Spirit of Life, God of Many Names, Source of Hope,
We come together at the end of another week,
some worn down by struggles of health, of home, or work.
May we be a community that makes space for the sharing of joys and sorrows, angers and hopes, with grace and forbearance.
In our nation’s life, we pause this holiday weekend
to remember the Native American lives lost from the European colonization on what is now our soil.
Teach us to remember our history.
Though we can not make amends for what has come before,
may we learn from those ways, never to repeat them in our lives today.
May we develop new ways of relating to neighbor and stranger,
without violence or coercion, deceit or greed.
Mother of Grace, help us to find a sense of humility where we have privilege,
and strength where we face oppression.
In our struggles we may learn compassion;
and in our power, may we learn temperance.
As a community of faith, may we be a safe harbor
in a world that is often harsh toward difference.
Challenge us to use our presence as a healing force for justice and equity.
Knowing that although we have come far in the civil rights struggles of our times,
there are many people are still left behind,
and the work of building the beloved community,
is just as pressing as ever before.