MARIA GRACE, Ph.D. March 21, 2009 Intercessory Prayers

1

Led by Christ in our journey of repentance and moved by his compassion, let us pray for the church, those in need, and all of God's creation. Holy and loving God, giver of all things, We give you thanks for this day and for the glory of your risen Son. We thank you for the church, for all the ministers of your Word and Sacrament, And for your all your faithful servants who bring your Gospel to our ears, your Light to our eyes and the Hope of your Risen Son to our hearts. We thank you for this seminary, for our professors, the staff, the gardeners, the cooks, the people who keep our buildings clean, safe, warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We thank you for the safety of our homes, for our fine education, for access to books and to abundant food and clothing. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayers. We give you thanks for this good earth; For sunshine, for snow, for rain and for wind; For the oxygen we breathe and for the beauty of the seasons; For this spring we thank you, Lord. For our food that comes from the fields, the seas, and the skies, And for all those who make this food accessible to us. We thank you for all the animals in our earth, and for their caretakers. For our pets, for birds, for fish, for insects and serpents. For the livestock that become our food, our friends and our enjoyment, and for the peole who make that possible we thank you. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayers. We give you thanks for our lives and for all those we make us happy to be alive; For the lessons we learned from failures and for the joy of our successes; For relationships we cherish and for endings we have mourned; For the people in our lives today, we thank you God, For family, for friends and companions, for colleagues, for mentors and for our bosses; For the people who make us smile and for those who stretch our patience we give you thanks. For peaceful and for struggling moments in our lives, we thank you Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayers. We beg your help this day, O God, for all the world. For people struggling with unemployment, loneliness and illness, for politicians facing challenges and difficult decisions, for the ill, the lonely, the vulnerable, for the abused and their abusers, for children who do not know parents or for children whose parents do not give them love. For all those who do not know love because love has been denied to them, we beg your healing grace. For war victims, prisoners of war, for captives and their captors. For soldiers fighting wars and for pacifists proclaiming peace, And for your creatures who cannot defend themselves, we beg your help, O God. For animals in extinction, for polluted rivers, for dying streams, for burning forests, for wounded lakes, for overtaxed seas and for tired fields, we beg your help, and mercy. And for careless, forgetful people who do not mind your creation, Lord in your mercy,

MARIA GRACE, Ph.D. March 21, 2009 Intercessory Prayers

2

Hear our prayers. We beg your healing for all who are in need: For premature infants, for victims of accidents, for those diagnosed with terminal illness; For those awaiting surgery and for those who are fighting cancer; For victims of AIDS, for people living with mental illness or depression, For all those who grieve losses in countries torn by war or famine. For all the nations living under cruel leadership For all the lonely ones, the victims of torture, and for the torturers, And for all the ones who suffer because they cannot believe in your endless love and mercy, We beg your forgiveness and unmerited grace. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayers. We bring before you now all that which lies upon our hearts, spoken and silent. (The congregation offers their prayers……….) Lord, in your Mercy, Hear our prayers. We give thanks for all the artists, philanthropists, teachers, visionaries, and authors, For the work of Olavus Petri and Laurentius Petri, renewers of the church, And for all the saints who went before and ahead of us, Make us grateful. Teach us peace. Give us patience, strength and humility. In the name of your Son’s Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.