Thursday 24 September 2015

About the Peace Vigil

St John the Baptist Parish Church held a peace vigil on 23rd September 2015 as part of World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel.  It was well attended, particularly by those who will be going gone the Holy Land Trip in February 2016. The service was followed by coffee, cake and discussion.

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Peace vigil held at St John's on 23rd September

VIGIL FOR PEACE IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Opening responses
Gather in our hearts Lord,
bring peace through our words.
Gather in our hearts Lord,
bring peace through our listening.
Gather in our hearts Lord,
bring peace through our actions.
Gather in our hearts Lord,
bring peace through our silence.
Gather in our hearts Lord,
bring peace through our lives.

Prayer of approach
Eternal God, in your love for this world,
you have made places of great beauty.

And always where heaven is present, hell is never far off.
This is our experience; it is the lot of your people.
We recognise it in the world.

Today, we come to hold before you
that land on which your son put his feet
and first walked the path to heaven,
across the terrain of the earth.

Help us, as we enter into solidarity
with those who are our brothers and sisters
in faith and in humanity,
not to keep apart Palestinian and Israeli in our prayers,
but rather to try with you, and under your guidance,
to find a way of holding the broken pieces,
that in our lives and through our prayers, some greater health and some sign of wholesomeness might come,
and a glimpse of your kingdom appear in our hearts
and on this earth.

Amen. (from ‘Fencing in God’s People, WGRG 2007)

Lighting a candle for peace
In the name of Christ, who is our peace,
we light this light for peace in Palestine and Israel.

Silence

Reading
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
‘May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.’
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, ‘peace be within you.’
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good. (from Psalm 122).

Prayers of intercession

God of peace, encourage those who seek to establish a fair and just peace in the Middle East. Bless their efforts as they work to end conflict. Lead those who engage in violence to put down their weapons and to live in peace with one another.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Silence

God of peace and justice
Rain down upon us your peace.
God of peace and justice,
let every heart be filled with peace.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Silence

God of justice, bless those who work for peace through justice. Strengthen their resolve in the face of seemingly endless violence.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Silence

Guide the leaders of the peoples of the Middle East to know your will and to support a just peace for all of your children.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Silence

God of love, lifting up the holy land for all humankind, breathe love and compassion into our prayers with a desire for nothing other than peace: peace in our hearts, peace for all creation, and especially peace in the land that is called holy.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Silence

God of hope, we lift up the city of Jerusalem, distracted and divided, yet still filled with promise as all the cities of the world.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Silence

God of mercy, even as we long to understand that which is often beyond our comprehension, we lay before you the hearts, minds and bodies of all those suffering from conflict in Palestine and Israel and from the ongoing occupation. Shower upon all the people of the Holy Land the spirit of justice and reconciliation.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Silence

God of the nations, give to all our people the blessings of well-being, freedom, and harmony, and, above all things, give us faith in you that we may be strengthened to care for all those in need until the coming of your son, our Saviour and Lord.
God in your mercy
hear our prayer

Amen. (From ACT Palestine)

May our silence speak the peace of God.
May our silence sing the peace of God.
May our silence bring about the peace of God.
Amen.

Silence

Closing responses
Pray not for Arab or Jew, for Palestinian or Israeli, but pray rather for ourselves, that we might not divide them in our prayers but keep them both together in our hearts.

When races fight,
peace be among us.
When neighbours argue,
peace be among us.
When nations disagree,
peace be among us.
Where people struggle for justice,
let justice prevail.
Where Christ’s disciples follow,
let peace be our way.
Amen.

Silence

Adapted from Christian Aid Prayer Vigil for the Middle East.