Prayers of the People (based on Psalm 144) – for Memorial Day weekend
Blessed are you, O Lord our rock!
You give skill to our hands and strengthen all who serve their neighbors.
You are our help and our fortress, and we put our trust in you.
On this Memorial Sunday,
we acknowledge the fragility of life
and commend to you those who have been gathered to you.
Bind us to one another beyond time and memory.
We pray on behalf of the world: Come, Holy Spirit!
We lift up especially those who endured fury that made the mountains smoke,
who laid down their lives in warfare,
who returned home living but not whole,
or who were caught up in violence they wanted no part of.
Let peace, at long last, prevail on earth.
We pray on behalf of the world: Come, Holy Spirit!
We pray for those who seek to be rescued from the deep waters,
whose lives are facing the dangers of famine, poverty, or disaster.
Grant refuge to all, and may we open our arms to all in need.
We pray on behalf of the world: Come, Holy Spirit!
We acknowledge those near to us
and those we have named aloud or silently today
who suffer from illness, injury, weariness, or brokenness.
In your tender compassion, nurture your beloved children.
We pray on behalf of the world: Come, Holy Spirit!
We call forth your abundant provision for all people,
that every need might be met
in your consoling and enlivening love.
We pray on behalf of the world: Come, Holy Spirit!
Come, Holy Spirit,
and make all your people whole again,
in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying:
The Lord’s Prayer
Submitted by Rev. Nathan Williams, Echo Hill Presbyterian Church, Marion IA
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