A Prayer for General Convention

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized—John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.

Now a discussion about purification arose between John's disciples and a Jew. They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him." John answered, "No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease."  John 3:22-30 

A Prayer For the 78th General Convention

Dearest Creator, who fashioned us each unique

and gave us breath and intellect to chose

make us wise and patient in the anxious moments

make us playful in the serious tense times

make us forgiving when we are wounded

make us run to apologize for those we have wounded.

Loving Divine spark, you called us together to learn

help us to hear your voice in the middle of the clamor

help us see the beauty and blessings in our adversaries

help us to see clearly our our weakness and pridefulness

and help us to lay it all at the foot of the cross today.

Precious Jesus, you walked this earth as we do now

knew the cruelty and divisiveness of human beings

tasted the bitterness of exclusion, abuse and derision

give us your loving, humble spirit this day

that our words and actions might show forth

the love you have given us, the redemption you gave it all for

and the humility that you wore with honor for each of us.

Amen