O Holy One, Source of Mercy, Might, and Love

Responsive prayers by Margaret D. McGee, appropriate for any Sunday in the Green Season.

O Holy One, source of mercy, might, and love,

Make us your people, so that in life and death we belong to you alone.

O Holy One, our strength and our salvation,

Guide this nation. Crown its leaders and citizens in mercy and loving-kindness.

O Holy One, doing wonders through all the world,

Light up the night, stretch out your hand, and open the way to justice and peace.

O Holy One, who satisfies with good things,

Bless this community. Grant us grace to welcome every stranger as you have welcomed us.

O Holy One, slow to anger and full of great kindness,

Teach us how to forgive each other from our hearts.

O Holy One, who turns hard rock into pools of water,

Heal our infirmities, comfort the suffering, and watch over those in any kind of trouble.

O Holy One, who redeems our lives from the grave,

Hold those who have died in your love.

We pray for the special needs and concerns of this community.

[Now is a time you can name your own concerns and those of your community, aloud or in your heart.]

Holy, Holy, Holy, source of mercy, might, and love,
We are your people, and you are our God.

Amen.

These Prayers of the People were first used on Sunday, September 14, 2008 (the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A) at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Port Townsend, Washington. They take language and inspiration from the day’s Bible readings, which you will find on The Lectionary Page.

Scriptural References:

Exodus 14:19-31 …so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night … Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea …

Psalm 114 …Who turned the hard rock into a pool of water …

Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21 … The LORD is my strength and my might,
and he has become my salvation … Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?

Psalm 103 He forgives all your sins and heals all your infirmities … He redeems your life from the grave and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness; He satisfies you with good things … The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness.

Romans 14:1-12 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them … whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Matthew 18:21-35 …forgive your brother or sister from your heart.