Prayers and reflections from and for Brazil

These prayers were written by Elaine Neuenfeldt, Simei Monteiro and Rudelmar Bueno de Faria for worship in the Ecumenical Centre Geneva on Monday 11 June.

Reflecting and Interceding
(Following each reflection there is a prayer after which a sung response is sung)

Reflection - The challenge of living in cultural diversity
Our country is known for its cultural diversity. And this diversity is our richness. And in this diversity we experience pain and suffering. Our identity assembles in our bodies a mix of oppression and sovereignty. We carry this simultaneity in our daily life, and we struggle with this. Because of this JUSTICE is fundamental in our reality. We can only experience reconciliation in the diversity, if we experience justice. And the process of living together, in an inclusive and divers community is learning from each other how share and heal this memory of colonization, but full of resistance and conflict. This is a process of healing memories.

We pray for ...
learning from each other, in dialogue and sharing,
Merciful God, hear our prayer ...
Sung response

Reflection - Land and food
Brasil has an immensity territory. But the productive land is in the hand of few farmers. New technologies are presented as the solution for poverty. The sugar-alcohol sector is deeply rooted in the exploitation relations of the work and environment and the use of slave work. As a sign of resistance against transgenic products we can see the campaign in defense of the native seeds, and agro ecology as sustainable and viable response, supported by the practices of the peasant’s community’s challenge the monopolizing advances of the biotechnology companies. The women of the Via Campesina are working with the concept of food sovereignty and justice. Through their testimonies all the society faces the reality of the paper and cellulose monopolies and its artificial forest or green desert.

We pray for
Indigenous peoples who have lived on the land for thousands of years, but whose ways of life have been threatened or ended in the name of development and greed.
Landless peasants who struggle to make a life for themselves and their children.
God of Justice, hear our prayer...
Sung response

Reflection: Violence
Violence and police corruption are a serious problem in Brazilian cities. There are 50,000 homicides each year in Brazil, which is one of the highest rates in the world. A large number are concentrated in the favelas. However, residents do not just suffer at the hands of criminals; violence often arises from the police themselves. Such killings are registered as "acts of resistance". Also, human rights defenders, particularly those working on issues of police violence and land conflicts, suffer intimidation and violence. Domestic violence is also a daily reality in many homes. As signs of resistance we can share: the national domestic violence law signed in Brazil in 2006, Maria da Penha, which shares the perspective that domestic violence is a violation of the human rights of women and stipulates a national, integrated set of public policies to eradicate this grave problem; and some initiatives for platforms and participatory processes for citizenship in public policies.

We pray for:
The hundreds of thousands of children who are forced to live and work on the streets; that they may know your gentle touch and love; An end to political violence, torture and brutality by police and others who are charged with the well-being and safety of the people;
Respect for human rights, so that no one can deny others their basic liberty with impunity.
God of Peace, hear our prayer.
Sung response