Guinea — map

Gathering in Silence

Call to Prayer

Lighting of Candle

Invitation

In the name of Jesus Christ, welcome to this “Temple [that] calls the entire church to become a sanctuary of Christ’s peace, where people from all nations, ethnicities, and life circumstances can be gathered into a spiritual home without dividing walls.”

—Doctrine and Covenants 163:8c

Today in our prayers we remember the people of Guinea, a nation on the West Coast of Africa. Guinea forms a crescent on the Atlantic Ocean to the west toward Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast on the south and Senegal, Mali, and Guinea-Bissau to the east. Guinea formerly was known as French Guinea.

Scripture Reading— Psalm 100 NRSV

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

come into his presence with singing.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he that made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

Prayer for Peace

Ralph F. Couey

Creator,

We praise you for your abundant and endless blessings. We acknowledge the love you have for us, a love for which your Beloved Son sacrificed himself for the sake of our sins.

It is through that love that our hearts are filled to overflowing. In your light, we have no yearnings; we want for nothing.

And yet, there are many who do not experience such fulfillment. They have lived their lives feeling the ache of loneliness and emptiness. In their pain, some have turned to addiction, the intentional infliction of hate and hurt, or other vices, only to feel themselves trapped in a cage of anger, insecurity, and deeper emptiness.

We pray today that your peace would find them and fill them, purifying and cleansing them of the poison. We pray that your healing touch would beckon them to the sanctuary of your loving embrace, that in that love they would discover that in your eyes, all persons are valued; all are loved. And that they are never alone. We pray also that you would use us as the messengers between you these afflicted people. Keep us aware of those opportunities for blessings as you send them across our path.

Together we will serve, we will worship, we can heal.

In loving discipleship, we pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hymn

Today’s hymn is “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” number 99 in Community of Christ Sings. Sing or silently reflect on the meaning of the text.

Prayers of the People

As we enter a time of guided prayer, meditation, and musical reflection, you are invited to offer silent prayers or meditate during the moments of quiet. The Prayers of the People this day begin with ourselves and then, enlarging life’s circle, move outward to include those we know and love, to strangers and enemies, to the entire world, and to all of creation.

Will you pause for the next few moments in the quiet of this sanctuary, away from the worries of the world, to silently add your own thoughts and prayers to the prayers of the people?

Pause.

God of all time and space, I stand waiting for your peace to enter my broken and chaotic soul, just as you wait for me to pause long enough to breathe and simply be. May your peace fill the space that I now create with my breath and my being. Hear my often-impatient cry, “Be with me, O Prince of Peace, and make me whole.”

Pause.

Source of our being, we stand waiting for your peace to enter our broken and chaotic relationships, just as you wait for us to pause long enough to invite you in. May your reconciling presence bring us to a point of apology and forgiveness, of offering and receiving, and unity. Hear our impatient cry, “Be with us, O Prince of Peace, and make us one.”

Pause.

Lord of all Earth’s people, the world stands waiting for your peace to calm the warring nations, to stem the tide of violence we inflict against one another, just as you wait for us to stop the madness long enough to see one another as family. We remember all nations, including Guinea, the country we pray for today. May your profound compassion for your children flow within us. Enable us to surrender our hatred and fear and be filled instead with your loving kindness and mercy. Hear our often-impatient cry, “Be with our human family, O Prince of Peace, and make us one.”

Pause.

Creator of all, your creation stands waiting for your healing touch to restore all living things to oneness and wholeness, just as you wait for us to revere what you have given us as a sacred gift. May your generous offering of water, earth, air, and all that has life remind us of our physical and spiritual connection with everything that was, is, and will be. Help us honor our call as stewards of the Earth. Hear our impatient cry, “Be with our Earth, O Prince of Peace. Make all things one.”

Pause.

We ask for this blessing of your peace in and through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Musical Reflection

Sending Forth

Make every breath one of thanksgiving;

Make every deed a channel of justice;

Make every thought a peaceful one;

Go in peace.



