Praying toward creative peacemaking

This post is part of Mennonite Church USA’s Cost of War: Learn, Pray, Join initiative.

MC USA is encouraging congregations to pray this prayer on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021, as way to join with congregations across the broader church in highlighting Jesus’ peaceful resistance to empire/colonialism. The prayer is written by Amy Yoder McGloughlin, pastor of Frazer (Pennsylvania) Mennonite Church and a member of the Steering Committee of Christian Peacemaker Teams.

Holy God,
You created us to love and to be loved.
You created us in your image and likeness,
  desiring humanity’s connection and relationship to one other and your creation.
And yet, since the beginning, we’ve struggled to be at peace with each other.
We have struggled to love ourselves
  and to love each other in the way you have deeply desired for us.
Give us courage to love ourselves and our families
  with difficult conversations,
  with compassionate listening
  and with healthy boundaries.

Jesus Christ,
you showed us the way of peace
  in your words and teachings,
  and in your life, death and resurrection.
And yet, like your disciples,
  our vision for your shalom is too narrow.
We have, at times, limited your vision of peace
  to that of our own inner peace and security.
We have forgotten that peace means wholeness
  for all people and creation.
Give us courage to work in solidarity with the poor
  for a world where all have access to what they need;
  to create lasting shalom by loving and stewarding the earth you have created;
  to aid those who are fleeing terrible circumstances of violence;
  and to confront the powers that create
    unjust policies in our churches,
    in our community policing practices,
    in our education systems,
    and in our government structures.  

Spirit of Life,
  you inspire and compel us towards creative peacemaking.
Move us beyond our confessions, into creativity.
Move us beyond our guilt, into inspiration.
Move us beyond our shame into a fuller vision of shalom for your world.
Move us into being
  creators of peace in our communities,
  co-conspirators of wholeness in our churches,
  accompaniers of peacemaking efforts on the borders,
    and in places of international conflict. 

AMEN.

Mennonite Church USA invites you and your congregation to get involved in the Cost of War: Learn, Pray, Join initiative as one way to reinvigorate our collective voices against the destructive powers of militarism.

Find upcoming webinars and ways to get involved at www.mennoniteusa.org/ministry/peacebuilding/learn-pray-join/cost-of-war.