Prayer at Interfaith Prayer Service Jan 11, 2017

I was part of the Interfaith Prayer Service tonight at Trinity Lutheran in Eau Claire, with participants representing Methodists, Lutherans, Buddhism, B'Hai, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and The Center. Please note, in the hymn that I quoted, I changed the refrain at the very end of my prayer.

Here is the prayer that I offered:

In 1974, one of our ministers, Al Carmines, wrote a hymn with affirmations of diversity, understood - at long last - as a beautiful gift from God. There are those, in our political leadership and even in some worshiping communities, that sees fear in the ideas of peace, unity in diversity, and difference, and not as holy gifts as this hymn does.

The hymn, by the way, is ecumenical: it was commissioned by the United Methodist Women for their general assembly. So I offer to you the hymn that Carmines wrote more than four decades ago, and will extend that into a somewhat longer prayer of proclamation, lament, and confession - because there can be no peace without confession.

The hymn is called “Many Gifts, One Spirit”

"God of change and glory, God of time and space,
When we fear the future, give to us your grace.
In the midst of changing ways give us still the grace to praise.
Many gifts, one Spirit, one love known in many ways.
In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise:
One Giver, one Word, one Spirit, one God,
Known in many ways, hallowing our days.
For the Giver, for the gifts -- Praise, Praise, Praise!"

God of many colors, God of many signs,
You have made us different, blessing many kinds.
As the old ways disappear, let your love cast out our fear.

God of many colors, God of many names and signs and holy appearances and scriptures - I pray for a spirit of humility and reverence among our political and spiritual leaders; I pray for a spirit of wisdom and measurement among all people who claim belief in a higher power or a connection to the rest of the world; I pray for a spirit of tolerance and inclusion for all; I pray for a spirit of confession for your Church, which has and is too often afraid of the rich diversity you have designed, too often timid in its proclamation of your love for all people before the rulers and powers of this world, too often hurtful and divisive and far too happy to condemn others to hell without lifting them out of the hells they are in or looking to confront our own evils, too intolerant of other faiths and too afraid of the holiness of other expressions, too often so eager to join the powers that be that we invent gospel-denying theological excuses to support our eagerness for war, for walls, for wealth, for winning… make us whole, holy One, in unity, in spirit, in body, in purpose.

Freshness of the morning, newness of each night,
You are still creating endless love and light.
This we see, as shadows part, many gifts from one great heart.

Many gifts, one Spirit, one love known in many ways.
In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise:
One Giver, one Word, one Spirit, one God,
Known in many ways, hallowing our days.
For the Giver, for the gifts -- Peace, Peace, Peace!" we pray,

Amen.