World Prayers for Peace, February 1, 2015

Prayers of the People: February 1, 2015

Surrounded by the presence of the Holy One of God, let us pray together.

Holy One, we gather in worship this morning seeking your presence, your grace and your wisdom. Humbly we gather to hear your words of hope and encouragement so that we may faithfully live out your message of justice and peace.

Confident that you have come to us, we offer our prayers for people and places close to our hearts and for the people and places that are unknown to us.

• We offer prayers of healing for the 280 child soldiers who were freed in South Sudan. We pray that all children will be free to be children, to play, to laugh and sleep peacefully at night. We pray for all who work endlessly for the rights of children the world over.
• We pray for the 43 students who went missing in September in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico.  We pray for their families and friends as they hear reports that the students may be dead.
• We pray for all who are displaced. We pray for those who live in refugee camps and for all who live in captivity. We remember before you Kenji Goto of Japan.
• We pray for the EU foreign ministers as they meet in Brussels. May they work together to find  ways to bring peace and justice and stability to the EU.
• We pray for your creation. As we hear reports of E. Coli in the water in Winnipeg, Canada; an earthquake in East Midlands, England; snow storms in North England and the North Eastern United States; the drought in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Mina’s Gerais, Brazil. We pray for all who are affected by these events.

And now in the silence of our hearts we offer you the prayers that we carry with us this day.
(http://www.worldinprayer.org)