Mothering Sunday Prayers

I'm really proud of our youth group.  At our meeting yesterday, we wrote the prayers for next week's All-Age Eucharist for Mothering Sunday.

I asked "when we pray, what do we pray for?" and provided very little input beyond that.  Here's what they came up with - the compassion, thoughtfulness, and awareness these preteens display is wonderful to see.

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Loving God, we pray to you so we can talk to you and feel secure and safe.  We pray to tell you our fears and thoughts.  We pray for your trust and love.  We pray for help and guidance over obstacles.  We pray to relax our bodies and help us get calm.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We begin by saying thank you for all that you have done for us.

That we may realize and be grateful for how much we have.

In thanks for the community of people who love us.

For giving human beings the gift of language, so we can read and communicate.

For scientists who make amazing discoveries that save lives and make our lives easier, like Gregor Mendel, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein.

We thank you for people who make the world better, like Gandhi.

We thank you that there are good people in the world, because sometimes it seems like there are so many bad people in the world, it is easy to lose hope.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We pray for ourselves.

For guidance when we ask the big questions about life.

And we pray for people close to us who are sick.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We pray for people and animals who need help.

For places like Syria, where there are wars.

For people who live in refugee camps, or people trying to get into refugee camps.

We pray for poor people in London.  That we may remember that there are poor people in our own communities, and not just remember stereotypical pictures of poor people in other countries.

We pray that we may be moved to action, instead of just listening and forgetting.

We pray for animals who die in experiments.

And we pray for people who have addictions, like smoking.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Because it is Mother’s Day, today we pray for mothers.

We are thankful for mothers who are always there when you need them.

We are thankful for the organizational skills of mothers.

We are thankful for the joy that mothers receive in watching their children grow up.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We pray also for the hardships of mothers.

For children whose mothers have died or abandoned them.

For children and mothers who live in war zones.

For children who are separated from their parents.

For children who have been abused by their parents.

For mothers of missing children.

For people who are forced into becoming mothers.

For women who would like to have children but are unable to.

For mothers whose children have died.

For mothers who are driven to do painful things for the sake of their children, like Fantine in Les Miserables.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

And we pray for people and pets we love who have died,

That they may receive new life in your kingdom,

Where you have promised to wipe away all tears from our eyes.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.