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The following prayers accompany Women in the Episcopate in the Church of England: A Situation Report.
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
1. Havenly Father, as we celebrate the anniversary of Charles Darwin, we thank you for the richness of creation, for the different species of flora and fauna, for the infinite variety of humanity with all our traits and talents, our projects and passions, our cares and curiositities:
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
2. As we pray for the consolidation of the fragile peace in Gaza, we thank you for all those who work for peace and harmony, for politicans and diplomats, for those who reconcile and rebuild, for those who forego vengeance and who value forgiveness more than fairness:
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
3. As we celebrate the inauguration of President Obama, we pray for the progress of solidarity, the balm of empathy and the zest of difference; and we pray that his example may shine out as a beacon of hope in a troubled world.
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
4. As we celebrate this city of wondrous diversity, and celebrate the anniversaries of Haydn and Handel, Mendelssohn and Marinu, we thank you for our art and culture, for the triumph of polyphony and harmony, for the vision of the symphony, for the quirk of the story, the breadth of the novel, the ambiguity of poetry, the radical perspective of painting, and the creation of life out of stone. Mayu we bring your gifts into life's forum.
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
5. As we reflect on this week of Christian Unity, give us the faith to put divine justice above human doctrine, the hope to persevere in the face of prejudicce, and the love to turn your church outwards to the world.
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
5. As we prepare to remember our terrible bouts of genocid, we thank you for your beloved son who lived amongst us in all our liveliness and imperfection, who healed but did not judge, who sacrificed but did not count, who loves us all without distinction.
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
6. As the General Synod approaches, send your Holy spirit down upon your church tyat we may together create a glorious icon of your vision for us: that we may, through how we treat each other, be an example to your tarnished world; that we may show more concern for others than we show for our own, narrow preoccupations; and that we may live the unselfishness we speak.
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
7. As we approach the end of Christmas with the feast of Candlemas, we thank you for all your saints whose lives inform our lives and, above all, we thank you for Our Blessed Lady, the human mother of your divine son; may we live the Magnificat that she sang for all humanity.
Can: May we all be one
Res: May we be united in diversity.
May we go out into the world, stronger in our faith, livelier in our hope and more encompassing in our love.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our saviour Jesus Christ.