JOURNEYSHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

2014

Gathering

God, when we walk in darkness,

show us the light.

When we seek approval,

bring us back to the cross.

When we are called from security,

make us eager to follow your Christ.

When we settle down with an image of God,

keep us restless, moving, and full of surprises.

Amen.

A Prayer

God of our pilgrimage, you journey with us,

whether our journeys are freely chosen or compelled.

Bless all who are forced to abandon their homes today.

Bless all travelling in delight, as they fulfil their vocation.

Bless those whose own way has led them to kill,

by giving them a heart of flesh for their heart of stone.

And stay with us, always. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Father, you have walked with our ancestors from the beginning of time, but we lose patience, the moment we fail to sense you.

Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy

Christ, you called a people to heal, teach and provoke in love,

but we look for reassurance, to know where we stand.

Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit, you brood over the world’s chaos with motherly love

but we look away, stuck in fear of the cost of the struggle for change.

Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy

Absolution

May God,

who comes to us in both the heat and the cool of our days,

show you his abiding grace,

that you may be released from all that keeps you back,

and know freedom and fullness of forgiveness,

to make you the pilgrims God longs for you to be.

Amen.

Prayer

God, we pray for your Church in its fractiousness,

divided, and even proud of its divisions.

Bless with the challenge of your call all who bear leadership

in the churches.

Keep us ‘foolish’ for Christ, and close in love and vision

to all who have nothing to lose…

To those who walk in darkness

show the light of your Life..

Prayer

God, we pray for all people of faith,

all who long to hear you speak to them

in a language they can understand.

Bless those who work, day by day,

for harmony but not uniformity among the faith-seekers

of the human family…

To those who walk in darkness

show the light of your Life.

Prayer

God, we pray for all people with power or influence

to change the way the world is.

Bless all peacemakers in your strong love.

Challenge all war-makers, by the radical nature of that same love.

May there be peace with freedom and justice with forgiveness.

May they come speedily and in our days…

To those who walk in darkness

show the light of your Life.

Prayer

God, we pray for our neighbourhood,

that our streets too may know peace and celebration.

May we be hospitable to all who come in real need.

Bless all who work with us for the common good;

all who keep alive memories we must not forget,

and hopes for futures we must hasten towards…

To those who walk in darkness

show the light of your Life..

Prayer

God, we pray for all who in any way

help people on the journey from sickness to health.

Bless all who are called ‘disabled’,

so that together we can all change what can be changed,

and, with that, rejoice in the diversity of your creation…

To those who walk in darkness

show the light of your Life.

Prayer

God, we pray for all who today will make the final journey

of their mortal lives, from life to death,

all who will care for them, and all who mourn.

In in your time and in your own way,

accompany their journey from the darkness of grief,

through consolation, to thanksgiving and joy.

To those who walk in darkness

show the light of your Life.

Prayer

God, we know

that you never feel stuck with us,

but, loving our company,

you long for better things for us,

and all we have to do with.

Teach us, even now,

what is that one next step

we need to take,

to be who you would have us be. Amen.

Candles

We light candles to remember those who lost their lives in:

The Shoah 1942 – 1945 6.5 million

Cambodia 1975 – 1979 2 million

Bosnia 1991 – 1995 8,000

Rwanda 1994 800,000

Darfur 2003 - present 400,000 (and rising)

Blessing

May God shelter and protect those whose journeys continue,

Shield the refugee and those who flee conflict and death.

Inform the next generations that they may act

With justice, mercy and humility to oppose genocide,

To work for peace, unity and justice

Now and all our days.

And the blessing of God Almighty,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Be with you and those you love

Now and always. Amen.