Prayers of the People, P+22C

God of the Resurrection,
we raise our voices in praise and thanksgiving!
You are the hope to which we cling.
You are the promise of the future.
Hear our prayers for the world:

For those who are ill and suffering,
we pray for your healing hand,
your strengthening Spirit,
your endless compassion
and grace.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For those whose faith seeks understanding,
we pray for your wisdom and discernment,
for your guiding Word
and the law of Love
in leading them to clarity.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For those who fear death as an end versus a beginning,
we pray for comfort and peace,
for glimpses of the holy
and moments of precious transformation
as you breathe new life into old bones.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For a world that is in conflict
across borders,
throughout communities,
around dining room tables,
we pray for your presence,
for your gentle and loving energy
pervading our conversations
and calming our discourse.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For a country that is choosing,
we pray for wisdom.
May we choose to follow
in the path of the One who taught us 
how to live in community
by example.
May we choose to care for our most vulnerable,
to welcome the stranger and learn from them,
to respect all peoples and protect their voices,
to broaden the definition of communal support.
May we choose to provide equal opportunity
for every race and gender identification,
so that all we hold dear may indeed be accessible
for all God's children everywhere.
May we choose freedom
to make decisions
and to exercise choices
that do not infringe on the rights of others.
And may we seek to create a world
that is safe for our children 
and for their children
and for their children after them,
a world that reflects the stewardship to which God called us,
and sustains all people 
in all places
to the end of time.
Lord, in your infinite mercy, 
hear
our
​prayers.