Today in our prayers we remember the people of Bolivia.
In the name of Jesus Christ, welcome to this service of peace. “The rise of Zion the beautiful, the peaceful reign of Christ, awaits your wholehearted response to the call to make and steadfastly hold to God’s covenant of peace in Jesus Christ.”
—Doctrine and Covenants 164:9b
Bolivia is located in western-Central South America. Bolivia is the largest landlocked country in the Americas. One-third of this nation is the Andean mountain range.
Scripture Reading—1 John 3:16-18 NRSV
We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
Prayer for Peace
Kent Parker
Hello God,
It’s us again. I know, we seem to come running to you all the time and it’s usually for the most trivial things. We are late to work, our car won’t start, or perhaps money is tight. But God, as your children, we know you are not our banker, time clock, or even our mechanic. We look around ourselves at this planet and its teeming millions, and suddenly you have become even greater than we had ever suspected.
And just as suddenly, our eyes open to the world and the burgeoning miracle of creation that it is, with its millions of inhabitants and its oceans and landmasses pulsing with life and promise. What a glorious world you have given us, O God. We are not worthy of your grace and yet, you give it freely.
We pray for your forgiveness for our wasteful squandering of the planet’s resources. But more than that Lord, we ask your forgiveness for our wasteful actions and attitudes to the peace that is a hallmark of your love. We are so very aware that you have bequeathed that peace-filled legacy to us as your children, and yet we spend that legacy so carelessly on fruitless squabbling for lesser goals.
Guide our feet to higher ground, Lord, so that we may be agents of your peace in a world sequestered and parted by walls of hatred and misunderstanding. Empower us, we pray, to use the gift of your peace to assist all peoples to know that there is a better way than what has gone before. Let us shake off the human history of conflict and battle for the mantle of your blessed peace, O God.
We pray these things in the name of the ultimate agent of peace, even Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Hymn
Choose a favorite hymn of peace and justice.
Prayers of the People
As we enter a time of guided prayer, meditation, and musical reflection, you are invited to offer silent prayers or meditate during the moments of quiet. The Prayers of the People will begin with individuals and groups, then move out from this Temple of peace to include the human family and the planet.
You are invited to join in prayer and meditation as you close your eyes and imagine yourself held in God’s loving hands. Be aware of your current needs, known to you and the one who calls you by your name.
Pause.
God of my life, may I receive your love, peace, and healing.
Pause.
Imagine someone who is close to you being held in God’s loving hands. Perhaps this person is a good friend or someone with whom you are struggling.
God of relationships, may this person receive your love, peace, and healing.
Pause.
Envision all the people of the world, every nation and tribe, every town and village. Imagine those that live in oneness, as well as those ravaged by war and violence.
God of all peoples, may these communities receive your love, peace, and healing. We remember all nations, including Bolivia, the country we pray for today.
Pause.
Behold all that God has created. See the beauty of the Earth. Recognize the brokenness and destruction we have caused. Imagine all the beauty and the damage held in God’s loving hands.
God of creation, may this planet receive your love, peace, and healing.
Pause.
May this spirit of peace and compassion for ourselves, others, all people, and the Earth remain alive in us this day. Amen.
Musical Reflection
Sending Forth
Take the peace you have found today in this sacred space with you into the world—renewed and inspired to act.
Go in peace.