Sample Prayers

 

On September 8, 2016, the Minneapolis Area Synod held a worship service in preparation for the November 2016 presidential election. Through song and silence, scripture and petitions, we came together as a synod community, aware of our Spirit-given oneness in the midst of our many
perspectives and reclaiming the hope we share in the risen Christ.

If you would like to use any of the worship service at your congregation or in your personal prayer time, you may download the worship resources.

The Peer Group consisting of Mary Halvorson, Jane Buckley Farlee, Nancy Maeker, and Nancy Jahnke adapted and wrote verses for churches in the Central Conference to sing at worship and created a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpbOyoGrsHI&feature=youtu.be

The lyrics are:

Lord, listen to your children crying
Lord, send your Spirit to their place
Lord, listen to the children crying
Send them love, send them power, send them grace

Lord, listen to the parents waiting
Lord, send your Spirit to their place
Lord, listen to the parents waiting
Send them love, send them power, send them grace

Lord, listen to your people praying
Lord, give us hearts and minds to see
Lord, listen to your people praying
Give us strength; make us who we want to be

Used Immigrant Apostles’ Creed in worship

The Immigrant Apostles’ Creed was written by Rev. Jose Luis Casal, the  director of Presbyterian World Mission. He is an immigrant to the USA from Cuba.

The Immigrant Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in Almighty God,
who guided the people in exile and in exodus,
the God of Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon,
the God of foreigners and immigrants.

I believe in Jesus Christ, a displaced Galilean,
who was born away from his people and his home, who fled
his country with his parents when his life was in danger.
When he returned to his own country
he suffered under the oppression of Pontius Pilate,
the servant of a foreign power.
Jesus was persecuted, beaten, tortured, and unjustly condemned to death.
But on the third day Jesus rose from the dead,
not as a scorned foreigner but to offer us citizenship in God’s kingdom.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the eternal immigrant from God’s kingdom among us,
who speaks all languages, lives in all countries,
and reunites all races.
I believe that the Church is the secure home
for foreigners and for all believers.
I believe that the communion of saints begins
when we embrace all God’s people in all their diversity.
I believe in forgiveness, which makes us all equal before God,
and in reconciliation, which heals our brokenness.

I believe that in the Resurrection
God will unite us as one people
in which all are distinct and all are alike at the same time.
I believe in life eternal, in which no one will be foreigner
but all will be citizens of the kingdom
where God reigns forever and ever. Amen.

University Lutheran Church of Hope, Minneapolis, had prayer stations and candle boxes set up to pray for families who are separated at the border and the broken immigration system. Many were kneeling to pray in the front of the sanctuary, singing together, and reading some poetry (Emma Lazarus, New Collosus).  They used a modified prayer-around-the-cross open space style.

From Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer, Minneapolis:

For 325 (insert number) people killed and 639 (insert number) more hurt in shootings in this country during the past week; for their families and loved ones, and for all of us, that we may work together to end gun violence. God of love, hear our prayer.*

*Information available from www.gunviolencearchive.org; it is up to date through 2023. (The numbers in the prayer petition do not include suicides.)

From Edina Community Lutheran Church, Edina (used on July 4):

God, as our country celebrates its birthday, may we reflect on the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL who approach and enter these man-made borders. We especially remember those indigenous communities who were here before 1776…and those who have not yet arrived. God of freedom, hear our prayer.

As we seek your spirit in all communities around us, we give thanks for the helpers who seek to create safe, livable spaces for us, from military to social workers to doctors to police offers to teachers and all who seek to create a better, safer country for all and give thanks for all who have lost their lives pursuing this dream.  God of freedom, hear our prayer.

God, we pray for the youth of our sibling congregation, Paz de Cristo in Galilea, El Salvador who because of great poverty, face the temptations of gangs. And, we pray for their families, who live in fear of violence. Give them courage in the face of adversity to trust in your providing and free them from the injustices of the world that hold them, and many others living in violence, back. God of freedom, hear our prayer.

Activities/Actions to Try