Copyright: © 1999 Nancy Kelly. We invite people to use the material in this document to best advantage in the local community. Sister congregations and communities are welcome to cut, paste, clone and copy, with acknowledgment and mention of the Lift Up Your Hearts web site [http://www.worship.ca/] as the source. Additional copies of God's Children: Praying for the Child in Our Hands may be downloaded from the Web [http://www.worship.ca/docs/godkids4.html].
Related Material:
On April 22 and 23, 1999, some three-hundred people --Lutherans, Anglicans, Mennonites, Presbyterians and United Church folk-- gathered at St. Peter's Church, Kitchener, Ontario, for a conference entitled "The Child in Our Hands." The conference featured speakers Richard Hardel and David Anderson of the Youth and Family Institute of Augsburg College [http://www.youthandfamilyinstitute.org/ ] (Minneapolis, MN USA). The Institute offers excellent resources in support of efforts to involve and embrace children and youth in the breadth of congregational ministry.
Even as the community was gathered to explore how we might best welcome children in our churches, the news of the world heralded the realities of tragedy and death in Yugoslavia and Littleton, Colorado. The following prayers, conscious of these and other realities, were offered at the opening worship service.
These prayers can serve to remind us that we do well to embrace all of God's children at
worship and at prayer.
The Presiding Minister (P) introduces and concludes the prayers. The Assisting Minister (A) bids the prayers. After each bidding, the community (C) responds with the prayer/song "Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying." This song appears in many hymn collections. It is number 775 in With One Voice.
P As God's
children born to love and serve each other,
let us pray for our own children,
for the children of the world
and for the child in each of us.
A We hear "let
us pray to the Lord"
and respond "Lord, listen to your children
praying..."
A For the whole church
on earth:
that together we may treasure the gift of each child
in our hands,
let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, listen to your children praying...
A For all children and
youth in our congregations;
in our nurseries;
in our Sunday Schools and our confirmation
classes;
in our youth groups:
that in our hands each one may feel the welcoming
embrace of God's love,
let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, listen to your children praying...
A For the world and all
its children
--especially children living with war in Yugoslavia and East Timor;
for children who suffer poverty and hunger;
for children who work to support their families
by
making our shoes, clothing and soccer balls;
for children who grow our food;
for children who suffer abuse
in the
hands of those who should care for them:
that God would gather us together
to
work for peace, protection and hope for all children,
let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, listen to your children praying...
A For children who are
sick or dying;
for children who are afraid or grieving
--especially the children of Littleton, Colorado, and their families;
for children who have trouble fitting in for any
reason:
that our Lord would help us to listen to the needs of
all of God's children,
let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, listen to your children praying...
A For ourselves as
mothers and fathers,
grandparents and godparents,
teachers, pastors and friends
who seek to pass on our faith:
that we may receive the grace to live the Gospel
with our children,
let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, listen to your children praying...
A For the child in each
of us
--still curious, playful, trusting and
vulnerable--
let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, listen to your children praying...
P Gracious God,
gather us --and all your children--
up into your loving arms
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Lord, listen to your children praying...