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The Reverend Christine V. Hides

Holy God, Gracious Spirit,
We approach you with hearts awakened by the spring flourishing.
New life emerges from the much-maligned Midwest weather:
Trillium, scented lilacs, and crabapples bursting with bloom,
While overhead a great avian migration,
Brings the first hummingbirds,
and sandhill cranes to trumpet the news.
Daily you bring us delight upon delight.

Let these divine delights shape our days, soften our hardened edges,
And form our songs of praise.
Abide with us, Lord, in these sacred places,
Move us from our siloed and solitary tendencies
And make us to be a sanctuary, a community of care.

Abide with us, O God as we breathe in your grace.
Let us exhale deep love, for creation and neighbor, and
All with whom we share this dazzling blue marble with.

When our lives veer off course,
Abide with us in the dense thicket of broken
relationships and unkept promises.
Shepherd us in the dark valleys of grief and loss.
Guard us along the frightening backroads and wrong turns.

Holy One, join the wide wildernesses of our lives into one landscape,
Where we might travel together, sharing our sorrows and joys.
Let us be hopeful companions to one another,
As we find our way home to you.

Abide with those facing uncertain futures, in places near and far,
Where there is no peace,
Where there is not enough,
Where home is no longer safe.
Hear our prayers for the people of Dallas. Heal the wounded,
Bless the innocent lives lost and comfort the traumatized.

Hear our prayers, Holy God, for leaders who seek to serve not to be served.
Inspire them to find purpose in the common good and to resist the lure of power.
Give us all imagination to address the intolerable challenges of our time and a desire to:
To protect the rights of the vulnerable,
To craft the ceasefire,
To create a world where the children know only
The possibility of flourishing as the people you created them to be.

For you, Holy God, are our true hope.
With delight-softened hearts, we trust you abide with us in the joy and sorrows of life.
And so, show us the way to be light and love
To others, in the name of Jesus Christ who teaches us to pray: Our Father…Amen.

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