A Prayer from a Great Cloud of Witnesses
Leader: “Dear God, what we would like to do is change the world; make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as you God intended them to do. And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor and the destitute …we can, to a certain extent, change the world. We can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace, in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world.” (Dorothy Day)
People: “God grant [us] the serenity to accept the things [we] cannot change, courage to change the things [we] can, and wisdom to know the difference.” (Reinhold Niebuhr)
Leader: “God grant that we go out and face life with all of its decision, as we face the bitter cup which we will inevitably face from day to day; God grant that we will learn this one thing, and that is, to make the transition from ‘this cup’ to ‘nevertheless.’” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
People: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As [one person] changes his [or her] own nature, so does the attitude of the world change …. We need not wait to see what others do.” (Ghandi)
Leader: “Lord, open unto [us]. Open unto [us]: light for darkness – courage for [our] fear – hope for [our] despair – peace for [our] turmoil – joy for [our] sorrow – strength for [our] weakness – wisdom for [our] confession – forgiveness for [our] sins – love for [our] hates. Open unto [us]: thy Self for [our sake].” (Howard Thurman)
ALL: “Stay with [us] and then [we] shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. Amen.” (Mother Teresa)
(arranged by Stacey Floyd-Thomas)
