O Thou who art the voice of creation, your word gives life to all … your love is woven into the fabric of time … your hand moves the spheres … you know the countless millions who have lived, and now live, and will live, upon this green and lovely earth; you know them all, one-by-one, two-by-two … for all of life is from your heart, dear God, and your heart abides in all …
On this good and happy day, O God, we ordain and install the elders, whom you have called and gifted, whom you have known from before the foundation of time, whom you have raised up for this moment, and for the tasks of being the church …
We pray for them and their families, dear God … strengthen their spirits and stir their souls … with the glory of our LORD Jesus Christ … the wonders of creation, the power of the covenant, and the mystery of Good Friday’s cross …
To each of them, O LORD, and to all of us, O LORD, the daily bread of mercy and peace … the daily bread of life and love … the daily bread of goodness and grace … for mind and body, heart and soul, now and forever more.
We pray for our loved ones, O God … shelter them in times of storm, and grant them strength for the journey … provide for them as needed, we pray, whatever is needed to live good and productive lives … we pray for their safety and well-being, in mind, body, heart, and soul … how we love them and long for their welfare.
We pray today for those in dire need … for whom life has lost its pleasure … who walk upon pathways of darkness, unsure of their way, crying for help.
We pray for families who have lost loved ones by suicide … families beset with unanswerable questions and painful memories … who search their souls for answers, where there are no answers at all … but only loneliness and sorrow, regret and anxious thoughts …
O God of mercy and hope, speak tenderly to their broken hearts, we pray … remind us all that those who have taken their own life are safe in your everlasting arms … you hold not against anyone the great hurt that drove them to the extreme … you are the God of infinite mercy, and profound understanding … you know the dark pathways of life, you’re there with all of us, and especially with those who cannot any longer endure the hardships of their journey, who can no longer say “No” to death … we commend them, dear God, to your everlasting care, for the peace you bestow upon all your creatures, great and small, in the bright hallways of eternity.
All of this, in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ who taught us to pray, saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
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