A Prayer For Our Nation On Inauguration Day

(Adapted from a prayer from Joan Brown Campbell)

God and Grace and Mercy,

 

In the midst of turbulent and mercurial times, we dare to pray!

We bow before you, the One whose love is from everlasting

To everlasting

Whose gift to each and all is life---

Abundant, full and free.

 

Whether the market is up or down,

Whether our candidate won or lost,

We are reminded that, in Your world, we are one people

Called to a future in which peace is possible, poverty challenged

Prejudice unacceptable, and hope the constant companion

Of faith-filled people.

 

In a hungry, hurting, and COVID weary world,

We pause to pray for our nation,

Whose gateway remains guarded by Lady Liberty,

Whose welcome is to the whole world,

Whose torch carries the light of liberty and compassion.

 

So in the sunshine of this historic election,

And in the face of the grim reality of the Covid Pandemic and the divides that only deepen between us,

O God of Eternity, for whom a thousand years is but a day,

We are grateful for this brief moment of borrowed time

In which we live out our lives.

For this moment in history, given to us and to no other,

We ask for grace and wisdom and courage

That we might fashion from the clay of creation

A spirit of generosity.

 

God of Mercy, we lift up our new leaders.

We pray that you will raise up in them a passion for the good,

So that the values of many may translate into justice for all.

Surround these, your servants, with vision and passion

For a world made new and whole.

 

We place our times, our nation, our world, and all who lead in your hands,

But we hold out our hands as well,

For in the end, God of Eternity, we all belong to you

And live in service to your will and to your way.

 

May it be so this day, and all of our days.  Amen.