PRAY.
As you are preparing for mission or thinking of beginning your mission journey, we encourage you to spend time in prayer and reflection to seek God's guidance and wisdom on your journey.
We also covet your prayers for the ministry of the Dominican Episcopal Church, for our organization, and for mission teams.
Below are some prayers that we hope may be helpful to you.
Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
For the Mission of the Church
Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself;
We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit
to preach the Gospel to all nations.
We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your Name; for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.
Prayer for Travelers
O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole
creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel [in particular ______________________]; surround them
with your loving care; protect them from every danger;
and bring them in safety to their journey's end; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayers for Comfort in Time of Disaster
God, you are in the midst of those who suffer. May all affected by disasters feel your healing presence. God, you are in the hands of those who reach out. Help responders in their courageous work. God, you are in the hearts of those compassionate ones. Whose prayers cry out for their families. Whose prayers cry out for their neighbors. Whose prayers cry out even for strangers
Bless and comfort those who mourn.
God, you are in the still small voice,
The gentle whisper that follows
May our ears always hear
May our hearts always cry out for one another
May our hands always reach out to one another
And may we always walk like you walk
In solidarity with those who suffer
And so reflect your presence and comfort. Amen.