Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, loving parent of all people,
We give you thanks for the gifts of autumn, pumpkin spice and sweater weather, yes, but also the gifts of the earth that sustain us, the bounty of food nurtured in the rich Midwestern soil and irrigated by the Lake Michigan watershed.
Remind us, O God, of our relationship with the earth.
On this day before Indigenous Peoples’ Day we acknowledge the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and others who originally stewarded this land. We give you thanks to the native people who continue to live in this area; and we celebrate their traditional teachings and lifeways.
In your great love O God, help us to incline our ear to other people’s stories and seek to heal the wounds of the present. Give us courage and wisdom that we might work for healing and hope in a complicated world.
Open our hearts, O God, to see people of all nations and tribes as our kin.
Today we pray especially for the civilian victims of attacks in Israel and airstrikes in Gaza. Even as the headlines declare, “war!” We dare to ask you for peace in this long conflict. We pray with weary hope for an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine. We grieve the lives lost in war and the lives lost in disasters, especially those victims of the flash flood in India and the earthquake in Afghanistan. We pray for migrants and those scrambling to find them safety and shelter.
When we are at a loss for words, O God, hear our inadequate prayers.
We give you thanks for our families, friends, and this community of faith. We ask for your comfort and presence with all who are lonely or ill. Sustain those who have important tests or meetings this week. Give us clear minds for our work and ministries. Make us to be courteous and kind. Examine our hearts, mend our ways, and direct us toward your will.
Holy God, let your tender mercy calm the storms of our souls.
Call us together in humble hope,
That our praise and prayer might transform us and bind us together
In Christ’s compassionate wisdom and love we pray: Our Father…. Amen.