Prayers for a National Church

1. The Prophetic Voice

God of Justice!
We call on you to guide
all those on this Land
to seek Justice.

Bless and renew our hearts and minds,
so that we may see with your insight,
mindful of the calling
to walk in your way of peace and reconciliation.
Seed in us the desire to be agitators
for holy change.

May the blessings we receive
inspire and nourish us
to bless those around us
with words of comfort
and actions of healing.
Inspire in our mouths
the words of your good news
for the sake of the world you love.

May we grow in the courage of Christ,
becoming and being prepared to take up the cross,
rather than buy in to the pressure
of dehumanizing and demeaning
that places avarice before generosity.
Gift us with the desire to share in joyful community.
Make us into catalysts for relationships.
Form us as people who become nourishment for the world.

May we deepen in our reading of your Scriptures,
that we might see your promises of mercy written in our souls.
May we work, throughout Australia,
and through our international partnerships,
to bring about a foretaste of the state of mercy and blessing
that characterizes Heaven.

Just as we seek mercy,
teach us to recognize the power imbalances
that prevent the full experience of abundant life.
May we learn to repent of those habits
that destroy your beautiful plan.
Rather, let us learn the creativity of your nature,
to better use our gifts for the sake of grace.

God of Justice,
be our Teacher and our Defender!
Correct us, so we can learn how to speak Truth.
And, when we do - protect us from the evils we confront,
For this is your will to be done
And we are honoured by your call.

So, we commit this day,
to be your holy and vocal people.
We commit to stand up for your beloved creation,
especially those who are marginalised
by the cultures of judgement and shame around us.
May we stand with them.
So be it.


2. Acts of Courage

"Not my will - but yours!"

What have we become, dear Spirit?
What would you have us become, now?

We have come to this time,
beyond our first steps, proudly taken.
Would you have us dance - to celebrate joy?
Or crawl - to relearn humility?

We embark on homecoming,
not knowing what the household will look like.
So much has already shaped our relationships!
Documents, Affirmations, Rites and Rituals,
Arguments, Promises made - sometimes kept.

We confess we have often failed
to live into the promises.
We regret the times we did not risk the Way
we knew to be true.

How do we take the next steps?
Our diversity is marked and our unity is often regulated.
How do we be the Holy People you call us to be?

Give us courage to let go of past hurts or hopes
and dream and vision with you
of a realm beyond our knowing.
Grant us the glimpses
that inspire and sustain
in the midst of banquets and famines.

Come, Holy Friend,
expand our hearts to find
new spaces for grace,
new acts of restoration,
new traditions of kinship,
new faith,
new hope,
new love.
Amen.


3. Righteousness  

In humility, we plead
for those whose voices have been lost.
Why should this voice be heard
when deafness has pervaded a sometimes cruel context?
The longing is for relief, rather than justice,
Yet, in boldness, we ask for more than relief...

O God of healing,
Bring about restoration,
Bring about renewal,
Bring about resurrection...

How can an Easter People ask
for anything less?

We bring to mind
those who are starving and fearful
In refugee camps across the world.
We bring to mind
those who suffer at the hands of so many -isms...
Racism, Sexism, Classism, Ageism...

Whatever the minimalist readings of legal vilification,
Let us be the people who affirm
humanity's calling to be whole and healthy.

May we grow in our capacities
to defend the weak and faint-hearted
and build up the values of inclusion
and holy hospitality.

May we work toward
this Church and this nation
being and becoming known for Spiritual Sanctuary
expressed in the everyday practices of word and deed.
May our mindfulness breed mindfulness
and openness to the Spirit's leading.

So, we pray for this Church in this nation,
that rites may enable right-eousness to be better known.
May our longing for righteousness
lead us to seek the betterment of communities beyond our communities...
For of such will be the Realm of Heaven.
Amen.