dying in Syria and Yemen, and Standing Rock still isn’t over, and bombings and cancer and melting polar ice caps, and people around the world are grieving a million different losses and hurts. And if you ask me to ignore that and just sing songs and spread cheer I’m probably going to tune you out. I don’t see Jesus ignoring darkness or pain, and I pray we can have the courage to follow his example, roll up our sleeves and be about healing and peacemaking.

The part of the chapter that’s most hopeful to my cynical self is this: Jesus doesn’t sugar coat anything. He doesn’t say, “oh things are going to come up roses for the next few dozen centuries while I’m doing my thing in heaven.” He doesn’t omit the fact that we will experience grief and loss; “you will grieve,” he says baldly, “but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20).*

Instead he gives us this invitation to enter into the darkness of grief and pain - an act in itself of hope and faith - so that we may learn to experience joy. It is both permission and a paradox: this becomes that, but only if we stop faking the one and start doing the other. It’s a place we get to lend our weight to help “bend the arc of justice” as MLK famously said, by becoming willing to see and feel the pain around us, and to work transform it in light of Christ’s example.

In this world you’ll have trouble, says Jesus; but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world and you are free to live as though I have even though the evidence you see around you contradicts me. Part of the tension of Advent is this: how to both grieve authentically and be of good cheer. Always the tension, always the paradox of faith, the waiting that stretches our boundaries. I like Christmas Cheer better this way, with salt alongside light, with real-life darkness to illuminate.

*This passage is just another one of the myriad reasons I think grieving is important work, not to be shirked.

Litany for Inner Stillness

God, we know that when we wait upon you
Our strength is renewed. (1)
We know that your presence can grow in us
When we become still. (2)
You are exalted in our hearts
When we contemplate your goodness.

That we often avoid quiet reflection
We confess to you, Oh God.
That we often mistake stillness for sloth,
We confess to you, Oh God.
That we often become hoodwinked by our culture of excess,
We confess to you, Oh God.
That intentional stillness often requires great effort from us,
We confess to you, Oh God.

When we are running around, attending to our to-do lists,
It’s you we seek. (3)
When we are looking for pleasure and consolation,
It’s you we seek.
When we are in need of affirmation and success,
It’s you we seek.
When we are avoiding our pain, or nursing our wounds,
It’s you we seek.

We cease our striving and sink now into the stillness of this moment
For we have composed and quieted our souls. (4)
We immerse ourselves into your loving, always-available presence,
For we have composed and quieted our souls.
We make it our ambition to be deeply familiar with you
For we have composed and quieted our souls.
We meditate upon the beauty of God,
For we have composed and quieted our souls.

Renew us now
As we wait quietly, in stillness, for you.

Amen

(1) Isaiah 40:31
(2) Psalm 46:10
(3) Psalm 63:1
(4) Psalm 131:2

A Litany for Thanksgiving

I wrote this litany last year, before I had this site. I've written more litanies on the topic of gratitude than any other topic, and I hope it stays that way. I hope I can always hang on to a grateful heart.

Recently I tweeted this to my 54 twitter followers:
"If I die and the words "Jesus," "equality," and "prayer" don't appear in my epitaph, you'll all know I didn't fulfill my calling."

Now I think I would amend that to include the word "gratitude."
 

To the God of heaven and earth, creator of people and creatures, author of seasons and of time:
We give thanks.
In this season of reflection, we look back over our lives and over the year past, and we acknowledge the ways that you have shaped us.
We give thanks.
We acknowledge the ways that things have not been perfect, and we have fallen short.
We give thanks.
We reflect on the difficulties we have encountered, and the sorrows we’ve borne.
We give thanks.
We remember the times you have seemed near to us, and the times we have been so engrossed in our own lives that we couldn’t sense your presence.
We give thanks.
We confess those times we have failed to help, and missed opportunities to love.
We give thanks.

In joy and in sorrow, in triumph and in failure,
We give thanks.
In prosperity and in loss, in ease and in difficulty,
We give thanks.

We rest in the knowledge that your purposes are accomplished both with and despite us, and we understand that every part of our journey is an opportunity for us to grow.
We give thanks.
We rest in the peace of your kindness and soak up your overflowing love, which is always directed toward us, regardless of whether we are willing to receive it.
We give thanks.

May we go forward, walking in that same kindness, passing peace to all we meet, and loving generously and intentionally.
We give thanks.
And may gratitude be reaped and sown in our hearts
We give thanks.

Amen

Litany for Defense

For those who are unfamiliar, the Lectionary is a schedule of scripture readings that covers a three year period. Each week there is a reading from the Hebrew scripture, the Epistles, the Psalms and one of the Gospels. The readings for each week will cover the major arcs of scripture over the three years.

For the past few months I have been following along each week with the Lectionary readings from the Gospel of Luke, providing a litany that is a companion to the text. The prayers I provide are intended as both petition and as a tool for spiritual formation. This week’s text is Luke 23:33-43, in which Jesus famously says "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing." I follow the Revised Common Lectionary. I'm continually inspired by the Lectionary as it pertains to current events.
 

We are tempted over and over
To try to save ourselves,
Rather than put ourselves in your care.
Father, forgive us. We know not what we do.

We are tempted over and over
To use violence to further our cause,
Rather than consider mercy a victory.
Father forgive us. We know not what we do.

We are tempted over and over
To choose a savior other than Christ;
A soldier instead of a shepherd;
A political or religious leader instead of a lamb.

Keep us from temptation,
And rescue us from evil.
As Christ chose not to save himself from death by violent means,
But instead succumbed
Willingly and without defense.
So may we willingly go down into death
That we may arise as new creatures,
Awakened and alive to Christ’s kingdom.

Amen

Litany for Lament

God, our hearts are weary,
Broken, and sad.
Grief follows us;
Pain is our companion on the road.

We are divided: parents against children,
Brother against brother
Sister against sister,
Half-nation against half-nation.

The sins of our past have revisited us.
They were just beneath the surface,
Covered in a coat of whitewash.
We are newly aware of our complicity.

We mourn our blindness.
We regret our apathy.
We weep at the state of our world.
We wish we had done things differently.
We grieve the wrongs done by us and by others
And reap a harvest of shame.

We open our hearts before you;
We are vulnerable and at your mercy.
Let your will be done to us.
Refine us in your fire.

We purpose ourselves now to walk steadfastly and humbly
Through the chafing grief
And the ache of suffering,
Out to where the mercy falls. (1)


Notes:
Lament has a long tradition among faith cultures, Christianity included. Lament is simply being present to suffering and present to the expression of grief. Happy-go-lucky Evangelicalism has largely forgotten it, and has instead taught its followers to shame those who engage in it. I think we would do well to remember our roots, to go to the book of Lamentations, the book of Job, the Psalms, even to the lamentations of Christ himself (2).

Lament is an important part of the transformation of pain. Richard Rohr says, “If you do not transform your pain, you will surely transmit it to those around you and even to the next generation” (3). I think we have an opportunity here: to lower our defenses and allow ourselves to bear witness to our pain and that of others, and to stop disbelieving others when they tell us they are hurting because we are either a) disconnected from suffering (i.e. “stuffing it”) or b) consumed by it because we’ve never authentically grieved.

In terms of current events: Lament is not a partisan effort. On both sides of the political aisle we have a lot to lament. This isn’t new, but it does seem clearer now in the wake of the most divisive election of my lifetime. Maybe if we hadn’t forgotten how to lament, to really sit with grief and pain for a hot minute, just long enough to let it pierce our armor, instead of only ever reacting to them; we would not be finding ourselves in the situation we are in.

What I’m saying is this: authentic lament might be a checkpoint on the road to reconciliation. It might be one of the keys to transforming our collective pain into something redemptive and beautiful.

1. “Where the Mercy Falls” is the title of a song by David Ruis and Bob Hartry.

2. See Matthew 26

3. Rohr, Richard. _The Naked Now_

Litany for Kindness

God, make us attuned to your compassion,
To the kindness of your heart.

Transform our hearts and minds so that in kindness
We weep with those who weep.
In kindness
We rejoice with those who rejoice.

So that in kindness
We listen to the stories of others.
In kindness
We regard them as more important than our own.
In kindness
We allow ourselves to see hidden broken hearts.
In kindness,
We perceive a greater story.

In kindness
We care for the orphan and the lonely.
In kindness
We care for the sick and the prisoner.
In kindness
We care for those whose lives are just beginning and those whose lives are at an end.
In kindness
We care for those in crisis and in need of refuge.
In kindness
We care for those disregarded, disempowered, and marginalized.

In kindness
We consider how to maintain our hope.
In kindness
We consider how to serve our communities.
In kindness
We consider money and power as tools for good, not end-goals.
In kindness
We consider all humans to be made in your image.

The precious kindness of Christ,
Which firmly corrected and firmly forgave;
The precious kindness of Christ,
Which prevailed over death, violence, and empire;
Guide our hearts and mouths
And keep us in perfect peace.

Amen.


 

Litany for Endurance

The Lectionary text from the Gospels for November 13, 2016 is Luke 21:5-19. The Lectionary is for me a rich source of inspiration on this Election Day Eve.


God, Help us to remain calm in troubled waters,
When things to fear are real or imagined.

When we are tested (1),
Help us to endure.
When we are criticized,
Help us to endure.
When we are misunderstood,
Help us to endure.
When we miss the mark,
Help us to endure.
When things are loud around us,
Help us to endure.
When peace seems impossible,
Help us to endure.
When common ground feels like compromise,
Help us to endure.
When we are thwarted,
Help us to endure.
When discouragement seems like the only reasonable response.
Help us to endure.
When we are tempted to prepare our defense (1),
Help us to endure.
When those we love feel like enemies,
Help us to endure.
When our enemies are hard to love,
Help us to endure.

We know that we gain our souls
By quiet, uncomplaining endurance.
We know that endurance
Expands our souls.

In all things,
May we have the mind of Christ.

Amen


(1) James 1:2-3  “testing… produces perseverance.”

(2) Luke 21:14 “Make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance.”