Tag: Peace2025

People cry “peace”


 

Prayer of Confession

inspired by Jeremiah 6:13-16

O Lord,
All around us people cry “peace” when there is no peace.
How can there be peace
when voices are silenced, people suffer, and rights are denied?
How can there be peace
when bombs are falling, countries are at war, and justice is denied?

O Lord,
All too often we are the ones who cry “peace” when there is no peace.
How can there be peace
when people around us are lonely, stereotyped, and abused?
How can there be peace
when our own nations use violence in the pursuit of peace?

O Lord,
We confess our brokenness.
We confess our complicity.
We confess our contentment with “peace”
that is only about our own personal well-being.

O Lord,
Draw us to yourself, that we might live in your grace and pardon.
Challenge us to see through false declarations of “peace.”
Empower us to be peacemakers.

O Lord,
We stand at the crossroads and look.
Show us the ancient paths, where the good way lies.
Give us the courage to walk in it,
that all may find rest for their souls. Amen.

 
~ from Mennonite Central Committee website, posted on re:Worship

Day of Prayer: Saturday 29 November 2025

Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly, is encouraging Church of Scotland congregations to join together in a special Day of Prayer on Saturday 29 November, the eve of St Andrew’s Day.

More information and resources here

Watch live stream
They will be livestreaming the first hour (11am–12noon) and the final hour (7–8pm) of the day (UK time zone). So, if you’re not able to join in person, you can still be part of this time of prayer and worship from wherever you are.

From the blog
Make us a chalice
Theme: He heals the brokenhearted  [prayer sheet]
Change from the inside out
 

Peace that makes whole


Holy Spirit Guest House, Groningen

 

“The fruit of the Spirit is … peace …”

 

A prayer

Lord, create in me a love for peace;
not peace that is the absence of struggle,
not peace that is blind to injustice,
but peace that makes whole what is now broken.

 
from The Lion Prayer Collection, compiled by Mary Batchelor, p. 365

Day of Prayer: Saturday 29 November 2025

Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly, is encouraging Church of Scotland congregations to join together in a special Day of Prayer on Saturday 29 November, the eve of St Andrew’s Day.

More information and resources here

Watch live stream
They will be livestreaming the first hour (11am–12noon) and the final hour (7–8pm) of the day (UK time zone). So, if you’re not able to join in person, you can still be part of this time of prayer and worship from wherever you are.

From the blog
Forget not
In the school of prayer with Terry Hinks
Unite my divided heart
 

Lament for peace and justice

Prayer of Lament

To the One who calls us Beloved,
we bring hurting hearts to you this morning,
our fearfulness, and our worry.
Our anger.

Our world is not as it should be.

The ones with power make decisions for their own benefit.
In a show of might, they flirt with war and destruction
but the most desperate among us are left to fend for themselves.

The proud and the comfortable say,
“Everything is fine. There is no problem.”
But those without privilege know better.
They hunger, they weep, they bleed.
They wait for your justice to vindicate them – before it’s too late!

In a world where hate is a virtue and exclusion a way of life
it is hard to hold on to what unites.
It is tough to find common ground.
Our humanity is lost in the scuffle.

Those of us who wish for peace forget how to make it
or where to begin
and fall into hopelessness, cynicism or despair.
We too begin to feel powerless
in the face of widespread suffering and systemic evil.

Even our planet seems ready to crack
under the pressure of forces that are beyond us.

Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, volcanoes.
Nature groans – and with it, your people.

Come, Lord Jesus, we pray.

When will you come?
When will you make right?

We are not strong enough, not wise enough, not good enough
to make peace, to bring healing.

But you are,

You are the one who planted peace in our hearts.
You are the one who will make it come to pass.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Strengthen the bruised reed.
Make weapons into ploughshares.
Comfort the weary and heavy-laden.
Make a home for the homeless.
Still the waters.
Calm the storm.

Come, Lord Jesus, you and your kingdom,
Come.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Your will be done.
Amen.
 
~ written by Becky Bonham, posted on re:worship

From the blog
A quiet act of kindness
3 prayers for prisoners of conscience
Theme: Ever sustaining  [prayer sheet]
 

People of peace


 

A prayer for Remembrance Day

On this day of memory we gather to sing and to pray,
we remember the past and look to the future.
On this day when the guns once fell silent,
we come before you God, seeking Your peace.
On this day of hope in the face of terror,
we come before you God, praying with all our hearts:
God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
help us to find the path that leads to the Peaceable kingdom.
Open our eyes and the eyes of the nations
to find a different path through the disagreements of life in this world.
In this time of story, song, and prayer,
may we be re-committed to being people of Peace, true peace.
May we catch a vision of how the world could live together.
And so we echo the old prayers:
Make us channels of your peace.
Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with us!
Amen

~ written by Gord Waldie and posted on Worship Offerings.

From the blog
Do this remembering
Guest post: For peace with justice
In the school of prayer with St Francis of Assisi