Reposting some prayers for Memorial Day.
As I reflect on this day, I am reminded that almost every time our military forces have engaged, from the American Revolution to the present, they have been supported by allies - allies whose soldiers have also given their selves and lives for our country.
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is meeting at this time. That reminds me of the service and sacrifices made on behalf of this country by the indigenous peoples of the United States.
With thanks - with memories - and in the hope that peace will soon prevail:
A prayer for Memorial Day
Eternal God,
from whom all life comes, to whom all life returns,
we remember all who served our country in the military.
We remember and we give thanks.
We give thanks for sacrifices made and losses endured.
We give thanks for acts of courage, grace and hope.
We give thanks for our brothers and sisters who gave the full measure of devotion.
We give thanks for those we knew well and those we never met.
For the life, goodness, faith, courage, and love that was in each one, we give thanks.
We pray for our brothers and sisters who are recovering from wounds in body, mind, spirit, or soul.
Work healing in them in all the forms that healing takes.
We pray for those who provide care to them.
Show us ways that we can extend care and support.
We pray for families and friends and all who grieve for loved ones who have died.
Meet them in the valley of death's shadow.
Embrace them in the healing warmth of
your comfort, grace and love.
Grant them and all of us the assurance
that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whose name we pray.
May the day soon come when swords are beaten into plowshares, war is studied no more, and all peoples and your world will know peace.
May we work for that day.
We pray through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
- Mark Koenig
A prayer for Memorial Day
Holy God, your love is stronger than death,
and your life-giving power has no end.
We commend to your eternal care
all who have died in the service of others,
even as we lament the violence of war.
Comfort and sustain all those who mourn.
Heal the wounded body, mind, and spirit.
Bring justice, freedom, and dignity to all people
and bring an end to war throughout the earth
so that all may know your promised peace;
through Christ, the resurrection and the life.
- David Gambrell
A prayer from the Book of Common Worship (1946), adapted
Eternal God: we rejoice in all who have lived and died faithfully. We give you thanks for all blessed memories and all enduring hopes; for the ties that bind us to the unseen world; for all the heroic dead who encompass us like a cloud of witnesses. We pray that we who have entered into the heritage of their heroism self-sacrifice may so honor their memory and so preserve and further their high purposes that the nation which they defended may stand in all coming years for righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Amen.
A prayer for Memorial Day from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program
Eternal God,
from whom all life comes, to whom all life returns,
we give thanks for all who served our country in the military.
We give thanks for sacrifices made and for those who gave the full measure of devotion.
We give thanks for their lives, their goodness, and their love.
This day we give special thanks for Name/s.
We are grateful that for a season
you allowed us to share life with him/her/them.
We commend him/her/them to your keeping,
knowing that he/she/they are held forever in your love.
Still our loss wounds us and we mourn.
We pray for families and friends and all who grieve for
loved ones lost in this war.
Meet them in the valley of death's shadow.
Embrace them in the healing warmth of
your comfort, grace, and love.
Grant them and all of us the assurance
that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whose name we pray.
Amen.
