On this day, we pray again with and for our sisters and brothers in Palestine and Israel who have called for an ecumenical prayer vigil across the globe on the 24th of every month that will continue until we all can celebrate an end to occupation and a just and lasting resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
There are three petitions, following each one we will sing “O Lord Hear my prayer”… (ELW 751)
O God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace. Let the design of your great love shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows, and give peace to your church, peace among nations, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts. (ELW pg. 76) SING
Lord we pray for the people shattered by conflicts anywhere around this world. As the prophet Micah spoke your word of promise, we pray for its fulfillment: that every one ‘neath their vine and fig tree shall live in peace and unafraid. This day we pray especially for Palestine and Israel. Where dreams collide and hopes overlap, show leaders and citizens the way forward in the path of peace. SING
Prayer of St. Francis (adapted as corporate)
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
SING
(adapted from prayers used at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Urbandale, Iowa, on March 24, 2013)