Here is a prayer I wrote and presented for Wednesday's Interfaith World AIDS Day Service at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Francisco. I kept the language as broad as I could, so it could be meaningful to people of other faiths. I also wanted to hold onto my Lutheran piety in its style and formation. A prayer for World AIDS Day 2012:
The Creator be with you all.
And also with you.
O Divine Creator, from whom justice and love are the cornerstones of the foundation of your people of faith.
We give you thanks that you provide light and guidance to help us along our pathways, and we t
hank you for all the advances that we gain in the study of HIV and AIDS, its research, its prevention and the maintenance of those affected by it. Be with us as we take this walk together, and let us continue to reach out to each other seeking common ground in our similarities and finding blessing in our differences, as we are all of us your family. Give to us, your people, that guiding light that we may better and more ably walk with those who are all too often left to walk alone, give us the strength to help call others in our faith to do the same, in lovingkindness and mercy. Remind us that we are each of us but human beings who need each other. Awaken our world to the knowledge and science that we need to prolong life and give our leaders the willingness to share the science and healing with those most often hardest hit communities and nations. Above all, buttress us with encouragement and the wisdom that we can improve the quality of life for all those who are suffering, and grant us endurance in the hopes that the cure is right around the corner. We humbly ask all of this in your holy name, in whatever name we come to you, in honor and glory, forever.
Amen
O Divine Creator, from whom justice and love are the cornerstones of the foundation of your people of faith.
We give you thanks that you provide light and guidance to help us along our pathways, and we t
hank you for all the advances that we gain in the study of HIV and AIDS, its research, its prevention and the maintenance of those affected by it. Be with us as we take this walk together, and let us continue to reach out to each other seeking common ground in our similarities and finding blessing in our differences, as we are all of us your family. Give to us, your people, that guiding light that we may better and more ably walk with those who are all too often left to walk alone, give us the strength to help call others in our faith to do the same, in lovingkindness and mercy. Remind us that we are each of us but human beings who need each other. Awaken our world to the knowledge and science that we need to prolong life and give our leaders the willingness to share the science and healing with those most often hardest hit communities and nations. Above all, buttress us with encouragement and the wisdom that we can improve the quality of life for all those who are suffering, and grant us endurance in the hopes that the cure is right around the corner. We humbly ask all of this in your holy name, in whatever name we come to you, in honor and glory, forever.
Amen
