A Prayer for Ash Wednesday 2024

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing you have made
and forgive the sins of all who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and ever. Amen.

Another Prayer from William Barclay for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024

O God, you are the fountain of all truth; we ask you to protect your church from all false teaching.

Protect the Church

From all teaching and preaching which would destroy men’s faith;
From all that removes the old foundations without putting anything in their place;
From all that confuses the simple, that perplexes the seeker, that bewilders the way-faring man.

And yet at the same time protect the Church from the failure to face new truth;

From devotion to words and ideas which the passing of the years has rendered unintelligible;
From all intellectual cowardice and from all mental lethargy and sloth.

O God, send to your Church teachers,

Whose minds are wise with wisdom;
Whose hearts are warm with love;
Whose lips are eloquent with truth.

Send to your Church teachers

Whose desire is to build and not to destroy;
Who are adventurous with the wise, and yet gentle with the simple;
Who strenuously exercise the intellect, and who yet remember that the heart has reasons of its own.

Give to your Church preachers and teachers who can make known the Lord Christ to others because they know him themselves;
and give to your Church hearers, who, being freed from prejudice, will follow truth as blind men long for light.

This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

—From Prayers for the Christian Year

A Prayer from William Barclay for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024

O God, we thank you for all those in whose words and in whose writings your truth has come to us.
For the historians, the psalmists, and the prophets, who wrote the Old Testament.
For those who wrote the Gospels and the Letters of the New Testament;
For all who in every generation have taught and explained and expounded and preached the word of Scripture;
We thank you, O God.
Grant, O God, that no false teaching may ever have any power to deceive us or to seduce us from the truth.
Grant, O God, that we may never listen to any teaching which would encourage us to think sin less serious, vice more attractive, or virtue less important;
Grant, O God, that we may never listen to any teaching which would dethrone Jesus Christ from the topmost place;
Grant, O God, that we may never listen to any teaching which for its own purposes perverts the truth.

O God, our Father, establish us immovably in the truth.
Give us minds which can see at once the difference between the true and the false;
Make us able to test everything, and to hold fast to that which is good;
Give us such a love of truth, that no false thing may ever be able to lure us from it.
So grant that all our lives we may know, and love, and live the truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—From Prayers for the Christian Year by William Barclay

A Prayer for the Feast of the Baptism of Christ 2024

Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Prayer for Veterans’ Day 2023

Governor of Nations, our Strength and Shield:
we give you thanks for the devotion and courage
of all those who have offered military service for this country:

For those who have fought for freedom;
for those who laid down their lives for others;
for those who have borne suffering of mind or of body;
for those who have brought their best gifts to times of need.
On our behalf they have entered into danger,
endured separation from those they love,
labored long hours, and borne hardship in war and in peacetime.

Lift up by your mighty Presence those who are now at war;
encourage and heal those in hospitals
or mending their wounds at home;
guard those in any need or trouble;
hold safely in your hands all military families;
and bring the returning troops to joyful reunion
and tranquil life at home;

Give to us, your people, grateful hearts
and a united will to honor these men and women
and hold them always in our love and our prayers;
until your world is perfected in peace.

All this we ask through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

A Prayer for All Saints’ Day 2023 (2)

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
ruler and judge of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of this age that is passing away
may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy
surround our steps as we journey on.
May we reflect your glory this day
and so be made ready to see your face
in the heavenly city where night shall be no more.
Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever. Amen.

A Prayer for All Saints’ Day 2023 (1)

Almighty God,
you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord:
grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living
that we may come to those inexpressible joys
that you have prepared for those who truly love you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

A Prayer for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2023 (1)

Almighty God,
whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ
was lifted high upon the cross
that he might draw the whole world to himself:
Mercifully grant that we,
who glory in the mystery of our redemption,
may have grace to take up our cross and follow him;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen.

2023: A Prayer for the Anniversary of 9/11

For those who perished on September 11th at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and in the fields of Pennsylvania:
that they experience eternal life with God in heaven and the new creation, we pray:

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who grieve:
for wives and husbands, parents, family and friends, that hearts saddened by the loss of loved ones might be strengthened with courage, and come to know the promise of Christ’s Resurrection and new life, we pray:

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the children:
for those left without a parent, and for the children who witnessed the attacks: that they might flourish in the embrace of loving hearts, and the promise of life well lived, we pray:

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For all those who helped:
for firefighters, police personnel, emergency service workers, for medics and counselors, for all who volunteered, that they experience the reward of generous service in atime of peril, we pray:

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the grace to forgive:
that our hearts be large enough to forgive those who struck our nation in such dreadful ways, we pray, even as we ask you to turn their hearts:

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For world leaders and the governments of nations:
that they will put aside all petty concerns and work together, ensuring justice and peace for all, we pray:

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For a future of freedom and peace:
for courage, wisdom and strength of heart to live every day in hope for a peaceful world, grounded in the knowledge of God’s love and care for each of us and the hope of Resurrection, we pray:

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Today we remember 9/11. The memories haunt us, the sounds echo in our ears, and the images fill our eyes,
O Christ, lead us home.

When we are hopeless and sad,
O Christ, lead us home.

When we are angry and vengeful,
O Christ, lead us home.

When tears become our only food,
O Christ, lead us home.

When we grieve and despair,
O Christ, lead us home.

When we are fearful and faithless,
O Christ, lead us home.

When in grief, anger, negligence, or ignorance we have turned against you and against one another,
Merciful God, forgive and heal us.

When we speak unjustly against others, when we blame unfairly, when we withdraw or lash out,
Merciful God, forgive and heal us.

When we seek revenge rather than reconciliation and peace,
Merciful God, forgive and heal us.

Give us the will and courage to love and forgive our enemies.
Merciful God, forgive and heal us.

Lead them and us from prejudice to truth,
Merciful God, forgive and heal us.

Deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge.
Merciful God, forgive and heal us.

Enable us all to stand reconciled before you.
Merciful God, forgive and heal us.

For men and women who have given their strength, their wisdom, and their lives for this country,
We thank you, Lord.

For firefighters, police officers, first responders, and all those who were injured or died so that others might be rescued, cared for, and protected,
We thank you, Lord.

For the brave and courageous who were patient in suffering, faithful in adversity, and selfless in sacrifice,
We thank you, Lord.

For all who participate in interfaith dialogue, relationships, and reconciliation,
We thank you, Lord.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.

Collect at the Prayers
O God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Shield of the fearful, Source of hope, as we mourn the sudden violence and the deaths of our brothers and sisters, show us the immense power of your goodness and strengthen our faith. Come swiftly to our aid, and have mercy on all who call on you. Comfort those who mourn this day and gather the dead in your mercy. Bring to us at last the peace you promise in Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Another Prayer for Independence Day 2023

Lord God Almighty,
you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory,
to serve you in freedom and in peace:
Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice
and the strength of forbearance,
that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and ever. Amen.