James 1:22-25 (Common English Bible)

You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves. Those who hear but don’t do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror. They look at themselves, walk away, and immediately forget what they were like. But there are those who study the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continue to do it. They don’t listen and then forget, but they put it into practice in their lives. They will be blessed in whatever they do.

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Pastoral Prayer

Let Our Cries Come Unto You

Most merciful and compassionate God,

Giver of Life and Love,

hear our prayers

and let our cries come unto you.

We weep with your people

We hear the cries of orphaned children and laments of bereaved parents

We feel the desperation of those searching for loved ones

We behold the silence of vanished villages.

We see the devastation.

We are overwhelmed by the enormity of it all.

Our hearts are hushed, our minds are numb.

Let not our hands be stopped, our voices dumb.

God of the universe,

Open our hearts to feel your compassion

Galvanize in us the act of continued giving

Bond us to our sisters and brothers in need

Comfort and heal the injured, the bereaved, the lost

Strengthen the aid workers and medical personnel

Bolster the resolve of governments and those with power to help

Open through this tragedy pathways to partnerships and peace

In Your Name of mercy and healing and compassion we pray

- Offered for the people of Japan following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011