Prayers for those whose Homes have been Demolished

Old Testament Reading

A Prayer For Peace

A Prayer For International Organizations

Dear Father of mercy, of truth and of justice: in times of trial and disruption, you are our refuge, the source of our sanity and hope.

We lift before you our confused and anxious hearts as the din of war surrounds us, and ordinary people are pushed into disaster and despair. They did not choose it; they do not deserve it.

The world — we all — stopped, horrified on September 11th. We were caught up in the agony of individuals amplified many-fold. And words are not enough, O Lord. We pray that you will hear our heart’s cry.

How is it, O Lord, that bestiality can so infect ordinary human beings that they are transformed into mass murderers and deranged suicides? How is it that terror and violence on so massive a scale can distort the human spirit of our times? How is it that oppressors and the exploiters of the weak escape and do evil? How is it that people cannot learn peace near half as well as they learn hatred and violence and war and repression? More than that, O Lord, how can we who bear the Gospel of Peace overcome this distortion both within ourselves and within our societies?

What causes deep sadness is the altogether too common assumption we make that this distortion is inescapable, that violence and exploitation and self-destructive greed are, perversely, humanity’s way of life. O Lord, forgive us! We know that if anything is surrender to the driving forces behind terrorism and delights the fanatic, it is this despairing assumption. Lord, forgive us and give us grace and strength to overcome!

So many loved ones have been lost. We mourn. So many hopes have been dashed. We mourn. So many opportunities for good have been missed and will not come again. We mourn. So much anger has been unleashed, and evil has raised its head. We mourn. We mourn the innocent dead and dying; we bewail our own loss of innocence, our loss of confidence, our loss of a sense of security, our loss of human integrity. And we do so out of a Middle East that has known more than its fair share of death, disillusionment, broken spirits and fear over all-too-many decades.

We mourn now Afghanistan, the firestorm over that land, and the long days of horror that lie ahead for so many crushed and wounded and impoverished and starving and confused men, women and children. We mourn also for Palestine and Iraq — for their people — where violence continues to supersede the cry for reasoned compassion, for the process of negotiation and dialogue, and for the search for just and lasting peace grounded upon truth and fairness and the right people have to the dignity of justice. We mourn the setting of peoples against peoples, nation against nation.

The environment of violence feeds the fanatical appetite for violence. Our dream to draw our societies into a fruitful dialogue on the level of day-to-day life has been dealt a severe blow. This is a consequence wherever in the world Muslims and Christians have been striving to live together in harmony. O Lord, we need understanding and a breadth of compassion beyond our weak abilities.

Holy Spirit of God, we ask for healing beyond understanding, we pray for courage beyond our outrage and fear. We ask for the grace, the steadfast poise of faith, to stand with integrity and minister in an evermore dangerous world. And we pray for wisdom.

In Christ’s victory, we are determined that death shall have no dominion. Hope will not be crushed. We will see a day when the threat of terrorism will be overcome by justice and people will come together for peace. Maranatha! Lord, come!

We break one bread and are one Body. Holding to that reality with a firm grip, by your grace we will rise above these tragic days to seek together the healing of the nations, and overcome this and all evil with good . . .

. . . through Christ our Lord.

AMEN.

This prayer was given as a gift to the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and is drawn out of statements that are either in draft or have been published by the Middle East Council of Churches with its brothers and sisters in Christ in the United States particularly in mind.

Litany of Intercession

The following responsive reading has been adapted from the opening worship of Sabeel's international conference, Speaking Truth, Seeking Justice, held in Jerusalem in February 2001. It can be preceded by a reading of Luke 19:37-40.

One: For all those who have fallen victim to hatred and inhumanity, for those loved ones who are left behind to mourn, for the souls of those whose hearts are cold,
Many: Lord, hear our prayer.
One: For the children who are being born into this world of conflict and violence, for women and mothers who suffer needlessly,
Many: Lord, hear our prayer.
One: For all those who have been forced into unemployment, who long to return to work, for all those who struggle to support their families,
Many: Lord, hear our prayer.
One: For the soldiers who are misguided in thinking that their bullets will bring about peace, and for those who feel called to object conscientiously to military orders,
Many: Lord, hear our prayer.
One: For the children who cry in their beds at night and wonder 'what have I done?', for the mothers and fathers who must try to explain the unexplainable,
Many: Lord, hear our prayer.
One: For all the children who have died before their time, for the soldiers who allow their uniform to strip them of their humanity, for the healers who are denied the opportunity to use their gifts,
Many: Lord, hear our prayer.
One: For the redemption of souls of both victim and perpetrator, for those who commit themselves to the forgiveness of sins,
Many: Lord, hear our prayer.

This litany is taken from the Lent 2001 Resource page of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, who have a non-violent Christian presence in Hebron. The litany could be followed by prayers of intercession, an affirmation of faith, a call to action and commitment, or the litany of promise found below.

Some in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, then the stones would shout out." (Adapted from Luke 19:39-40)

Huda and Fayez, in tears, survey the rubble of their demolished home
... And the stones will cry out
Jawdi, in anger, watches his hillside orchard being bulldozed for a settlement
... And the stones will cry out
Abdel, returning home with bread for the family during curfew, is stopped by soldiers
... And the stones will cry out
Rashad shows his passengers the stone thrown through the bus window by settlers
... And the stones will cry out
Musa drives over rough trails to work because his village is blockaded from the highway
... And the stones will cry out
Yusra's school has been taken over by the soldiers. Now there's a tank in the schoolyard
... And the stones will cry out
Hisham cannot pass the checkpoint on the bypass road because he is Palestinian...
... And the stones will cry out

Very early in the morning on the first day of the week the women went to the tomb. They said to each other, "Who will roll away the stone?" (Adapted from Mark 16:2-3)

From the despair of demolished hopes
...Who will roll away the stone?
From the powerlessness of land confiscation
...Who will roll away the stone?
From the imprisonment of 24 hour curfew
...Who will roll away the stone?
From the fear of violence on the roads
...Who will roll away the stone?
From the suffocation of villages under siege
...Who will roll away the stone?
From the cruelty of school closures
...Who will roll away the stone?
From the tomb of the occupation
...Who will roll away the stone?

In the midst of hunger and war
We celebrate the promise of plenty and peace.
In the midst of oppression and tyranny,
We celebrate the promise of service and freedom.
In the midst of doubt and despair
We celebrate the promise of faith and hope.
In the midst of fear and betrayal,
We celebrate the promise of joy and loyalty.
In the midst of hatred and death,
We celebrate the promise of love and life.
In the midst of sin and decay,
We celebrate the promise of salvation and renewal.
In the midst of death on every side,
We celebrate the promise of the living Christ.

The following two prayers are taken from Canadian Friends of Sabeel, who adapted them from the World Day of Prayer, 1994, prepared by the Women of Palestine Committee.

We pray for the homeless, the refugees, the expelled and forgotten people everywhere. Empower us with the determination and courage to act and advocate for the restitution of basic human rights when they have been denied.

We pray that our eyes are opened to see where there is suffering. Grant us alertness, awareness, courage, patience and a willingness to forgive.

We pray for peace in Jerusalem.

We pray for people everywhere and in particular for the people of the Middle East. Show us how we are to live together as neighbors, understanding and respecting one another. We pray for the Palestinian people that their cause will be solved with justice, impartiality and love.

We pray to you, God, that the action of peace-seekers and peacemakers may bear fruit so that:

Hope will take the place of despair,

Justice will prevail over oppression,

Peace will turn strife into love.

This poem and prayer were used in the 1998 Sabeel conference.

A Poem by Fadwa Tuqan

The heart said:
What have the troubles done to you, homes,
and where are your inhabitants -
have you received news of them?
Here where they used to be, and dream,
and draw their plans for the morrow-
Where's the dream and the future now?
And where have they gone?
The rubble stayed silent.
Nothing spoke but the absence.

Prayer (perhaps accompanied by lighting a "candle of hope")

O God:
You bring hope out of emptiness
energy out of fear
new life out of grief and loss.
As Mary returned to mourn
yet found unspeakable joy,
so comfort all who have lost their homes
through persecution, war, exile,
for deliberate destruction.
Give them security, a place to live,
and neighbors they trust
to be, with them,
a new sign of peace to the world.
Amen

Micah 2:1-2, 3:9-11, 6:6 & 8
Read at the Ecumenical Worship Service in Jerusalem in October 2000

Alas for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in their power. They covet fields, and seize them; houses and they take them away; they oppress householder and house, people and their inheritance.

(Hear this you) who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! Its rulers give judgement for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money; yet they lean upon the Lord and say, "Surely the Lord is with us! No harm shall come upon us".

"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Lord Christ,
at times we are like strangers on this earth,
taken aback by all the violence, the harsh oppositions.
Like a gentle breeze, you breathe upon us the Spirit of peace.
Transfigure the deserts of our doubts,
and so prepare us to be bearers of reconciliation
wherever you place us,
until the day when a hope of peace
dawns in our world. Amen.

[Book of Common Worship, p. 795, #760]

O God,
we pray for all international organizations of goodwill,
that their efforts may lead to a strengthening
of those influences which make for peace.
Great sacrifices have been made for war;
awaken in us and in all people, O God,
the willingness to make great sacrifices for peace,
so that the day may be hastened
when no nation shall draw the sword against another,
and people no longer shall learn to fight.
We ask in the name of him who is the Prince of Peace. Amen.

[Book of Common Worship, p. 798, #679]

Righteous God, you rule the nations.
Guard brave men and women
who risk themselves in battle for their country.
Give them compassion for enemies
who also fight for patriotic causes.
Keep our sons and daughters from hate that hardens,
or from score keeping with human lives.
Though they must be at war,
let them live for peace,
as eager for agreement as for victory.
Encourage them as they encourage one another,
and never let hard duty separate them
from loyalty to your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

[Book of Common Worship, p. 818, #733]

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

[Book of Common Worship, p. 25, #33]

Comfort, Comfort You My People
Psalm 33
Psalm 72
Psalm 146
O God of Every Nation
O God of Earth and Altar
O God of Love, O God of Peace
When Jesus Wept
Live Into Hope
Isaiah the Prophet Has Written of Old
Lord, Make Us Servants of Your Peace
O for a World
There Is a Balm in Gilead
When Will People Cease Their Fighting?
What Does the Lord Require
O Day of Peace
O Day of God, Draw Nigh

Hymn – Lament for Peace and Justice

Sue Strachan, Dir. of Congregational Nurture and Development, Chapel by the Sea, PC(USA), Fort Myers Beach, FL. Sacraments and Seasons, Peacemaking through Worship, III

Download the hymn

[Presbyterian Peacemaking Program]

Eternal God, our only hope,
our help in times of trouble:
show nations ways to work out differences.
Do not let threats multiply
or power be used without compassion.
May your will overrule human willfulness,
so that people may agree and settle claims peacefully.
Hold back those who are impulsive,
lest desire for vengeance overwhelm our common welfare.
Bring peace to earth, through Jesus Christ,
the Prince of Peace and Savior of us all. Amen.

[Book of Common Worship, p. 799, #861]