We pray for peace and justice in these words by Kay Northcutt.
O God of deliverance,
we stand before you
with Abraham
and command of you:
"Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?"
Listen to our prayers for peace.
Gather them into yourself and
multiply them like fishes and loaves.
Light them into tongues of Pentecost fire,
so they might scorch this earth with light,
until that which can weave evil within each of our hearts
is defeated—
and never again
will violence or trespass be committed
by one child of God against another.
We beseech you,
God of mercy,
be merciful,
save us from ourselves.
Do not turn your ear from us.
We beseech you,
God of mercy,
hear our prayers for our enemies;
bless them
and do not curse them
Release our stiff necks,
so that
we yearn to change our lives,
as eager to repent
as we are to do justice
We come today
as every day,
utterly defeated when the innocent suffer.
Especially today we remember
all innocent suffering children:
Prayers of intercession
We come hungry for relationship with you, God,
knowing not where to begin
but with our own restless hearts
For the promise of the sun
in the midst of winter's harshness,
for the miracle of being invited
to love and care for one another,
and for the work of prayer,
we gratefully end our petitions to you
AMEN