Document
Opening Prayer
Atua,*
allow us to drink from the tanoa** of your peace.
Right the course of our canoes to overcome the currents of violence, hatred, war, abuse.
Give us peace of being at rest, so that peace prevails over any wind that gusts through our islands. Tattoo in our hearts your righteousness and purity.
Through all cultures and walks of life,
we pray as instruments of peace and as the people of Pasifika.
Amen.
*(God in Polynesian languages)
**(ceremonial and community bowl in Fijian language)
(Pilgrim Prayer, 196)
♪ “Na o e” (Our God, you created the world)
Responsive Psalm 128
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end, Amen.
Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2: 13 – 20
The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
Reflection Question: Has the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitation of movement caused you to feel as if you “were made orphans by being separated” from those we love and are usually in community with? And how can we deal with the “great eagerness to see” them in person?
Prayer of Intercession
Atua, God of justice and peace who stands with those who are poor, who asks us to be the voice of the voiceless, we call upon you for those who have suffered the injustices of war and greed.
From the depths of our being we cry to you,
Lord, Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.
For those of Tuvalu and Kiribati, Tokelau and Midway Islands, Hawaii and Samoa. Those Pacific people whose precious land and sea have been ravaged by sea level rising, constant erosion and by the salination of groundwater supplies.
From the depths of our being we cry to you,
Lord, Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.
For those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Bikini and Enitwetok, Kwajalenin and Moruroa, Fangataufa and Christmas Island, Johnston Island and Monte Bello, Emu and Maralingao. Those Pacific people whose precious land and sea have been ravaged by nuclear explosions.
From the depths of our being we cry to you,
Lord, Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.
For those who are suffering this day from disease, genetic malformation and the loss of those they love, as a result of nuclear radiation. May their spirits not be broken by their bodies’ pain.
From the depths of our being we cry to you,
Lord, Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.
For those whose land and sea are today being up at risk through radio-active pollution from dumping of nuclear wastes, and the passage of nuclear ships. May their livelihood and health be preserved and may they live in peace and hope.
From the depths of our being we cry to you,
Lord, Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.
For those whose cultures have been exploited and subjugated. For those who struggle to regain their cultural identity and for those whose rights have been oppressed by political, government and ethnic injustices.
From the depths of our being we cry to you,
Lord, Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.
For those of Papua New Guinea, Solomon and Fiji, Tonga and Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Marshall Islands, New Caledonia and Niue. We pray that your promise of justice may become real to those for whom we pray. May they be released to live in freedom and love.
From the depths of our being we cry to you,
Lord, Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers,
for you are gracious,
And there is in you that which is to be feared, that which forgives,
that which strengthens, and that which comforts. Amen.
(Pilgrim Prayer, adapted, 197)
The Lord’s Prayer (each in the language of our heart)
Benediction
Lord, oil the hinges of my heart‘s door,
that it may swing gently and easily to welcome your coming. Amen
