Dearest Lord, since we have become like you, knowing good and evil, help us to always choose good. Instruct us, in our many faiths and perspectives, in words and actions that will bring peace and justice for all peoples and the living world.
Shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
Dearest Lord, you have given us the free gift of grace in Jesus Christ. Help us, the members of your church, to walk the path of righteousness that Jesus so clearly demonstrated in his earthly life, as he healed the sick, fed the hungry, loved the sinner and the outcast, and taught love for God and our neighbors as ourselves.
Shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
Dearest Lord, happy are they in whose spirits there is no guile. In our dealings with one another — in our homes, our neighborhoods, our cities and towns, and in the great halls of government and justice — help us to speak truthfully for the benefit of all peoples and the natural world.
Shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
Dearest Lord, your righteousness asks us to care for those in need of shelter, food, clean water, clothing, safety and justice. In all our choices, lead us to heed the call to love.
Shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
Dearest Lord, you gave us this Eden, the natural world, to till and to keep. Help us to care for it with a compassionate understanding of the great web of life upon which all depend.
Shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
Dearest Lord, we make our prayers to you in time of trouble. Be with our friends and family and all those who suffer sickness, injury, doubt, depression, despair, sadness, confusion and loss. Be with the departed and those who grieve them. Be especially with those we now name, silently or aloud (pause), including those on our parish prayer list:
Shout for joy, all who are true of heart.
Presider: Dearest Lord, you are our hiding place. You preserve us from trouble. We are grateful that you hear our prayers.