Venezuela — 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 Venezuela. Located on the northern coast of South America, Venezuela is bordered by Colombia, Brazil, Guyana and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.

Scripture Reading— Isaiah 55:12 NRSV

For you shall go out in joy,

and be led back in peace;

the mountains and the hills before you

shall burst into song,

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands

Prayer for Peace

Scott Liston

On this day, Lord, we come with one accord. We realize how wonderful is our opportunity to share with you our feelings about peace. These feelings are mixed with concerns. They are surrounded with hopes and desires.

Within ourselves we admit we stand before you in ignorance of just what peace is. The peace we understand is that which we sense is nearby. Yet we know that peace is not just for us. It is for all your creation so far out of our reach and our sight.

We come to you in this hour to purge from ourselves the ignorance which causes us to not know what peace means. We also are here to even try to know how to offer a prayer to you about peace.

It is not too difficult for us to see the need for peace. In our periodic, infrequent closeness to you, you have enveloped us with your love, which is really peace. How wonderful is the peace. This love. We desire to share this with all people of the earth.

You have told us, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” What can we say and do that would produce a spirit of desire in all nations to be peacemakers.

We would like to raise our voices and “Shout the tidings of salvation” so loudly to many who have never heard before. We would like to stretch our arms so far to those that have never felt the touch of your warmth and promises of the kingdom before. We want to make our hearts so large that we will give more of ourselves with the example of sacrifice set by your son.

Oh, Lord. If we cry out “peace, peace,” let not the words be wasted in the winds of war, to be wafted about among the machines of destruction, but rather to be picked out of those winds by those who are beating those machines into plowshares which will produce the whitened fields ready for harvest.

Give us wisdom to discern how to enlarge our capabilities to reach out to those who are hungering after righteousness. If there are those who do not know what it means to have this kind of hunger, then, Lord, let them have peace. Let them know peace. Let them know we desire to be peacemakers. Then bless them with a righteous desire to be peacemakers.

Lord, hear our prayer. Let there be peace! Amen.

Hymn

Today’s hymn is “Sing to the Lord No Threadbare Song” No. 111 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 begin with individuals and groups, then move out from this Temple of peace to include the human family and the planet.

Within all aspects of our lives and our world exist situations and conditions that need the healing touch of the Holy. Will you join with me to listen to the voice that speaks peace to each of us from beyond the farthest hills, from the infinite heavens above, and the vast seas below?

Pause.

Listen to the voice that invites you to surrender your fears and frustrations, anger, and anxieties, and to await with an open heart the peace that only Christ can bring. Allow the one who seeks only the best for you to offer the comfort you seek.

Pause.

Listen to the voice that whispers the invitation to reconciliation with those whose lives, words, decisions, or actions have wounded you. May you find space in your heart for healing to occur in your relationships with brothers and sisters, as well as your enemies.

Pause.

Listen to the voice that calls all into unity and oneness. We remember all nations, including Venezuela, the country we pray for today. May we be attuned to hear the cries for mercy, forgiveness and generosity. Listen to the one who reminds us that in the welfare of another resides our own well-being.

Pause.

Listen to the voice that echoes across the eons of time and yet speaks anew in this moment. The Earth shudders in distress because creation’s natural and living systems are becoming exhausted from carrying the burden of our greed and conflicts. Listen to creation which struggles to provide life to the seas, the hills, and the heavens above.

Pause.

May the one who spoke calm to the storm and stilled the waves with a word, bring peace to us and through us. May we be among those whose lives whisper, shout, and proclaim peace to those far and near for the sake of God’s shalom. Amen.

Musical Reflection

Sending Forth

Be witnesses of hope,

Shed tears for injustice, and

Make a difference in the world.

Go in peace.