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The Reverend Dr. Katie Snipes Lancaster

O Incarnate Word,
Ancient of Days,
Lord God of Mercy and Might.

O Sovereign Source of All Things,
O Rock, Cloud, Fortress and Fountain,
let your word and wisdom
echo off the walls of this sanctuary
and into our sacred chapel of our hearts.

Let your spirit of stillness
and the storm of your justice
sweep across our lives.

As we fold our hands in prayer again,
we are amazed at what these hands have carried,
week after week,
year after year.

These hands offer up to you praise.
These hands offer up to you the things they’ve carried.
These hands offer up to you the cares of the world.
These hands offer up to you the tenderness
of caring for another.

These hands have held and now hold so much.
Hear our prayer as we hand over to you
the weight of what we carry
so that you might bear with us the burden,
the worry
and even the delight and joy and awe and wonder
of this life.

We give you thanks for the muffle and hush of morning,
for the hum of the wind and the song of the bird.

For the simplicity of bread to eat
and clean water to drink.

For the transatlantic journey of coffee and rice
to our cup and bowl.
For the treasure of clean air to breathe
and a gentle place to rest at night.

We give you thanks for babies baptized,
and young people affirming
the presence of God in their lives.
We give you thanks for the freedom to worship
and the friendship found in this place.

We pray for the worries of the world. For the fires across Canada,
may the flames be contained and dampened.

For the ongoing violence in places across the world: Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine, and Sudan.

For the places where prejudice grows
and lives feel under threat.

Let love lead the way. Let justice win.

Let there be freedom to love,
freedom to be,
freedom to walk this earth in peace.

For those in our midst
who were surprised by sorrow this week,
we offer our hearts to you.

We think of the French family and the Kerr family and others for whom grief has drawn near.

Hold our prayers, O God.

Hold our prayers in the palm of your hand.
And hear us as we lift our voices
with tenderness in the prayer Christ teaches us,
saying:

Our Father…Amen.

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