Strengthen your Church, O Christ,
to be a stalwart network of roots
so that the spirit of our living blooms
with broad shade trees for the weary
and rich fruit vineyards for the hungry.
Let us welcome the birds in their nests
to share a vision of the landscape, and
the artists with their creativity to share
new models for our transformation.
Renew your Church, O Christ!
What if …
We allowed our woundedness to be a wellspring of healing;
We allowed our poverty to be a source of generosity;
We allowed our doubt to be the soil for faith;
We allowed our creatureliness to bind us to the earth;
We allowed our failure to encourage us to look into the eyes of another;
We allowed our silence to enrich our presence in community …
then how differently might the church look and feel, and how transformed might the world become?
Hear our prayer, O LORD.