East Timor (Timor Leste), Indonesia, Philippines

Intercessions

We are thankful for:

• the vital witness of churches in this region
• the diversity of ethnicities, cultures and religious beliefs, and especially those in Indonesia who have built bridges between them
• those who have resisted bravely and worked for human rights, justice, peace and reconciliation, especially the National Council of Churches in the Philippines
• those who protest exploitative mining, deforestation and other environmental damage.

We pray for:

• governments in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor Leste, that they will eradicate corruption, establish justice and peace, and work effectively for the wellbeing of all their people
• victims of violence, torture, drug and human trafficking, and human rights violations, that those responsible might be held accountable
• all those affected by earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters, and for the rebuilding of communities afterwards
• ecumenical and interfaith cooperation to bring justice, peace and sustainability to these lands.

Prayers

L: We begin our worship in the name of God the Father
C: who has chosen us to be the channels of blessings;
L: in the name of the Son,
C: who became one like us;
L: in the name of the Holy Spirit,
C: who has given us wisdom and strength.
L: Creator of the Cosmos, of eternity and time:
C: Be with us in this time.
L: Saviour of the world,
healer of the nations:
C: Be with us in this place.
L: Breath of all that lives,
of people near and far:
C: Be with us in our hearts.
L: Creator-Redeemer-Sustainer,
God of here and now:
C: Stir within our lives.
Amen.

(from WCC AGAPE meeting, closing prayer, 2012, Jakarta/Indonesia)

Lord, make us realize that our Christianity is like a rice field: when it is
newly planted the paddies are prominent, but as the plants take root and grow taller, these divided paddies gradually vanish, and soon there appears only one vast continuous field. So give us roots that love, and help us grow in Christian fellowship and service, that your will be done in our lives, through our Saviour, your Son, Jesus Christ.

(From the Philippines. A Procession of Prayers: Meditations and Prayers from around the World, comp. John Carden, WCC and Cassell, London, UK, 1998, p. 174.)

Prayer in remembrance of the victims of the 2004 tsunami

Stay with us, Lord, in the devastating moment
when waters roll above our heads,
smashing trees, destroying houses,
flooding rice fields, swallowing cattle herds,
chasing people running to save their lives.

Stay with us, Lord, in the dark moments,
open our eyes that we may recognize you as the risen One,
who has defeated death and its sting;
who has come by water and blood;
who has been baptized with water by John;
who has changed water into wine;
who has calmed the stormy sea;
who has given living water;
who wipes away our tears.

Stay with us, Lord, in the uncertain moments.
With your Holy Spirit raise us from our hopelessness,
wipe away our disbelief and strengthen our faith,
so that our hearts will burn to proclaim your resurrection,
the water of life springing forth and bringing hope.

© 2005 Ester Pudjo Widiasih, Jakarta Theological Seminary, Jakarta, Indonesia.

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