Mail Archive of the old Santa Clara Valley Lutheran Parish

I adjure you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the brethren. (Thessalonians 5:27)
Subject: Prayer of the Day
Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 19:32:11 -0400
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Subject: Prayer of the Day
Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 19:32:11 -0400
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Today is the day upon which we have been asked to pray for peace in the=20
Middle East by our Bishop (the 7th of each month). At Holy Redeemer we=20
do a "rolling vigil" each month on this day, with members encouraged to=20
take time during their busy days -- between 5 minutes and 30 minutes --=20
sit reflect on what is happening and to offer prayers for peace.

Today I commend to you the following prayer from the ELCA pages=20
of"Peace Not Walls", written by Rev. Paul Wee:

Hear the Cries of Your Children
My God, my God,
why are you forsaking us?
Why is there no answer when we call?
Why are you so far from helping your people
when the anguished cry goes up to you day and night
in Ramallah and Hebron, Gaza and Jerusalem,
in Beit Jala and Beersheba, Tel Aviv and Bethlehem?

O God,
hear the cries of your children.
hear their muffled moans, their tortured breathing
in the corridors of Makassad and Augusta Victoria hospitals.
They are the cries of your own child, abandoned and forsaken.

O God,
hear the cries of your people
as you did in Egypt in ancient days,
as you did in South Africa, Namibia, Guatemala, Russia,
as you did in Berlin when the trumpets sounded and the Wall
came down.

O God,
move with power,
as in the days when Pharaoh ruled the land
move now, lead the way, break the yoke, part the sea,
enough blood is on the door post; let your people go free.

O God,
free us too who watch in silence
from safe shores far away,
forgive our silence, our complicity
in sending these weapons that have killed and maimed.
Purge us in the fire of your judgment, O God,
Turn us, shape us, fill us with the power of your Spirit.
Give us another chance to redeem our lives
through the power of your steadfast love.

O God,
you are our rock and our fortress
our strong refuge in time of trouble
Your anger is but for a moment, your favor for a lifetime.
Bind together the children of Abraham
=E2=80=93 Jews, Muslims and Christians =E2=80=93
And give us your shalom, your salaam, your peace.
Blessed be your name, O God, for you have wondrously shown us your=20
steadfast love.
Into your hands we commit our spirits; into your hands we place our=20
trust.

Amen

(written by the Rev. Paul A. Wee, Alexandria, Va.)

Blessings on each of you -- I invite you and your congregation to begin=20
a monthly prayer vigil for peace in the Middle East (I believe that=20
there are only two congregations in our synod who are currently doing=20
so).

John Freesemann
Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church


A church that doesn't provoke any crisis, a gospel that doesn't=20
unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, a word of=20
God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being=20
proclaimed, what gospel is that? Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917-1980)
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