Dear God,
You call some to be leaders and some to be followers.
Today we pray that our leaders are followers of your Son, Jesus, whose teaching of love for all is the most excellent example of leadership in Your name.
We pray that as followers, we discern truth in the statements and actions of our leaders, and that we use our peaceful voices to lovingly dispute any leader’s call to hate, violence, intolerance and humiliation of any person.
We recognize that all people are children of God, people of worth. Help us to live Christ’s example of love to prove that Your Kingdom on earth is at hand at this very moment, as taught by Jesus.
Lord, we thank you for bringing to mind the leaders from our recent history who stood up to despots and tyrants as they discerned responsible actions in times of crisis.
Lord, we pray for American democracy, which is threatened by the recent insurrection. We oppose attempts to give a Christian slant to violence, nationalism and the hateful propaganda apparatus spreading on social media.
We pray that we never lose our ability to proclaim a life-giving word to the world.
And we pledge to remain true to our Christian walk through our prayers and in doing justice among human beings.
Amen.
By Lisa Trigg, Certified Lay Minister, 2021