Prayers for Peace and Justice on Hiroshima Day — World Council of Churches

 

This liturgy was written for midday prayers at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. It may be reproduced and adapted for local usage.   More resources are available here from the World Council of Churches

We gather in silence.

As we gather we listen to the gong/bell, calling us to remember, calling us to pray and act for peace.

A gong or bell resounds, slowly, respectfully.

Blessed is our God, now and unto the ages of ages.
Blessed is our God, now and unto the ages of ages.

Blessed is our God,
who grants us peace and is the source of all peace.
Blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be called children of God.

Loving God, you create and sustain all that is good and beautiful;
You give life to the earth.
You have called us to wholeness; to the fullness of life
But, as we gather here, we are conscious of our brokenness
Both as persons and as communities.
We have heard the cries for justice and peace
From all the corners of the earth.
We are moved by the tears, the pain and the agonies
of millions around the world.
We sense the dark clouds of war that creep over us;
We sit in the shadow of death.

Silence

Help us to fall on our knees and to cry for that vision of unity
Without which we would perish.
Teach us not to deal with others falsely,
Saying “peace, peace” when there is no peace.
Grant us grace that we may walk
In the paths of righteousness.
Bring us to yourself, that our hearts and minds
May discern the way of peace shown by [Jesus].
For you alone have been our help in ages past,
And you are our shelter in the years ahead.

Amen

 

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