Litany for Summer

This litany originally appeared on Godspace. It is a responsive prayer; congregational responses are in bold type.

God, we thank You for turning the earth toward the Sun .
We thank You for summer.

As the days and the light are long,
So is the Love of God:
   Endless,
   Fruitful,
   Full of possibility,
   Bursting with energy.

As growing things are awake and progressing,
So may we become awake
To Your light and to Your love:
   Making progress,
   Seizing opportunities to grow,
   Readying for harvest

As our plot on the planet faces the sun, our star,
So do we turn ourselves toward the Son
Following the Way of Christ,
Following the Way of Love,
Growing to maturity,
Spreading seeds of Good News to all.

Amen

Litany for Money: A Deeper Economy

I first read the book _Deep Economy_ by Bill McKibben, sometime around 2008. It and its title have stuck with me, and spurred me on to reading several other books about Creation care and financial stewardship. For my husband and I, stewardship is a deep idea, one we value highly. We have existed in scarcity and in relative abundance. We have made wise decisions and foolish ones. We have been complicit and imperfect and fearful and hesitant and faithful and brave.

I think that in dealing with money we would do well to remember the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, as well as the Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl in Matthew 6. Not to mention the fact that, as Dave Ramsey is fond of pointing out, in the four gospels Jesus talked about money almost as much as he talked about the Kingdom of God. Whether we currently see the world from a position of scarcity or from abundance, money and stewardship seem worth praying about. Thus I give you this rather ponderous but well-meaning litany.

God,
You created humanity, and humanity exists in an economy based on money.

We acknowledge that money profoundly affects our lives.
We acknowledge that dealing with money requires our attention and effort.
We acknowledge that the love of money is a root of evil.
We acknowledge our temptation toward greed.
We acknowledge that money and hard work are linked.
We acknowledge that money and privilege are linked.
We acknowledge that poverty is an ongoing problem, and that Your heart is for the poor.

We confess our love of money.
We confess our equating money with power and status.
We confess our squandering of resources.
We confess our hesitance to risk, to invest, and to have faith.
We confess our obsession with possessions.
We confess our worry when needs arise.
We confess our jealousy of the riches of others.

Give us our daily bread.
Give us enough, but not too much.
Give us treasure that moth and rust do not destroy.
Give us riches of life, relationships, and joy.
Give us wisdom to handle money in ways that reflect Your character.

Help us to steward well that which You choose to give us authority over.
Help us to have healthy attitudes towards money, to neither disregard nor idolize it.
Help us to use our money for Your kingdom work.
Help us to care for the needy, the orphan, and the lonely.
Help us to be generous, as You have been generous towards us.
Help us to be disciplined and work hard, and be rewarded accordingly.
Help us to save for times of need, and for pleasure.
Help us to trust in Your care and provision.

May we, Your children, exist in a deeper economy;
     not an economy based on money or power, but on grace.
May we live, not from scarcity, but from the abundance of Your kingdom.

Amen
 

Litany for Identity

Recently, in the songwriting group I lead and host in my home, we had a long discussion about identity; about how so many of us are in various ways asleep to who we are, asleep to who God is, and how our identity is so central to the gospel of Jesus. But for many of us, it feels elusive - who am I again?

When I became a mother I had an identity crisis that lasted a year or more. I didn't DO any of the stuff I used to DO, and I had a hard time finding myself in the midst of all the new and unfamiliar stuff I did DO. Where had I gone? Who was this tired person with an entirely new set of priorities and schedule? Figuring it out was long work, in part because I am trained to believe that what I DO is who I AM. Disabusing myself of this idea is an uphill battle.

Identity is a huge idea, and this prayer only begins to scrape the crust of it. But for those of us who struggle, either because of our temperament or a season of life that has forced the issue, I'm hoping this prayer might be a good start.

Creator God, You formed us.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
In You we live and move
And have our being.

We acknowledge that many voices try to tell us who we are,
     Who we are not.
Many voices tell us our value is based upon
     Appearance
     Achievement
     Social status
     Gender
     Ethnicity
     Posessions
     Talent

Many would have us believe that our Doing is more important than our Being.
We renounce these voices.
We are Your Children, the work of your hands,
Unique and beloved by You.

May we become more awake to Your love,
Which has no limits.
Your love,
Which defines us.
Your love,
Which begins us and completes us.

May we walk in the sureness of our identity,
In the confidence of Your love.
May all we do come from the core of who we are:
Loved, and made of love.

Amen

A Bilingual Litany: Litany for Gracias

The church where I attend and lead worship is comprised of about 40% Spanish speakers. Because of this, and because we want to cultivate a diverse and welcoming community, we try to include Spanish elements in our services, usually in songs. This is my first bilingual litany. I have begun simply: with gratitude, the topic on which I have written more litanies than any other. I believe we suffer when we neglect gratitude, and that gratitude leads to good things in our lives and in our hearts. I also suspect that there is something transcendant, something heart-unlocking, in speaking words of praise and gratitude to God in languages not native to us. May we all cultivate hearts that value diversity and the universality of God's kingdom.

For those non-Spanish speakers, pronunciation and translation:
Santo Dios: SAN-toe dee-ose (Holy God)
Te damos gracias: Tay DA-mose GRA-see-us (We give you thanks)
Nuestra Salvación: noo-AY-strah sal-vah-see-OHN (Our salvation)
Nuestra Esperanza: noo-AY-strah ess-pear-AHN-zah (Our hope)

Holy God,
Santo Dios.
We enter into Your presence with thanksgiving and praise.
Te damos gracias.

We look to You for our provision, for our daily bread.
Te damos gracias.
We look to You for love, acceptance, and identity.
Te damos gracias.
We look to You for wisdom, correction, and insight.
Te damos gracias.

We thank You for your unending care and patience with us.
Te damos gracias.
We thank You for your power in our weakness.
Te damos gracias.
We thank You for your grace and mercy toward us.
Te damos gracias.

We thank you for sending the Son, the Messiah: Jesus.
Nuestra Salvación.
We thank you for the gift of Your spirit.
Nuestra Esperanza.

You are the Source of Life, all goodness is in You.
Te damos gracias, Señor.

Amen

Litany for Trinity Sunday

In the liturgical calendar, Trinity Sunday is celebrated the first Sunday after Pentecost, to acknowledge the Holy Trinity of God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. We have plentiful references by Jesus himself to God-Creator (Yahweh) as "Father," therefore many traditions refer to God as such. I like to make room for the idea that God-Creator is not of a specified gender, and that we are given pictures of God that by today's standards might be culturally considered masculine as well as those that might be culturally considered feminine. To that end, I have included options in parenthesis for referring to God-Creator in more gender-neutral terms. Each congregation may choose the option that resonates most strongly for its people.

 

God, we acknowledge You as over all and in all.
Sovereign. Ruler. Creator.
You are vast and unknowable, yet we have been given a clear portrayal of You:
Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Christ is seated with you in heaven, and has left us a Helper:
The Holy Spirit.

Your character, Your nature, Your creativity; all reflected in the various aspects of Yourself:
Father (Parent, Creator, Yahweh), Son, Holy Spirit.
Your glory reflected in all creation; indeed even in human beings,
Whom You made in Your image.

We acknowledge the mystery of the Trinity.
Hallelujah.
We acknowledge You as a whole whose parts each reflect Your self differently, yet perfectly.
Hallelujah.
We acknowledge the loving community You exist in.
Hallelujah.
We are grateful for the many ways You have shown Yourself to us.
Hallelujah.

Dwell among us now, and cause us to live in unity and love just as You do:
Father (Parent, Creator, Yahweh), Son, Holy Spirit.

Amen

Litany for Rest and Balance

Because I am a thirty-something mom whose main daily job is to take care of two small people, I end up talking to a lot of other thirty-something moms in a similar grind. The refrain I hear over and over again is: "I need rest. I need balance." We are all trying to figure out how to balance our responsibilities to our families, our household responsibilities, our relationship needs and responsibilities, our community responsibilities, our career responsibilities, and still find time for some self-actualization, soul care, and body care in the midst of it. It's tricky. I realize it's not just moms who are preoccupied with this problem either, nor is it just parents. I predict that this won't be the last prayer I write about rest and balance, but here it is, the first.
 

God, we hear your invitation to us:
“Come to me, you who are weary and heavy burdened. I will give you rest.”

We acknowledge our souls’ need for rest and quiet nourishment.
We lay down our burdens.
We acknowledge our souls’ need of connection with You.
We turn our intentions toward You now.

We confess our tendency to overlook rest as a necessary part of soul and self care.
We confess our pride in thinking that our work is so important that we may not set it down.
We confess our readiness to believe that what we do determines our worth.
We confess our obsession with productivity, results, measurable progress.
We confess our neglect of the good soil of our souls.
We confess our tendency to forget that it is in You that we live and move and have our being
   and that Your love is better than life.

We ask now for body, mind, spirit, whole-person nourishment.
  For rest and resurrection,
  For new life,
  For healing and consolation of our souls.
We ask for help managing our time and activities so that our
  In-fillings
  Keep up with our
  out-pourings.

Where we have overspent ourselves
Refresh us.
Where we have misplaced our priorities
Re-arrange us.
Where we have said yes when we should have said no
Remind us.

We thank You for meaningful work; for blessings and burdens.
We thank You for rest.
May we become present to our great need for
Daily bread: the presence of Christ in our lives.

Amen

I Interrupt This Litany of Litanies...

to give you
a poem
my dad wrote
(which I edited the tiniest bit).
 

Dying is Changing
   by Jonathan Pratt

From judgement of events
From judgement of intents
From Goods, Bads, Trues, Falses, Wrongs or Rights.
From regretted or resented
   pains felt,
   pains dealt.
From Wants, Needs, and hopeful, fearful Mights.
From me.
From we.

To peaceful awareness, unending Living.

Am I dying yet?
Am I dead yet?
The questions are the answer:
Yes, but no, not yet.

Litany for Pentecost

Pentecost is the day in the liturgical calendar when the church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the church as we know it, recorded in Acts 2. The Day of Pentecost concludes the Easter Season, and is celebrated ten days after Ascension Thursday. This year Pentecost is celebrated Sunday, May 15.

God, today we give thanks for the good gift of Your Holy Spirit, our helper.
Come Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God present among us.
Come Holy Spirit.

As on the day of Pentecost, when Your spirit rested on Your followers as tongues of fire,
Rest on us now, Oh God
As they were filled with the spirit and began to speak and prophesy,
Fill us now, Oh God.

Just as Jesus promised, just as the Father has promised,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us,
Empowering us to proclaim good news to the poor
Release for prisoners
To exchange beauty for ashes
Joy for mourning
A spirit of praise instead of despair.
Come Holy Spirit.

We are your church, your body on earth, who trust in the Resurrected Christ,
And in the Holy Spirit of God, here with us now.

Amen
 

Litany for Eucharist

God, we remember the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed. He took bread, broke it and said:
This is my body, broken for you.
And in the same way he took the cup, saying:
This is my blood, shed for you.

We proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.
He was pierced for our transgressions...
He was bruised for our iniquities...
By his stripes we are healed.

We proclaim that we do not live on bread alone, but by the Word made flesh:
Jesus, the Bread of Life.
The daily presence of Jesus in our lives is our sustenance.
Jesus, the Living Water.

We take this bread and cup in communion with our brothers and sisters...
In remembrance of Christ.
Christ, the Word of God, spoken to us; Christ, alive and present with us...
Christ, our daily bread.

Amen

Litany for Bodies

Though I'm not currently practicing, by education and training I am a Nutritionist (M.S.). I've long been interested in the connection of body and mind, and invested a lot of time learning and thinking about how to keep human bodies healthy. I think that how we care for our bodies has bearing on how we care for our spirits. By most standards, the general health of the average American praying person is declining, although there are various schools of thought as to how best to halt the decline. I think it's an important topic for our time that is often disregarded in dualistic (i.e., body/matter = bad, spirit/mind = good; therefore taking care of body/earth isn't considered worthwhile) theological perspectives. I think our bodies are worth praying into, and worth caring for. Jesus did, after all, go around healing them routinely.

God, we set ourselves once again under Your care.
You imagined us. You formed us. You gave us to ourselves.

We remember that our bodies are temples, where You will dwell if we let You.
We remember that we are not only spiritual beings, but also physical.
We remember that the state of our bodies often reflects the state of our inner persons.

We confess that we have at times misused our gift.
We confess that we have at times overindulged and polluted.
We confess that we have at times lazed about and given way to atrophy and inertia.
We confess that we have at times given over control and responsibility to other entities outside of our connection with You.
We confess that we have at times submitted to standards with which You have nothing to do.
We confess that we have at times been overly critical, and enslaved ourselves to appearances.
We confess that we have at times overlooked or undervalued the intersection of body and soul.

If we have allowed our temples to fall into disrepair, inspire us toward betterment.
If sickness we cannot control has overwhelmed or discouraged us, we ask for healing.
If addiction has motivated our actions, we surrender control to You, asking for help.
If we have been shamed, we look to you for identity and confidence.
If busyness has been our excuse, help us to re-prioritize.

We give thanks to You for our bodies.
We give thanks to You for Creation.
We give thanks to You for nourishment and for pleasure.
We give thanks to You for the goodness that comes with exertion.
We give thanks to You for rest and stillness.

We ask for good health in body, mind, soul, and spirit.

Help us to conduct our lives with balance, moderation, and thoughtfulness.
Help us to enjoy good food, that most intimate of connections with Creation.
Help us to enjoy sun, air, soil, and creature.
Help us to become comfortable in our skins and robust in our spirits.
Help us to steward our bodies well, and to regard them as the good art they are.

Amen

Ascension Day: Litany for Sending

Ascension Day, or Holy Thursday, is the day in the liturgical calendar in which the church celebrates the ascension of Christ into heaven forty days after his resurrection. The gospels and the book of Acts give various versions of Jesus' words to the disciples just prior to his ascension. Acts records him saying "...When the Holy Spirit comes on you... you will be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The Great Commission is recorded in Matthew, in which Jesus instructs his followers to "...go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt 28:19). This litany references the Great Commission as well as instructions given in the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus, You came into the world to restore us to our rightful place as children of God.
You are the light of the world.
We do not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.
You are the light of the world.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you.
You are the light of the world.

After your resurrection you ascended into heaven, leaving us instruction to go and make disciples...
Make us a light to the world.
To share the Good News with all creation…
Make us a light to the world.
To show compassion for the poor and needy…
Make us a light to the world.
To be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.
Make us a light to the world.

We celebrate your resurrection, your ascension, and your place at the right hand of God.
We live in the light of Christ.
We await your return, and rely upon the Holy Spirit, our helper.
We live in the light of Christ.
We are your church, your body on earth, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.
We live in the light of Christ.

Amen

Litany for Doubt

In contemporary church-y, Jesus-y culture, we have little language to express doubt; and little room in our paradigms for sitting in the tension of it. Mostly, you are either in, or you’re out. I find that lots of people have a sophisticated (or at least wordy) theology about doubt and they know all the right answers, and usually those are the folks who have never actually traveled it. It’s easy to say, from a place of faith: you should put a lid on your doubt.

I don’t want to do that.

My personal experience with doubt has been informative and valuable. I feel that Jesus’ response to my doubt has always been a gracious “Here, touch my hands and side” (1); and “I saw you under the fig tree” (2). For better or worse, I want to explore it, to remember what it felt like when I was there, and allow it to portray my faith in relief, with depth and shadow and dimension. I feel pretty sure that to doubt is to admit that mystery is an ingredient of faith, a color in its spectrum.

This litany uses more poetic imagery than most of what I post. But I have found that regular words aren’t enough to give vent to doubt. If the entree is hard questions, it needs a side of groaning, and a chaser of silence.

Honestly, if you are in a season of doubt, and you are able to pray this (or any) prayer at all, well, good for you. And if your “sometimes” is moving toward “always,” then Blessings, Sister. Blessings, Brother.

Litany for Doubt

God, sometimes we feel as if You are not there at all.
We cannot hear You through the static of our emotions,
   the cacophony of voices,
   the fullness and the void.
We cannot see You in the fabric of the visible and scientific.
We cannot feel You in the tension and the grit.

People say “God doesn’t exist” and sometimes we believe them.

We want to believe You.
We want You to be Good. Love. True.
Help our unbelief. (3)

We have been hurt. Shattered, perhaps.
We have been disappointed, and are inclined to minimize risk.
We can say with the Psalmist: “All day long I have been afflicted,
    And every morning brings new punishments.” (4)
Let Your grace pierce the armor we set about ourselves.

Have mercy on us in our doubt, and meet us in our weakness.
Where we are skeptical, be gracious to us.
Where our expectations are unmet, be generous to us.
Where we have unanswered questions, gently teach us.

We acknowledge that doubt is an opportunity to become deeply quiet,
   To wait.

On our own we can hardly open the door for You.
We will need You to stealthily creep in.
We will need Your patience, and all the loving-kindness You can muster
To make up for our lack.

If there is any language we can understand,
Surely it is Love.
If there is any small spark our eyes can see,
Surely it is Love.

Amen
 

1. John 20:27
2. John 1:48
3. Mark 9:24
4. Psalm 73:14

Litany for Loving Those With Whom We Disagree

God of Love, fill us anew with the energy of your love
For we find ourselves in conflict and disagreement with our sisters and brothers;
But we want Your heart to move us.

We confess our tendency to cast judgement on those whose ideas differ from ours.
We confess our tendency to consider ourselves superior.
We confess our tendency to blame, call names, castigate, and demean.
We confess our tendency to speak truth in righteous indignation, and not in love.
We confess our tendency to use sarcasm as a weapon of righteousness.
We confess our tendency to obsess about being right.

Help us to have patience with those who do not share our perspective.
Help us to have grace for those we consider to be in the wrong.
Help us to extend forgiveness to those who hurt us or those close to us.

May we find, in each circumstance, those places where we are complicit.
May we attend to the log in our own eye.
May we remember that the good news of the Kingdom of God is steadily creeping in,
   That fear, defensiveness, and violence are alien to it;
   That peace, beauty, and gentleness are its hallmarks.
May we compass our movements by Love’s true north.

We relinquish our need to win arguments.
We relinquish our need to demonstrate our superior worldview.
In those opportunities we get to peaceably speak our opinion, may we do it with
    Love
    Joy
    Peace
    Patience
    Kindness
    Goodness
    Faithfulness
    Gentleness
    Self-control
And may Christ be glorified by our every word and action.

Amen

Litany for Peacemaking and Forgiveness

I have been thinking a lot lately about reconciliation and peacemaking. What difficult, humble work it is! In a 24-hour period I have sent a message of apology to a person I had fallen out with many years ago, apologized to my husband for a hurt I’d dealt him, and called and apologized to a friend for yet another hurt.

We have been hurt, and we have dealt out hurt. If we haven’t already, we know we will eventually. The hardest part for me about forgiveness is that it is so open-ended, such a continual journey; and that we need it on both sides: the wrong and the wronged. We can never be certain another person has forgiven us; we can only be certain of God’s forgiveness toward us. As Bonhoeffer says, “Forgiving has neither beginning nor end, it takes place daily, for ultimately it comes from God.”

It’s probably some of the hardest work we’ll do, so we’d better pray about it.  
 

God, we turn our attention now to the work of peacemaking and reconciliation.
Christ is our peace.
We remember Jesus in the throes of death, offering forgiveness and peace to those who had taunted and tormented him.
Christ is our example.
We remember Jesus after his resurrection, offering forgiveness and restoration to his disciples who had denied and forsaken him.
Christ is our leader.

We acknowledge that we have wronged others and been wronged by others,
And need forgiveness applied to both.

Help us to forgive others as we have been forgiven by You,
For in forgiving, we find peace and freedom.
Help us to have humility and courage
   To admit when we are wrong
   To confess and apologize
   To make amends to those we have hurt.

We acknowledge that forgiveness benefits the forgiver
And that we can never force others to forgive us.
We acknowledge that we may never see the results of our peacemaking
But that you see our hearts.

We thank you God, for removing our transgressions from us
Thanks be to God
We ask for hearts conformed to the way of Christ
Ready to offer peace; willing to forgive and be forgiven.

Amen

Litany for the Kingdom of God

God of peace and love,
Bring to us a new awareness of your kingdom at work in the world.
Grant that we may see and understand the small and unassuming things, which take patience and attention to notice:
    A seed.
    Yeast in bread
    Treasure buried in a field
    A net cast into water
    A baby lying in a manger.

We acknowledge that we mostly miss the signs when they are not flashy or earth-shaking,
But that your kingdom is all around us.
We acknowledge that Christ came to exhibit neither wealth nor political power,
But self-sacrificing love.
We acknowledge that the progress of the good work we do may be imperceptible to us,
And that our success is in our obedience to you.

We welcome your kingdom, in the world and in our hearts.
We seek your kingdom, trusting that we will find it.
We anticipate your kingdom,
    Working toward peace
    Providing for the poor
    Healing the sick
    Loving our enemies.

We trust in your love to provide for us in our seeking.

Whether your spirit comes to us as a wind or a whisper,
May we know your presence and be useful in your kingdom work.

Amen

Litany for Boldness (and Bonhoeffer)

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian who opposed the Nazi regime and was martyred in 1945.

God, we are reminded that Love is action.
As You actively love the world, we must actively love each other.
We must push past our comfort zones, reticence, and general inertia,
Allowing ourselves to be moved by the engine of Love.

We confess our tendency to withdraw.
We confess our desire to put our own safety and convenience above all.
We confess our quickness to downplay the needs of the poor, the plight of injustice.
We confess that we would often prefer to ignore the evil in our midst.
We confess that we often value our reputation above following Christ.
We confess our self-centeredness.

We ask for hearts aflame with the Love of Christ.
We ask for patience to endure suffering.
We ask for courage to pray for and love our enemies.
We ask for strength to accomplish the work of peace.

Where injustice, poverty, and wrong-doing abound,
May we do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.
When laziness and complicity would overwhelm us,
May we be empowered by Your spirit to renew our efforts.

We look to Christ, the model of loving sacrifice,
And to those saints throughout the ages who have lived and died for the cause of Love.
May we listen and act with confidence and boldness,
And find our reward in the joy of Your presence.

Amen

Litany for Gratitude 2 + The Dark Side of Gratitude

Over on my Instagram (@franniep) this month I've been sharing a few things each day for which I'm grateful. Big or small, impactful or trivial, I'm just naming things I'm grateful for. This has had some surprising effects. For one, it's getting easier each day to put on my gratitude glasses and see things I'm thankful for. It's getting easier to sit with gratitude and allow it to change my outlook on life.

But for all I think that gratitude is an indispensable part of a healthy outlook, necessary to counteract cynicism and enlarge our picture of God, I think gratitude might have a dark side. I've caught myself several times feeling guilty for feeling gratitude. So many people don't have the privileges I have, the freedoms, their basic needs met. So many have kids who aren't in vibrant health, or family situations that are painful or difficult. Isn't it smug and prideful of me to dwell on all my blessings, list them out, take photos of them and post them on social media, acknowledge them and allow myself the pleasure of enjoying them?

It kind of is, isn't it?

Furthermore I've been in some painful, messy places in life, and was I very good at practicing gratitude during those times? Not hardly. Isn't gratitude supposed to be a good clean feeling, black and white, no gray allowed? Isn't it mean to rub gratitude in the face of people in pain?

It kind of is. No one told me it would be so messy.

When I let my thoughts come full circle, I think it would be worse to not be grateful. It would be worse to not enjoy and participate in feasting on life whenever the opportunity arises. It would be small-hearted and cynical to not assume a posture of gratitude. It would be worse to deny the mercy of God whenever we are offered it.

This is a thing the discipline of gratitude does: it opens our eyes. Both to our blessing and to our privilege, to our undeserving and our responsibility, to our smallness and our preciousness. A posture of gratitude can illuminate that gray area between abundance and poverty, and inform our perception of them. It can illuminate joy as well as joy's pesky sidekick: suffering.

And also, gratitude gets easier. The more we do it, the more naturally we revert to it. I think we should practice it whenever we can if we hope to have any capacity for it at all when suffering comes. So to that end, I've written us a prayer to practice with, and hopefully help us wear grooves of gratitude in our hearts so that we can find them by touch, even in the dark.

I’ve kept to a simple refrain in this instance for congregational ease, but I have another Litany for Gratitude here.

Great God, You created the good earth and all its creatures, the heavens and all they contain.
We give thanks.
You give us life. You give us consciousness and choices. You give us love.
We give thanks.

For the blessings of family, friendships, and worldly provision,
We give thanks.
For the blessings of talent, aptitude, and meaningful work,
We give thanks.
For the blessings of food, wine, and good conversation, those times of feast and enjoyment,
We give thanks.
For the blessings of trivial pleasures, small gifts meant for our happiness,
We give thanks.
For the blessings of expression, song, art, human ingenuity, and creativity,
We give thanks.
For the blessings of peace that come from knowing You,
We give thanks.

When we survive mishaps
We give thanks.
When we endure consequences and pain
We give thanks.
When we must combat evil with goodness and love
We give thanks.
When we must deny ourselves, bear burdens, and obey
We give thanks.
When we must suffer loss and disappointment
We give thanks.
When me must come to the end of our physical lives
We give thanks.

When we chose violence and rebellion, you made a way to recover us.
We give thanks.
The way is Christ: the true and full, shining image of Your love.
We give thanks.
For Jesus Christ and the Kingdom he began here, in which You invite us to participate,
We give thanks.
And for the experience of living on earth, in all its paradoxes and mingling of joy and suffering,
We give thanks.

Amen.

Litany for Grief

I am hoping this prayer will be of use to those looking for resources for expressing grief and lamentation in a congregational or small group setting; but I also hope it will be helpful to some individuals experiencing personal grief. The opening lines are taken from a song I co-wrote called "I Cannot Live Without You" published by Vineyard, which can be found here.

God of Mercy, God of Tenderness, God of Nurture, God of Love
God-Provider, God-Comforter, God-Sustainer, God-with-us:
Be with us now in our mourning, and in our sadness.

We acknowledge that the only way out of our grief is through it.
We acknowledge that we must pay attention to our emotions in order to be whole persons.
We acknowledge that we would often rather avoid our sadness than pay attention to it.
We acknowledge that grief can be sticky, unpredictable, and hard to shake off.
We acknowledge that there are some mountains we cannot move under our own power.

Over and over, You have shown us that You are good, and Your love endures forever.
We know that You lovingly show us this often, because we are apt to forget.
We know that Your goodness does not necessarily safeguard us from pain. 
We know that our pain does not negate Your goodness.

Help us to walk faithfully through our pain and sadness.
Help us to engage in lamentation, in the tradition of the saints who came before us.
Help us to remember that our anger, sadness, disappointment, and grief do not put you off.
Help us to be moving forward:
     Toward growth
     Toward wisdom
     Toward emotional health
     Toward wholeness
     Toward reconciliation between our faith and our emotions.

We are helpless, and require Christ’s assistance.
We are undone, and require re-making.
We are brokenhearted, and require healing.
We are poor in spirit, and in need of the kingdom of Heaven.

Amen

Litany for Our Enemies + That Time I Accidentally Told My Kid About ISIS

*I'm sharing a story along with a litany today. I usually try to keep strictly to the prayers, but maybe sometimes a story will give context for how a litany can be a useful place to go, a useful tool in a kit for coping with the reality of evil and posturing ourselves towards Jesus.

I accidentally told my 5 year old daughter about ISIS. Oops.

The conversation started at bedtime, as many of our deep conversations do, in those still moments when mostly I’m feeling antsy and ready to be done parenting for the day but am trying to remain present and sing songs, talk quietly, help them decompress for sleep. I don’t even really remember how we got started, but I was caught off guard and unprepared for the line of questioning, and ISIS has been on my mind so therefore I let the ISIS cat out of the bag. I also have this pesky value for telling my kids the truth that sometimes trips me up.

I think we were talking about kindness, and in the context of that I said the word “violence.”

What’s violence?
It’s doing things that hurt people.
Like being mean?
Yes. We want to be kind, not violent.
But some people are violent?
Yes, some people are.
You mean some people are mean?
Yes.
Where do they live?
Well, there are mean people everywhere, but I don’t think you know any.
(My kid just learned that mean people exist. Hallelujah. Christ, have mercy.)
But WHERE ARE THEY?
Well, there are some mean people in a place far away called the Middle East, they call themselves ISIS.
(Oh I have done it now. Instant regret. No turning back now.)
What do they do? Do they kill people?
Yes, they do. They do violence.
How do they do it? With bow and arrows? With guns?
(Here is where my head is finally on straight and I refuse to mention bombs. I deflect, for better or worse.)
Why do they do it?
I think they are confused about what God’s way is. God’s way is love, peace, and beauty.
Do they have neighbors and friends? Do they try to hurt them?
They have neighbors; I don’t know if they have friends.
Are they sad and lonely?
I think they might be.
What do the neighbors do?
I think some try to help them change, and some try to move away to a safer place.
THAT MAKES ME SO SAD. I’M GONNA CRY NOW, MAMA.

You and me both, sister. Now, let me pause here and say that this is an abbreviated version of the conversation, and that my mind was churning with how best to respond. There were a lot of other questions. (Do they wear red and black clothes? They wear regular clothes.) (How do you know about them? I read the news.) She is a very empathetic soul, and I don’t want her up in the night worrying about terrorists and refugees at age 5. But I do want to give her a place to go with the sorrow. So I say:

Jesus tells us to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.”
What’s persecute?
Be mean to. Would you like to pray for ISIS and their neighbors?
Yes!
Jesus please bless the people of ISIS. Please show them your way of love, peace, and beauty. Please change their hearts and show them kindness. Help them not to be confused about God’s way.
AND HELP THEIR NEIGHBORS MOVE!
Help their neighbors find a safe place. Help the mean people become kind.
AMEN.

I held hands with my sweet little daughter, lying in her little bed, and prayed for the redemption of ISIS. This is the story of how my parenting gaffe made possible a moment of impossible beauty and sadness. My head is still swimming with it. And isn’t this typical of Jesus? To hide a core of beauty within apparent sadness? Isn’t this exactly what happened on Resurrection Day? So, there is sadness that my child must eventually have the knowledge of good and evil, and that other children live in the lap of evil daily; but there is beauty that THERE IS ALWAYS PRAYER. There is always a beautiful way to follow. There is always hope. And there is always, always forgiveness and redemption.

I invite you to pray now:

Resurrected Jesus, we call upon your mercy now.
We ask you to turn your attention to our enemies, those who do violence and terror, who kill and destroy.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
We ask you to bless, love, and redeem them; to show them the kindness of your heart.
We ask you to lovingly clear up their misunderstanding of God’s way.
We ask you to care for and protect those innocents around them.
We ask you to bring them all, violent and innocent, into the safety of your kingdom.
Amen
 

Litany for a Terrorized City

*I originally wrote this litany as a response to the attack on Brussels on March 22, 2016. I later learned that many other places in the world were attacked by ISIS during the surrounding time period, attacks that never made headline news. This litany can be used to pray for folks in any location that has experienced terrorism. I wish it weren't true that we might have use for a general prayer for terrorized cities. Christ, have mercy.

God, we cry out to You on behalf of the people of [Brussels, Belgium].
     For the families and friends of those killed in the attacks, we cry.
     For those wounded, we cry.
     For the bystanders, those shocked and terrified, we cry.
     For the emergency workers, giving tirelessly of themselves, we cry.
     For those in government and law enforcement, we cry.
     For the residents of the city, stranded and immobilized, we cry.
     For a world beset by evil, we cry.

We commend the souls lost into Your care,
And ask for healing and comfort for those that remain.

These events bring us into a place of questioning:
     Of Your goodness
     Of Your sovereignty
     Of the nature of humanity
     Of the future of the world
     Of how we might move forward.

We commend those questions into Your care,
     Asking You for wisdom
     Asking You for hope
     Asking You for courage to continue on in good work
     Asking You for help in overcoming
     Asking You for comfort in trouble
     Asking You for a heart of love toward our enemies
     Asking You for justice.

We acknowledge that our lives are precious, vulnerable, and often short.
We acknowledge that safety is never guaranteed.
We acknowledge our inability to perfectly follow Jesus’ example
     of meekness, forgiveness, and peacemaking.
We acknowledge that when Jesus took upon himself the wrongdoing of the world,
he took terrorism also.

We look toward the completion of Jesus’ work.
We look toward the fullness of Your kingdom come,
And Your will done on earth as it is in heaven. 
We look toward the day when the whole world is aligned with the law of love.

Be near to the brokenhearted, close in Your compassion and lovingkindness, Generous in Your giving of understanding.

Amen