O God, as our children return to the rhythm of the school year,
we ask for Your peace and blessing;
that they may learn and grow, make and be good friends.
May their minds be opened and their hearts be soft,
That they may be protected from evil and filled with love.
Guide them as they make independent decisions.
As they work, play, and relate to others;
as they navigate tricky situations and
confront their own hearts
For their teachers we pray for endless wells of patience
as they sow wisdom and insight into each child.
Grant them creativity and abundant resources.
We know safety is never guaranteed for anyone,
But we ask for it anyway.
Grant that your angels would guard and keep them,
That kind people would surround them.
Give us wisdom as we raise and teach them,
Help us model kindness, empathy, and awareness.
To encourage creativity and open-mindedness,
and to love and welcome them whole-heartedly.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O God, You offer us life, and life more abundantly,
and call us to the banquet of Your love.
Your Son offers us the gifts of body and blood
as divine food — the bread of heaven and cup of salvation.
Even Your disciples left, saying,
“This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
But may we, like Peter, respond in our hearts:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
May we find You in the gifts You give;
may we know You in the ones with whom we share this meal,
and in the bread of this table, Your son, Jesus Christ.
We ask this for the times when we cannot accept it,
when we can’t trust Your goodness for lack of seeing,
when we can’t believe for lack of faith.
May we be a family that holds one another up,
who has faith for those who have no faith,
who believes for those stuck in unbelief,
who reminds one another of the divine image we each bear.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who wait and watch and weep
this night, this day, and in the hours in between.
We remember those who struggle silently with illness,
whether it is mental or physical or emotional.
We pray for those living in the darkness of depression,
who seek Your face to shine upon them.
May we reflect Your face and goodness
in a kind word, a simple smile, by stopping to ask,
“How are you, really?”
Grant them rest and respite,
and grant us courage and kindness.
In all these things, we rejoice that You draw near to us.
No matter where we are,
no matter what we do,
we are Your children.
May we hold this truth
close to our hearts, close to our days.
All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.