Day 237 | Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Day 237 - Audio Version

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​Day 237 | Wednesday, 11 November 2020

 THANK YOU, VETERANS FOR YOUR SERVICE AND OUR FREEDOM!!!!!!

 A Beginning:
“It is God who draws us together.  A yearning to praise that which is bigger than us.  A desire to give thanks for the bountiful gifts of life.  It is God who draws us together for comfort in a bruising world, to challenge our half-hearted efforts.  It is God who draws us together to praise and pray, to experience the risen Christ.”

 An Invocation:
“O God our Father, we come into the quiet of your presence to worship you. We come for spiritual refreshment, for renewal, for tapping into the only power that lasts. Help us to resonate with your Spirit and find all the benefits of your presence. Amen.”

 A Prayer of Confession for Peace on this Veteran’s Day
“Almighty, eternal God, before whom nations rise and fall, we have forgotten your desire for a world at peace, living in justice and harmony. We have wandered from the paths of peace and listened to the stories of fear and distrust.  We have taken refuge behind walls and promises that weapons would protect us. We have forgotten your powerful, persistent ways of loving, caring, for-giving, setting free.

Have mercy upon us, and let your forgiveness and peace renew us like water in a desert, as we retreat to a quiet place renewed by Jesus. Amen.”

 A Prayer for Military and Veterans
“Supreme Ruler and Judge of all nations: We confess with shame and sorrow that the vision for which your son, the Prince of Peace, gave his life is still far from being realized. Prejudice and hatred still divide nations and start wars between nations. Greed and the love of power still cause leaders of nations to send armies to their death, without sparing masses of the unarmed, the defenseless.

In this world that continues to practice and to exalt violence, we pray for the members of our armed forces. We pray above all that their services may not be needed - that the conflicts which they have been commanded to control may be resolved non-violently. But if their services are needed, we pray that, while doing what must be done, they may hold onto their humanity.

We pray for the safety of those now serving in our armed forces and for the integrity of their families. Protect them from the accidents that mar even peacetime training and routine duty.

We also offer prayer, with thanksgiving, for our veterans. While we grieve for soldiers and sailors, marines and airmen who died in action, we are uneasily mindful of others who were not fortunate enough to die, but continue to exist, cruelly impaired, in body or mind, for life. Help us to do all we can that they may not be neglected, let alone forgotten. And assist our efforts as peacemakers, both as individuals and as a nation, that sacrifices like there's may never again be required of anyone.
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Sovereign Lord: cleanse the stream of our political life. Let cooperation and a shared vision of justice replace rancor and recrimination. Rekindle and keep alive our commitment as a nation to be a beacon light of freedom and a defender of peace. Hold our gaze fixed on the symbols of all that has been noblest in the life of our nation: the Bill of Rights; The poem engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty; the words of “America the Beautiful”. We pray in the name of him whose love transcended and overcame all historic and human barriers, even Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace Amen.”