Invocation for Beijing Marine Corps Ball 2010

Invocation Offered at the Beijing China Marine Corps Ball

on the Occasion of the 235th Anniversary of the Corps

China World Hotel, Beijing, November 20, 2010

Almighty God, you have given us our good country, the United States of America, for our heritage: We humbly pray you that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought together there out of many kindreds and tongues.

Judge of the nations, endow with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and we may continue to be a sign of hope for all the nations of the earth. We pray that you sustain and support especially Barack, our President, and Jon, his representative here in China.  At this time of continuing economic woes, bless the leaders of all peoples to discern how best to restore and create effective means of providing for the needs to the world’s people. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, do not let our trust in you fail.

Lord of hosts, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be. As we prepare to celebrate the traditions and fellowship of the United States Marine Corps this evening, we pray especially for each Marine here present and throughout the world.

Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all your gifts, and make us mindful of the needs of others. All this we ask for your tender mercy’s sake. Amen.

Ash Wednesday Prayers

 

Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery 

 

Intercessions for Ash Wednesday
(For a service where no litany of penance was used)
Prayers of the People 

Congregation of the Good Shepherd, Beijing
Ash Wednesday Prayers and Imposition of Ashes
February 17, 2010 7 p.m.

Almighty God, your heart is gracious and merciful.  Slow to anger, rich in kindness, you have promised forgiveness and healing to all who confess their fault and rely on your love.  We pray you give us courage to trust in you, and seek ever to do what is pleasing in your sight. 
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer

You have created us out of the dust of the earth: bless our understanding to see in these ashes imposed on us today a sign of our mortality.  May they reflect our true sorrow for our misdoings, our fear of your disappointment in us, a hearty resolve to amend our ways and make things right, as well as we can, with our fellow creatures. 
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer

We confess to you and to one another that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by the wrongs that we have done, and by the good that we have left undone.   We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.  Forgive us, Lord.
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.   Forgive us, Lord.
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives, our self-indulgent appetites and ways, our exploitation of other people, our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us.  Forgive us.
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done:  our blindness to human need and suffering, our indifference to injustice and cruelty, all false judgments, uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us, our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us.  For all these our misdoings, accept our repentance.  
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us; favorably hear us, for your mercy is great. Accomplish in us the work of your salvation, that we may show forth your glory in the world.  By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord, bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Almighty God, you do not desire  the death of sinners, but rather that we  may turn from our wickedness and live.  Heal us, purify us, strengthen us, and make us closer and closer to what you intend.
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

We ask your blessing on all who suffer:  the oppressed, the mocked, the scorned, the excluded, and those who suffer from others’ prejudice or privilege.  Bless all prisoners, Lord, to maintain hope and avoid despair.  Constrain us to improve their lot:  may those held wrongly be freed and those held justly find amendment of life.  Bless their keepers, Lord, that they not become brutal or calloused.  
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

We pray for healing and strengthening for the sick, the afflicted, the grieving and the disturbed, whether in body or mind. Bless those suffering from compulsions and addictions and strengthen them in their work on recovery.  We pray especially for those people whom we now name aloud or in our hearts. (pause)
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all ministers of your gospel that they may, in their example and teaching, truly set forth your living Word, be signs of your love and grace, and wisely care for the stewardships you have given them.   
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Rule the hearts of those who bear the authority of government in this and every land.  Grant them love for justice, yearning for the common good, passion for peace, shame at flattery or partiality, and wisdom to judge matters rightly.   
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation,
that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others
to your honor and glory, and leave as a heritage to those who come after us a place of health, wonder, and beauty. 
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

We commend to your mercy all who have died, that your loving purpose for them may be fulfilled; and we pray that we all may share with your saints the joy of your heavenly banquet.   
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Help us, Father, to be just and fair in our dealings with all, most of all with those closest to us.  Help us honor our commitments in marriage, family, friendship, and shared undertakings, and meet our responsibilities to others.  Free us, Lord, from an inordinate love of material goods, and deliver us from fear of financial uncertainty.  Help us to share what we have, do good, and show in our lives our thanks to you. 
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Father, give us eyes to see your image in all those whom you have made, to see your Son’s face in all who help us and all who need our help.  Give us ears to hear the cries for help around us.  Give us eyes to see where we have distorted your image in us, Father, and form in us the will to turn back again and seek amendment in our lives.
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.

Make our Lenten fast holy, Father.  In these forty days and nights, help us to better see our failings and our strengths, hear your call more clearly, and love you more dearly. 

Take away our hearts of stone, Father, and give us hearts of flesh.  Make us your children indeed, reconciled and reconciling, and rejoicing in your whole creation.  
In your mercy, Lord hear our prayer.
All this we ask for your tender mercy’s sake.   Amen 

+++ 

 

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

PENITENTIAL PRAYERS FOR LENT

Lord Jesus, Son of God, you struggled in the desert for forty days and nights yet overthrew the tempter’s power.  So incline my heart that I may desire to walk in your ways,  and form my will that I may seek to serve others and avoid the occasions for sin.    Grant me grace to bring forth in deed fruits worthy of one who trusts in you.  Have mercy on me, a sinner.
(-AAH)

Almighty and eternal God, who drew out a fountain of living water in the desert for your people, as they well knew, draw from the hardness of our hearts tears of compunction, that we may be able to lament our sins, and may merit to receive you in your mercy.
Latin, late 14th century; The Oxford Book of Prayers (OBOP) no. 344

O God our Father, help us to nail to the cross of thy dear Son the whole body of our death, the wrong desires of the heart, the sinful devisings of the mind, the corrupt apprehensions of the eyes, the cruel words of the tongue, the ill employment of hands and feet; that the old man being crucified and done away, the new man may live and grow into the glorious likeness of the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.
Eric Milner-White, 1884-1964; OBOP no.  346

God in Heaven, you have helped my life to grow like a tree. Now  something has happened. Satan, like a bird, has carried in one twig of his own choosing after another. Before I knew it he had built a dwelling place and was living in it. Tonight, my Father, I am throwing out both the bird and the nest.
Prayer of a Nigerian Christian;  OBOP  no.  347

O thou great Chief, light a candle in my heart, that I may see what is therein, and sweep the rubbish from thy dwelling place.
An African Schoolgirl’s Prayer; OBOP no.  351

Lord, for thy tender mercy’s sake,
Lay not our sins to our charge,
But forgive what is past,
And give us grace to amend our sinful lives,
To decline from sin, and incline to virtue
That we may walk with a perfect heart
Before Thee now and evermore.  Amen
--William Farrant or John Bull

U.S. Memorial Day, 2009

From a Memorial Day Service Held at the Old Protestant Cemetery

in the Churchyard of Morrison Chapel, Macau

Friday, May 22, 2009

INTERFAITH U.S. MEMORIAL DAY LITANY
(adapted from the 1974 U.S. Forces Book of Worship)

Let us each give thanks to God Almighty for the land of our birth with all its chartered liberties. For the richness and wonder of our country’s story, its heritage of law and liberty, the varied peoples it has drawn together as one people, and its striving to better live its values:

R. We give you thanks, O God.

For the leaders of our nation, states, and communities, the leaders of this and every nation, and all who labored and labor for justice, prosperity, and the common good:

R. We give you thanks, O God.

For those who in all times and places have been true and brave in fulfilling their duty serving their nation, and those who in daily common ways have lived upright lives and served those about them:

R. We give you thanks, O God.

For those who have gone before, and through whose service and sacrifice you have brought about blessings for us in our day:

R. We give you thanks, O God.

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember these your servants with gratitude. We see in their courage and strength encouragement for us to be courageous and strong. We see in their sacrifices a model for us to follow. Look upon all your servants—them and us—with loving kindness. Give us strength and courage to love and serve, to work hard for the common good, for justice, prosperity, and peace. This we ask in your name.

R: Amen.

PRAYER:

Creator of all peoples, you have given us our good country, the United States, for our heritage:

We humbly pray you that we may always be mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought together there out of many kindreds and tongues.

Judge of the nations, endow with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through following law and conscience, we may become and continue to be a sign of hope and occasion for joy for all the nations of the earth. Bless the leaders of every nation, that all may work for the common good.

Lord of hosts, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our diplomatic and armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the hardships which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be.

We thank you for those who have gone before us, whom we remember this day.

All this we ask for your tender mercy’s sake. Amen.

Invocation Offered at the
Hong Kong Marine Corps Ball
On the Occasion of the 232nd Anniversary of the Corps
The American Club Tai Tam, Hong Kong
November 15, 2008

Almighty God, you have given us our good country, the United States, for our heritage: We humbly pray you that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought together there out of many kindreds and tongues.

Judge of the nations, endow with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through following law and conscience, we may become and continue to be a sign of hope and occasion for joy for all the nations of the earth. At this time of peril due to worldwide economic woes, bless the leaders of all peoples to discern how best to restore and create effective means of providing for the needs to the world’s people. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, do not let our trust in you fail.

Lord of hosts, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be. As we prepare to celebrate the traditions and fellowship of the United States Marine Corps this evening, we pray especially for each Marine here present and throughout the world.

Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all your gifts, and make us mindful of the needs of others. All this we ask for your tender mercy’s sake. Amen.