Peacemakers of a New World
Holy Spirit, God of Ages and so many names, we gather once again to rejoice in the light offered to the world by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His walk on this earth was a gift to generations, and today we give thanks for that gift. We know that we are called together today not simply to...
Let Us Bless the Earth
Let us bless the Earth, And all that is steady and firm. Let us bless the Sky, And all that is open and filled with light. Let us bless their union, Holy and without ceasing. Let us bless their children, The bounty of field and forest, Stones, plants, animals, and all living things....
A Prayer of Risk
Holy One who has given us the breath of life, Today we remember To breathe deeply To rest To take in To pause before we act… And then to take in another deep breath poised on the edge And risk jumping in Risk taking action Risk speaking up Risk using the gifts we have been given So that at the en...
Food, Faith, and Friends
For food in a world where many walk in hunger For faith in a world where many walk in fear For friends in a world where many walk alone We give you thanks, O God. Amen.
May I Be Kind
Dear God, May I be kind, Strong and brave, Joyful, useful, loving, Honest and healthy.
As the Rain Has Washed our Land
As the rain has washed our land this season, may we enter this morning with hearts washed clean of complaints or bitterness. May we begin this morning by intentionally relaxing the tensions we carry, the strains of those things we cannot abandon, the responsibilities of our lives. As the sun has...
Blessing for Hope on World AIDS Day
It has been a long struggle, and our work is far from over. As we go forth, may we be empowered by the Spirit of Hope and Healing, whose one name is God, and whose other name is Love. May the blessings of Love be upon us and within us: May Love’s truth be upon our vision. May Love’s wisdom dwell...
Prayer for the Journey
Spirit of Life and Love, God of grace and mercy, Source of all things that changes us as we cannot change ourselves, We gather this morning as a covenanted community of spiritual seekers, coming together in a rainbow of diversity united by our conviction that the wounds of this world can be heale...
Prayer of Purpose and Inner Fire
We ask to have clarity of Spirit come forth into our lives with the power of a mighty wind
A Prayer for America
God of many names, You who has endowed us with the inalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Let us remember this day that in this country there is no national religion, There is no superior race There is no preferable gender or orientation....
Behind the Veil: A Prayer of Seeking
God of many names, you who have searched what is hidden within us and who knows us to our core: Our intentions, our wounds, our aspirations and our dreams. You who is familiar with all our ways, even before a word is on our tongue you know it completely. Where can we go from your Spirit?...
For Dragonflies
For dragonflies, butterflies, Caterpillars on leaves, Lizards, wild turkeys, and tigers and deer, We give thanks! For sunset and seashells And starfish and sand, Octopus, jellyfish, and hammerhead shark, We give thanks!...
A Celtic Lorica
Spirit of all blessing, be with us in the ordinariness of our days. May hope’s light guard us and keep cynicism from our hearts. May the energy of laughter build endurance for the dark times of our lives. May creativity’s vision grant the possibility of seeing old relationships with new eyes.
Prayer for World Peace
Great God, who has told us “Vengeance is mine,” save us from ourselves, save us from the vengeance in our hearts and the acid in our souls. Save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt, to punish as we have been punished, to terrorize as we have been terrorized. Give us the strength it...
The Helpers and the Hope: A Prayer in the Wake of the Boston Bombings
Holy One, We are on our knees In awe and supplication For we have remembered the incomprehensible value Of every human life. We have heard the thrum of helicopter blades And wailing sirens. We have smelled the ash and smoke....
Tibetan Buddhist Prayer
May you be at peace, May your heart remain open. May you awaken to the light of your own true nature. May you be healed, May you be a source of healing for all beings. — Ancient...
Dear God, hear and bless
Dear God, hear and bless Your beasts and singing birds; And guard with tenderness Small things that have no words...
Spirit of Life
Spirit of life, help me remember that all animals belong. Bless the bats for eating mosquitoes. Bless the crows and buzzards for cleaning up the dead, and bless even the snakes, who keep the mice out of the rice. Each of them is important. And each does good in its own way. Blessed be.
Shantideva Prayer
May I become at all times, both now and forever A protector of those without protection A guide for those who have lost their way A ship for those with oceans to cross A bridge for those with rivers to cross A sanctuary for those in danger A lamp for those without light A place of refuge for thos...
A Muslim Prayer for Peace
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations, that we may know each other, not that we may despise each other....
Courage, Compassion, Commitment
Name Beyond All Names, Spirit of Love and Life, Eternal Presence, Great Mystery, Dear God......
Make Me a Channel (Instrument) of Thy Peace
God, make me a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatred, I may sow love; where there is wrong, the spirit of forgiveness; where there is discord, harmony; where there is error, truth; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there are shadows, light; where there is...
Help Us
From arrogance, pompousness, and thinking ourselves more important than we are, may some saving sense of humor liberate us. For allowing ourselves to ridicule the faith of others, may we be forgiven....
Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy; where there is darkness, light....
The Human Spirit
The human spirit has enormous resilience. But it is pushed to the limit by grief following the tragedy we have witnessed: sudden and unexpected death, the loss of so many lives. These vicious attacks defy our understanding. It hurts. We grieve. We do not understand, nor do we accept the logic of...
Access Litany Prayer: A Responsive Reading
Spirit of Love, we pray for all your people. For people who are blind and cannot see and for those who can see but are blind to people around them Spirit, in your mercy, help us touch each other....
A Prayer for Immigrants
Source of Life who is known by many names; Over-turner and illuminator of hearts; We gather with gratitude for the earth and all who journey in it. We give thanks for the interconnectedness of all creation....
Call to Arms: A Prayer Offered in Response to the Supreme Court Decision on S.B. 1070
Spirit of Truth and Justice Hear us as we ask that you hold the collective anxiety that permeates this fear-filled situation. This is a call to arms. Arms that will hold broken hearts, and elated hearts arms that wrap themselves around a body, beaten and disfigured in truth and metaphorically…...
Interfaith Prayer for the World
In the spirit of love and compassion, let us pray. Spirit of Life, gods of many names, be in our hearts and minds as we come together today to pray for our world. We come today as people of privilege, grateful for this blessing, and hopeful for our future. Let us know that each from our own...
The Deepest Prayers of Our Heart
Universal Spirit of Life, God of many names, Source of all being in which we live and breathe and have our being, We come together in prayer even though many us struggle with what that means. We come together before that which is greater than us, although we struggle to say what that is....
A Prayer for the Gulf Coast
Wondrous Gift of Life, thanks for this day and this gathering in our beautiful diversity and devoted generosity! We revel in our blessings for and from this holy life! Washed and refreshed in such grace, we celebrate the joys of this life....
Prayer for a Busy God
Do we ever surprise you, God? De we ever do or say things which catch you off guard, or do you have everything under such tight control that nothing is left to chance? You are the ultimate mystery to us, but are we ever a mystery to you?...
A Prayer for Hiroshima Day
Like most traumatic scars, the ones that are found in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are permanent: reminders of the terrible damage human beings can inflict. Similar scars can be found in the hearts and souls of people around the world who understand this terror: scars of grief, sadness, fear and even...
Prayer for those Gathered in Worship
In this familiar place, listen: to the sounds of breathing, creaking chairs, shuffling feet, clearing throats, and sighing all around Know that each breath, movement, the glance meant for you or intercepted holds a life within it....
God of Life and Beauty
God of life and beauty: We pray for the quietness of snowflakes, knowing that love is quiet. We pray for the kindness of small acts, knowing gentleness is fragile....
To Embody the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.
I invite you now into a quiet time, a time for spoken and silent contemplation. Spirit of Life, we have come into each other's presence this day seeking a part of ourselves, knowing that we do not live alone, and knowing we cannot live fully if we are for ourselves alone....
O God, we beseech you
O God, we beseech you, by your great goodness defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of the world over which you watch....
Prayer for our Children
We wish for you a storm or two that you may enjoy the calm. We wish for you tranquility in time of trial. We wish you a cool breeze on a warm day, and pale white clouds that you may better appreciate the blueness of the sky. We wish you darkness that you may see the stars....
For all that is our lives
Spirit of Life, known by many names yet by no name fully known—we gather today with hopes and dreams and also with fears and wounds... [briefly name some of the things lifted up during the candles of joy and sorrow]. May we be reminded that all things come and go; that today’s joys and today’s...
For a Wedding Supper
We invoke thy gentlest blessings, God, on all true lovers. We praise thee for the great longing that draws the souls of two persons together. We thank thee for the revealing power of love, and the glory of joyous celebrations. We thank thee for the universal ritual of sharing—sharing of love, and...
How Shall We Pray?
Let us join our hearts and minds in the quiet of meditation and prayer. How shall we pray? First, let us be open to the silence. Let us hear the sounds in this room, the noises outside, and the comfortable murmur from the children downstairs. Let us begin to hear the soft beating of our hearts....
Too often, God, we have ignored you
Shall we pray? Too often, God, we have ignored you. We have lived as though you didn't matter. We have denied the new life that you would have us embrace; we have perpetuated that which depletes life. Forgive us for hesitating when we knew action was the needed response. Forgive us also for...
Universal Spirit of love, O God within each one of us
Universal Spirit of love, O God within each one of us, whose power reaches to the stars, whose love connects us one to another and to all creation—we are one. We cry out with the pain of this broken world. With all our capacity for love, we ask: why can't we wrap this world in love and bring...
The Blessing Is Always Here
Spirit who is all things to us; Presence in which we live and move and breathe and have our being: What a gift to be here together, sharing our food, our spirit, ourselves! We ask no blessing upon this food, nor upon ourselves, because the blessing is always here, if we but pay attention....
Source of life and death
Source of life and death, ground of all being, Spirit of our spirits, whose we are in life and in death—Life itself is the great mystery and death a part of it. In truth we know not the one nor the other. We live and die in the mystery of being from moment to moment till at the end we merge with...
Spirit of creative good
Spirit of creative good, be with us when we are afraid. Grant us the courage to do what we have to do. Grant us the peace that passes understanding. When we fail to find courage, or peace, May we find compassion for our brothers and sisters who also fail. May we sometimes win the prizes that we...
Memorial Day Prayer
Spirit of Life whom we have called by many names in thanksgiving and in anguish— Bless the poets and those who mourn Send peace for the soldiers who did not make the wars but whose lives were consumed by them Let strong trees grow above graves far from home Breathe through the arms of their...
A Life Dedicated to Justice, Equality, and Peace
[In this difficult time of war and destruction,] We call to our minds today the life of a man of peace, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We pray that like Dr. King, we may have the courage to live our convictions even in the face of overwhelming opposition....
Ours Are the Hands That Must Do Your Work
Spirit of life and love, your prophet Isaiah called us to worship you by freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and housing the homeless. Your follower St. Francis cried out, "Make me an instrument of Thy peace." Jesus instructed us to love our neighbors—and our enemies—as...