The Netherlands — map

Gathering in Silence

Call to Prayer

Lighting of Candle

Invitation

In the name of Jesus Christ, welcome to this service of peace. “Listen to the Voice that echoes across the eons of time and yet speaks anew in this moment. Listen to the Voice, for it cannot be stilled, and it calls you once again to the great and marvelous work of building the peaceable kingdom.”

—Doctrine and Covenants 162:1b

Today in our prayers we remember the people of The Netherlands, a nation in Western Europe with three island territories in the Caribbean.

Scripture Reading— Psalm 72:1-7 NRSV

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

Prayer for Peace

Charles Kornman

God of mystery and intrigue, God of the expected and of surprise, God of bigness and smallness, God of uniqueness and extravagance, hear the prayer of one of your smaller children.

You called us to build a temple. We did. You said that the temple was to be used for a lot of things. It is. One thing you said about the temple was that it would foster “an attitude of wholeness of body, mind and spirit.”

You probably already know that when I read those words, I don’t know what you want me to do. Can I trade my old heart in for a new one? Can I train my mind to not be double minded? Can I train my body so it’s under control? How do I “renew a right spirit” in me?

Somewhere I’ve read that you want my soul to be a temple for you to live in. It all sounds so good. And it seems so impossible. I mean this “wholeness of body, mind and spirit” thing. I bring over seventy years of wrong training to this moment.

Even though I bring my old heart and my old mind and my old body to you today, I believe in your enduring promise that you will make all things new. Help me, today, to be your person. Amen.

Hymn

Today’s hymn is 558 in Community of Christ Sings, “Take the Path of the Disciple.” Sing or silently reflect on the meaning of the text as it is sung. Hymn number 558.

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 The Netherlands, 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.



